When Charlie Cunningham passed away last month, we lost not just an incredible inventor and fabricator, but also a very dear friend. To help his wife Jacquie Phelan—a mountain bike pioneer in her own right—with the inevitable expenses during this difficult time, we sold Bicycle Quarterly 29, with 23 pages...
The Rene Herse I rode during my recent 41-hour ride on the Oregon Cascades Volcanic Arc 400 course is almost the antithesis of the bikes we see in the Tour de France. Analog shifting instead of electronic derailleurs. Rim brakes instead of discs. A steel frame with round tubes instead...
It's Tour de France time. Like many cyclists, we enjoy following the big race. It's always exciting, even if the winner almost seems like a foregone conclusion this year. The competitions for each stage win are exciting in their own right. And then there is the beautiful atmosphere of the Tour, with its...
Another shipment has arrived in Seattle, and two popular items are back in stock. Both of them are parts that I used on the bike I rode in the Oregon Cascades Volcanic Arc 400 last week (above). The first are our superlight cantilever brakes. Our crowdfunding drive last...
The Oregon Cascades Volcanic Arc 400 goes through remote country. During the 41:13 hours it took me to ride the 417 miles (674 km) of this beautiful route, there were only five places where I could resupply. What do you bring for a ride like this? Above is the contents...
The bike is dirty. The rider is tired. And there is a new FKT (Fastest Known Time) for the Oregon Cascades Volcanic Arc 400 bikepacking route. That makes it a successful outing on all counts! Here are the stats: Distance: 419 miles / 674 km Climbing: 31,500 ft / 9,600 m FKT: 41 hours...
We've expanded our TPU tube program with 70 mm threaded valves. Which means we've now got 23 different TPU tubes in our program. To us, it makes sense to offer that many different TPU tubes. After all, we're offering more than 100 different Rene Herse tires, so why would we...
As you're reading this, I’m in Klamath Falls preparing to do what I love best: Riding my bike at a spirited pace over long distances. I'm giving the Oregon Cascades Volcanic Arc 400 another shot. Last year, I set the FKT (Fastest Known Time) on this beautiful and challenging route...
Meaghan Hackinen has done it again: This afternoon, she arrived in Antelope Well, on the Mexican border, as the first woman to finish this year's Tour Divide, and 8th overall. This is the second time Meaghan has won the 2,700-mile bikepacking race. Her time of 14 days 10 hours 2...
Tire pressure calculators are everywhere these days, and for good reason: We all know not to inflate our tires to the max. pressure indicated on the sidewalls—but what is the right pressure? If we inflate our tires too hard, we give up comfort and—depending on the road surface—speed. Inflate too...
Ted King isn't just a world-class racer, but he's also a father of two wonderful children. Racing, training, parenting and being a partner in UnTapped Maple can seem like quite the balancing act, but Ted (and Laura) do an amazing job. Here is Ted's report from Father's Day 2026. Father’s Day...
Last year was a pretty special one in my career for both good and bad reasons. On the good side, my longest trip to date, 18,000 km (11,200 miles) spanning two continents, from Lisbon to the China-Russia border, in an attempt to set a new world record of the fastest...
Becca Book is on a roll. Less than a month after winning the 735-mile Cross-Washington MTB Race in just 3 days 19 hours— a new women's FKT by 23 hours!—she's won this year's Bon Jon Pass Out race. She reported: "Beautiful weekend for crossing the Olympics the 3rd and 4th...
The prime cycling season has started in Seattle, with warm, sunny days, great mountain views, and joyful rides with friends. It's also a time when we often realize that our bikes need some TLC.* And when it comes to buying replacements for parts that have worn out, we're often faced...
A few long-awaited shipments have arrived, and we're excited to have popular components back in stock. We've got TPU tubes again, and most handlebar models, the world's lightest musette bags, and a few other items. Plus there are a few new products that we're excited about. Let's start with the new...
This morning, the Tour Divide, the world's most prestigious bikepacking race, is taking off from Banff in Canada. It's a monumental race, traversing the entire United States along the crest of the Rocky Montains, before finishing at the Mexican border. The fastest riders will take about two weeks to ride...
When I saw the course of the Seattle International Randonneurs 600 km brevet, I immediately made plans to ride it. The route circles the Olympic Mountains, a remote and wild area that separates Seattle from the Pacific Ocean. Course of the 600 km Brevet Seattle prides itself as the 'Portal to the...
Charlie Cunningham, the prolific inventor and early mountain bike pioneer, has left us. He was 77 years old. A brilliant engineer and master fabricator, Charlie is best known for his innovative mountain bikes. Welded from oversized aluminum, they were years ahead of their time. Never content to follow convention, Charlie's...
The leadup to Unbound is always busy, even when you arrive with every box checked. This year was unusual for me: the first trip to Emporia in eleven years without my family in tow. With fewer responsibilities outside the race, I had a little more opportunity to observe what was...
As the Unbound racers head into the Flint Hills of Kansas—with the exception of the XL riders, who've already spent the night on the road—we continue our celebration of Unbound with gravel pioneer Amanda Nauman, winner of the 200-mile race in 2015 and 2016. Jan: How did you get into cycling,...
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Unbound. The first edition in 2006 saw just 34 riders at the start. Today, Unbound is without a doubt the most important gravel race on the calendar. Even though the UCI is now organizing world championships on gravel, Unbound is the race every...
This week we celebrate 20 years of Unbound, the great gravel race across the Flint Hills of Kansas. In the second part of our series, we talk to Jenna Rinehart. Currently leading the 'Wild Card' category of the Lifetime Grand Prix, Jenna balances training and racing with her full-time job.
The world's biggest gravel race celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Back in 2006, it started as a 200-mile adventure with just 34 riders. Over the last 20 years, it has evolved into a race that brings pro racers from all over the world to the Flint Hills of Kansas—while...
Bicycle Quarterly 90 is at the printer! Why make a print magazine when the Internet is filled with bicycle content? That's a bit like asking "Why ride outside when Zwift lets you do it in the comfort of your home?" Both have their place... Turning off our screens, making a cup...
When someone asks me why they should care about bike racing, I think of Soichiro Honda's famous words: "Racing improves the breed." Honda was talking about cars and motorcycles—above is a Mercedes in the grueling Liège-Sofia-Liège rally—but the same applies to bicycles. Racing is the reason why modern carbon bikes...
After years of promoting 'Tubeless for Everybody,' bike industry and media are finally realizing that many riders prefer tubes—and for good reasons. Sure, if you're a pro gravel racer at Unbound, you'll probably want to set up your tires tubeless. Riding in a peloton, you'll hit huge rocks that you...
What would happen if you rode Paris-Roubaix on truly wide and supple tires? We now know, because Olly Townsend from the popular Gravel Union website has done that: He rode this year's Paris-Roubaix Challenge on Rene Herse 700x48 Hatcher Pass tires. Paris-Roubaix is a unique race: It is fascinating because it...
Every year, we publish our Scientific Guide to Choosing Gravel Tires. It is a summary of our and others' research into what makes tires fast, grippy and reliable—and not an advertorial for Rene Herse tires. (We figure that our tires speak for themselves...) It is consistently one of our most...
You have to give the bike media credit: The original argument about the benefits of 32" wheels on road and gravel bikes—that they are more efficient because of their better 'roll-over'—has pretty much vanished from the discussion. A while ago, we laid out why that isn't the...
Thank you to all our customers who have made this project possible! It seems like everybody who asked for all-black tires stepped up to the plate (which isn't always a given). Many others have come through as well. Shops and our international distributors joined the crowdfunding drive, too. Most of the...
A big 'Thank you' to all who've contributed to the crowdfunding of our all-black Rene Herse tires. We're very close to meeting our goals, so we've decided to extend the deadline through the weekend, until end-of-day on May 4, 2026. Here is where each all-black tire stands as of this morning: Knobbies:
We just received a shipment of TPU tubes from Germany. We also got a restock of TPU Sealant. After shipping all the pre-ordered tubes, some models are already running low, but more tubes are in production. We recommend reserving yours by pre-ordering them. If our website doesn't allow pre-ordering a...
Spring has arrived, and the racing season is in full swing. Over in Belgium, Tadej Pogačar added a fourth win in Liège-Bastogne-Liège to his unrivaled palmarès. Here in North America, there were big events on the calendar this weekend as well. First and foremost was the UCI Highlands Gravel Classic....
Our 'Suggestions' form continues to be popular. We love to hear from you, our customers! Your suggestions range from additional information on our website—which we've implemented in dozens of cases—to new products. Among product suggestions, by far the most popular are all-black tires. As...
It's nice to report good news! The Rene Herse cantilever brakes are ready. The arms are forged, the bushings machined, the small parts manufactured. Pre-orders from our crowd-funding are shipping now. Since we assemble these brakes by hand—pressing in the bushings, installing the pads, assembling the straddle cable holders, etc.—it's...
Two recent Bicycle Quarterly test bikes have made me think about the 'One Bike' question. Unless you are a collector, the idea of one bike for everything is appealing. For many, it's a necessity, as budget or storage limitations don't allow for more. For others, it's a choice that simplifies...
Summary: Carefully controlled tests have shown that larger wheels generally don't roll faster—neither on pavement, nor on gravel, nor on cobblestones. The concept of better 'roll-over' applies to solid wheels, but not to pneumatic tires that absorb road irregularities, rather than lifting bike-and-rider over them. Wheel size doesn’t really matter...
Adrien Liechti did it! Ninety-six days and 16 hours after he started at Cap Angela in Tunisia, he reached Cape Agulhas at the southernmost tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. He's cycled from the northernmost point in Africa to the southernmost, setting a world record...
Making a good semi-slick tire is harder than it may seem at first. How do you balance the features that make Rene Herse tires perform so well on pavement and on loose surfaces: Thin tread: to keep the tire supple (but thick enough for long service life) Round profile: to avoid sudden...
How do you make a semi-slick tire that lives up to the promise of smooth-surface speed and traction on loose surfaces? How do you avoid the pitfalls of conventional semi-slicks—especially the sudden transition from smooth center tread to bumpy side knobs? And how do you improve power transfer during out-of-the-saddle...
At Rene Herse Cycles, we've got a policy: We don't make anything that exists already. As a small company, our resources are limited. We'd rather use them to create something that's going to improve the riding experience for us and our customers—not recreate something we already can buy from others. There's...
April 1, 2026: Cycling is a relatively safe sport. And once we factor in the health benefits of exercise, cyclists actually tend to live longer than people who don't exercise. That doesn't mean we can't make cycling even safer. At Rene Herse Cycles, we've been working on just that. After...
Ten years ago this week we crossed the 3,700-m (12.200 ft) Paso de Cortés in Mexico in one of our biggest adventures. That expedition is significant beyond the epic ride: It was a proof-of-concept for ultra-wide and ultra-supple tires on all-road bikes. It marks the point when the wide-tire revolution...
TPU tubes have been widely hailed as the 'next big thing' in the mainstream media. TPU tubes are lighter, faster and more durable than butyl tubes, while holding air far better than latex tubes. That brings up the question: How fast are they on real roads? The following article was...
We've been planning to do an update of Adrien Liechti's Africa End-to-End record attempt. But just after he sent us photos and stories, his tracker stopped in Cameroon. For almost two weeks, we had no news from Adrien. Needless to say, we were worried, and so were his many friends...
Here at Rene Herse Cycles, we don't want to sell you what you don't need! Our mission is to create tires, components and accessories that enhance your cycling experience. We're confident we offer things that you, our customers, find valuable. There's no need to try and sell you things you...
Today Salsa is launching their new Flyway gravel bike. It's replacing the 4th-generation Warbird that's been around since 2019. We loved that Warbird, but not the moniker. So it's perhaps timely that the new bike has a more peaceful name: Flyways are the established travel patterns of migratory birds. When...
This year marks 20 years of Bicycle Quarterly's ground-breaking real-road research into tire performance. Back in the spring of 2006, we started testing tires on real roads, with a rider on the bike. The results surprised everybody—us included: High pressure doesn't make supple high-performance tires roll faster. That went counter...
When I met Natsuko on a bicycle tour that was organized by mutual friends in Japan, she looked at my bike and equipment. "You don't carry a musette bag?" she asked, puzzled. Back then, I thought of musette bags as something pro racers used to carry water bottles from the...
Editor's Note: After you’ve (hopefully) digested the big headlines of the day, you may be in need of something a little more uplifting. We’ve got that for you: On Saturday, Brennan Wertz won the Huffmaster Hopper, the mixed-surface race near the Snow Mountain Wilderness in northern California. The 89-mile (143-km) season...
Editor's Note: Rene Herse tires aren't usually associated with mountain biking, but there's a place for fast-rolling supple tires, especially in endurance races. The 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo is America's longest-running 24-hour mountain bike event. More than just a race, it's a celebration of the mountain biking community.The...
Many cyclists dream of working in the bike industry. And it's true: The hours may be long, but the work is fun, because our world is populated by enthusiasts. These pioneers are riders first and foremost, who started their companies because they wanted to make something that didn't exist. In...
Keeping top-quality products simple, lightweight and affordable has always been our goal. Rene Herse X-Light Butyl Tubes are made in Japan to our specifications. They weigh just 78 g. They are sized for a perfect fit with road tires between 23 and 32 mm. And they cost just $ 9.95. The...
Update: The pre-order cut-off for Berthoud mirrors and saddles has been extended until Monday, February 16, at 7 p.m. (Pacific Time). The news for made-in-Europe bike parts hasn't been great lately. Between new tariffs (15% on top of the already existing ones) and exchange rate fluctuations (the dollar lost 15% of...
Tomorrow, the Atlas Mountain Race will start in Morocco. Over 1,350 km, riders will climb more than 25,000 m as they traverse the Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains on long-forgotten colonial pistes. The fastest riders will complete the course in about four days. Most riders will take eight days or more....
We're now offering all our TPU tubes with threaded valves and locknuts, in addition to the models with smooth valves. This came about via a suggestion from a customer... Here's the story: We love feedback from our customers. Most of it comes via the
"XC mountain bike tires are the hottest gravel trend!" You've probably seen the headlines. Ever since Lachlan Morton won the 2024 Unbound 200 with a 50 mm tire on the front—the largest he could fit on his bike—there's been a trend toward running mountain bike tires on rough gravel. BikeRadar.com recently...
Like many of us, I had intended to participate in the Goodnight 2025 campout that we've been organizing together with our friends at Bikepacking.com. Torrential rains in Seattle and the need to prepare a trip to Japan meant that I didn't get out for a 'night under...
When Zipp introduced their 303 XPLR rims, they broke new ground with respect to rim width: a whopping 40 mm (outer) translates to 32 mm where it matters, on the inside of the rim. Zipp developed the 303 XPLR for gravel bikes and suggests running tires as narrow as 40...
When you watch a big Tour or head to a local gravel race, you're likely to see only carbon bikes. If you're lucky, there may a titanium frame or two at the local race. On mainstream cycling websites, it's the same: carbon everywhere, at least as far as performance bikes...
We get this question from time to time about our TPU valves with smooth valve stems. (We also offer threaded valves.) Can you inflate smooth valves with pumps that connect to the valve with a hose? The hose of the pump needs threads to hold onto the valve. Here's why...
When I wrote about the Rene Herse components that are the lightest of their kind, I was reminded of a reader who once asked: "Why are you so focused on saving a gram here or there? For the 99.999% of us who are not...
When another company recently introduced their TPU tubes, they offered three models. With two carefully chosen widths, they cover 700C tires between 24 and 64 mm wide, with no overlap. For their narrower tubes, they offer two valve lengths; for their wider tubes, only one. From a production and warehousing...
With all the excitement over our TPU tubes, it might seem like we're about to abandon tubeless. Nothing could be further from the truth! All our gravel pros ride their Rene Herse tires tubeless. (They carry TPU tubes as spares, just in case.) It was Ted King who turned us...
For most of us, cycling is a way of life. Our bikes aren't just tools; they are extensions of ourselves. A reliable supply of tires and components is essential. That's why, at Rene Herse Cycles, we do everything we can to keep our parts in stock at all times. As...
As the new year started, our friend Adrien Liechti embarked on his biggest adventure yet: Traversing all of Africa, from the northern tip to the far south. If he succeeds, he'll be the first unsupported cyclist to connect the farthest points of the African continent—ever! Ahead lie 17 countries, a distance...
Tread patterns are the most noticeable part of a tire, yet there seems to be little agreement of what makes a good tire tread. With road tires, some are completely slick. Others have small scallops or longitudinal lines. Off-road, some tires have knobs that are round, others are square, or...
All of us wish you a great 2026 with health, happiness and many great rides! Jan, Natsuko & the RH team
Looking over the most popular articles in the RH Journal this year, our front derailleur made it into the top five! Clearly, this unusual derailleur has caused quite a stir: It's operated directly via a lever behind the seat tube. Derailleurs don't get more analog than this! Readers liked that the...
It’s human nature to look forward. Whether we’re thinking about the next event, whether we’re anxious about getting through the next interval, or whether we’re planning next year’s race calendar, we’re programmed to look ahead. Reflection, by contrast, takes a bit of work. It requires patience, it taps into our...
All of us at Rene Herse Cycles wish you Happy Holidays! We are grateful for your support during the past year. We look forward to being part of your rides and adventures in 2026! Natsuko, Jan & the Rene Herse team
I mostly ride cyclotouring bikes, and they work very well for me. But I'm always curious about other bikes. Years ago, I ordered a custom-built steel road bike with 23 mm tires to find out what that feels like. I've ridden a few modern carbon gravel bikes for Bicycle Quarterly...
As holiday and year-end preparations are winding down, it's a great time to head out and spend some time away from it all. That's the idea behind the Good Night 2025 Bikepacking Overnighter. In collab with bikepacking.com, we invite everybody to slip away for a quiet night under the stars...
It's no secret that we love classic bikes at Rene Herse Cycles. In fact, classics are one reason Rene Herse Cycles was reborn in the Cascade Mountains. Jaye Haworth and I rode a 1946 René Herse tandem in the 2003 Paris-Brest-Paris—and received the trophy for the fastest mixed tandem.
Editor's Note: Adrien Liechti has been a fixture of the bikepacking world for many years. Winner of the inaugural Hellenic Mountain Race in 2023, he's been a consistent top finisher in the biggest races: The Rhino Run, Atlas Mountain Race, Silk Road Mountain Race, The Transcontinental... What I like about...
We just received a small shipment of our ultra-soft Merino Wool Jerseys... That's a good opportunity to revisit why we go through the trouble of making our favorite jerseys in tiny numbers: They are a key component for our rides and adventures. It's no exaggeration to say that these...
The dashboard for our website lists our most popular articles for the day, month, year and all-time. It's fun to see that some older articles have real staying power. That's the beauty of good science and good history—it doesn't become outdated quickly. Here are four articles that continue to be...
The recent furor around 'privatizing' the last kilometers of famous mountain stages in the Tour de France, and charging admission, has died down a bit. For now, those ideas have been dismissed by Tour organizers... In all those discussions of how free viewing is an essential part of the Tour...
During much of my 20s, I raced mountain bikes, before taking almost a decade off to focus on my bike shop, Nicollet Bike and Ski in Mankato, Minnesota. I returned to racing at the top level in 2023, now mostly on gravel, but with plenty of mountain biking in the...
Gifting is about giving and receiving joy. Ideally, both giver and recipient are equally excited about the gift. That's where it can get tricky for us cyclists—how do we explain to our family and friends that bike parts make ideal gifts? Here's a slightly tongue-in-check guide on how to make...
Most of us have been there: During the cycling season, we head out for rides and adventures whenever we can, and maintenance is reduced to checking that there's enough air in the tires, and maybe a quick glance at the brake pads... And then we suddenly realize that we haven't...
We’ve extended the deadline to pre-order the Rene Herse canti brakes at the old price, until Sunday (11/30/2025). It’s our way of saying ‘Thanks’ to all who help us keep rim brakes alive and well. After that, the price will go up 10%. The last production run was a few years...
Together with our friends at bikepacking.com, we invite everybody to slip away for a quiet night under the stars sometime between the winter solstice and the new year (December 19–31). That's the idea of the Good Night 2025 Campout: As the year winds down, riders everywhere will pedal out for...
Wide tires on performance bikes. A new understanding of front-end geometry. A different view of frame stiffness. Of course, we didn't do it all alone... And yet, when we started researching these topics, they weren't on anybody's radar. It may comes as a surprise that we didn't set out to...
Our long-awaited shipments have (finally) arrived. The ship actually arrived almost three weeks ago... With all the new tariffs, the custom's people are overworked, and it can take weeks to inspect and clear a shipment. Here is what's back in stock: Fenders If you've been anywhere near the West...
The crowdfunding for the Rene Herse canti brakes has been a resounding success. Over the weekend, we blew through the 75 pre-orders that made another forging run for these brakes possible. A big 'Thank You!' to all of you who stepped up to the plate! In this day...
The new Bicycle Quarterly has come off the press. Copies are in the mail to subscribers all over the world. And we've got the new edition in stock at Rene Herse Cycles, too. If you're BQ-curious, you can just add a copy to your order of components, books or other...
A few weeks ago, Ted King rode across the entire state of Vermont on the epic VTXL bikepacking route, a non-stop ride of 301 miles (484 km). The route takes in many 'Class IV' dirt roads, a local designation that, as route creator Joe Cruz describes, "indicates a public right...
Update: The crowdfunding was successful. Thank you! The brakes are now in production. They will be delivered in March 2026. As a company, we don't like asking our customers for favors. We hope you'll buy our products (and read Bicycle Quarterly) because they make your cycling experience better and more fun—and...
As much as I love my carbon gravel and road bikes, it's the steel rando bike that gets ridden the most these days. The reason is simple: Here is Seattle, it gets dark early, and the weather is unpredictable. Having a bike that I can just roll out of the...
When Velo-News recently talked about '7 Road Bike Trends We Expect in 2026,' TPU tubes were on their list: "You’re going to swap your tubeless setup for a TPU tube," predicted tech editor Alvin Holbrook. He continued: "Why would someone want to swap...
The Autumn Bicycle Quarterly is coming off the press this week. And in case you wondered based on the photo above: We aren't going to publish the first bike magazine with a cover that doesn't show a cyclist at all! Here's the full cover: This is one of my favorite covers...
The European Tire and Rim Technical Organization (ETRTO) usually works behind the scenes. If you look at the the sidewalls of a car tire, you see a bunch of numbers like P185/70R14. Those are the ETRTO specs of the tire, and they guarantee that you can buy a tire almost...
Tire manufacture is a bit of a black art. Rubber for the tread is mixed and rolled out in huge sheets like making pies in a giant bakery. The casing fabric is impregnated with a different kind of rubber. Then everything gets assembled by hand, together with puncture-proof layers (on...
We've been waiting for a few big shipments that will fill holes on our shelves. One of them just arrived; the others are scheduled in early November. We're taking pre-orders now, so you'll be among the first to get your long-awaited parts. Why were so many parts out of stock? Rando,...
Good news: Sofiane Sehili, the world-famous ultra-distance cyclist, will be released from Russian prison shortly. Here is the update from his partner Fanny Bensussan: “Sofiane’s court hearing was today. Our Russian lawyer did remarkable work to get a decision as quickly as possible—and a positive decision, too! We kept all this...
The wait is over! All casings of the new Poteau Mountain semi-slicks are in stock. That means you can get our revolutionary semi-slick tread, with its round profile and gradual transition from slick center to side knobs, in the two most popular widths—44 and 48 mm—with a choice of casings...
Late one afternoon last month, as I threw a leg over my bike and pushed off, I looked up at the sky—the clouds were the color of cold metal. I could feel the wind picking up as I started the short ride from my home in Boulder, Colorado, to Treehouse...
Ever since waxing chains has become popular again, some proponents say that everybody should wax their chains, all the time. They usually point to the (marginally) lower resistance of a waxed chain compared to lube. Yet others prefer to wet-lube their chains, as they've done for decades. Their reasoning is...
And they are off! As we post this, the riders of this year's Arkansas High Country Race are on the road. Headed by well-known racers like Tour Divide winner Justinas Leveika, Matt Pike, Nick Elliott, Andy Zolyak and Bryan Dougherty, they are racing not just for the win, but also...
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