Happy Holidays!
All of us at Rene Herse Cycles wish you Happy Holidays! We are grateful for your support this year, and we look forward to being part of your rides and adventures in 2025! Natsuko, Jan & the Rene Herse team
Brennan’s and Adrien’s Tires
Jan Heine2026-01-02T23:05:51-08:00When we work with the world's fastest racers, our main goal is not marketing, but R&D. These riders test our tires to the max, in the real world, under conditions that are impossible to replicate. An essential part of this testing is examining the tires they've raced on, so we...
SON Hubs and Lights Restock
Jan Heine2024-12-21T16:45:35-08:00This is just a quick note that we've received our latest shipment from Schmidt in Germany. We've got the famous SON generator hubs in stock again. If you're looking for the fastest and most reliable generator hub to power your adventures, look no further. We also carry the excellent Edelux...
Introducing the Cyclotouring Handlebar Bag
Jan Heine2024-12-19T03:30:25-08:00When Rene Herse couldn't find the bags he wanted for his bikes, he began offering his own, way back in the mid-1940s. As far as we know, he pioneered the forward-opening flap that allows accessing the bag's contents while riding. Building on those 80 years of experience, as well as...
TPU Tubes and MKS Pedals are here
Jan Heine2024-12-18T01:58:26-08:00Two shipments came in this week. From Japan, we received MKS pedals. I'll never forget visiting the MKS factory during my first visit to Japan, years ago. After seeing huge machines forge all kinds of specialized parts for the automotive industry, we entered a small room where the top-end pedals...
Why I Bought a Rene Herse
Mark VK2025-01-31T22:33:05-08:00The last time I bought a new bicycle was 17 years ago. Long-time readers of Bicycle Quarterly might be familiar with my 'Six Hands' bike that served as the control/reference for numerous bike tests and has carried me over tens of thousands of miles through many unforgettable adventures. I didn’t...
Gift Cards are Back
Jan Heine2024-12-16T09:44:21-08:00if you—or somebody who is looking for a gift for you—can’t decide on the perfect present, a Rene Herse gift card is probably the most versatile gift you can give somebody who reads this Journal. They are available from $25 to $200. They are good for anything we offer: tires, components,...
How to Set Up a Generator Hub
Jan Heine2024-12-13T09:26:03-08:00We get a lot of questions on how to run a generator lighting system. Compared to a self-contained battery-powered light, it can seem complex. Why are there so many different parts? They are mostly for special installations, and you don't need them for a basic setup. In fact, the simplest...
Get your BQ for the holidays
Jan Heine2024-12-08T22:07:54-08:00The Winter Bicycle Quarterly is now arriving at our subscribers, just in time for reading over the holidays. It'll be an opportunity to turn off their screens, make a cup of tea, and immerse themselves into long-form stories of rides, adventures, shop visits, product tests and history. We'd like to...
Making the Bicycle Pop-Up Book
Jan Heine2024-12-06T09:02:43-08:00Bicycles are fun first and foremost. Sure, we use them for transportation and fitness, but the main reason we ride, race, work on our bikes, discuss technical details and generally nerd out about bikes is simple: Bikes are fun! When we saw Dominique Ehrhard's delightful pop-up book at a local...
TPU Tubes in Stock; Winter Projects
Jan Heine2024-12-03T08:09:19-08:00We got another shipment of TPU tubes from Germany. Demand has outstripped our ability to make these tubes all year. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that so many cyclists share our enthusiasm for these TPU tubes. They are superlight, pack super-small, roll faster than butyl tubes or tubeless setups, and...
Back Story of RH Mudflaps
Jan Heine2024-11-30T01:08:41-08:00When we wrote that our Universal Mudflaps were the result of two years of R&D, some people found that hard to believe. Of course, we didn't work full-time for 4,000 hours on these mudflaps... but it really did take two years from the first discussion with Ass Savers, who make...
Wide and Deep Handlebar Bags
Jan Heine2024-11-27T07:35:45-08:00We love handlebar bags! Putting the weight up front means it's easier to balance, especially when you're riding out of the saddle. (None of that tail-wagging-the-dog feel that you get with rear bags.) Food, clothes, camera—the contents of a handlebar bag is easy to reach, either while you're riding or...
Winter 2024 Bicycle Quarterly
Jan Heine2024-11-22T12:08:24-08:00A new Bicycle Quarterly is going to the printer. That's always a big deal around here. The Winter 2024 edition is our 87th. How does a magazine remain relevant and successful for so long? I think part of the secret is that we've shaped trends rather than just reported on...
Bicycles Pop-Up Book
Jan Heine2024-11-22T08:23:41-08:00Here at Rene Herse, we strongly believe that bicycle books should be fun. Few cycling books in recent times have been more fun than this bicycle pop-up book. What a brilliant idea: Chart the history of bicycles in nine meticulously crafted pop-up scenes. Starting with the Baron von Drais on...
Jimmy Ashby Wins 2024 Tassie Gift
Jan Heine2024-11-20T16:17:07-08:00As the cycling season draws to a close in most of the northern hemisphere, it's starting 'Down Under' in Australia. Over the last couple of weeks, the 2024 Tassie Gift took 33 intrepid bikepackers to Tasmania. The Tassie Gift was a relentless 1,800 km race along roads, trails and goat...
Berthoud Bags 25% Off
Jan Heine2024-11-17T22:15:26-08:00We recently found two 'Rene Herse Special' GB 22 bags in our warehouse. What makes them 'special' is that they don't have side pockets, which provides more room for your hands on the bars and improves aerodynamics. Of course, there are still plenty of pockets to keep your things organized:...
TPU Tubes, Saddles and a New Tire
Jan Heine2024-11-14T08:24:17-08:00It's been a busy week here at Rene Herse Cycles. Which is just as well, since the rains have started with a vengeance here in the Pacific Northwest... Time to focus on organizing all the shipments that have come in, on new builds and overhauling existing bikes, and on spending...
Marie-Pierre on the Silk Road Mountain Race
Marie-Pierre Savard2024-11-12T10:33:02-08:00Editor's Note: It often surprises (and delights) us when we find out what our customers do with our tires. The Silk Road Mountain Race in Kyrgyzstan is widely considered the toughest race in the world. We all know that Sofiane Sehili has won the Silk Road three years in a...
Farewell to the Mountains (2010)
Jan Heine2024-11-06T07:19:40-08:00Ideally, I'd head to the mountains for a few days of riding, out of cell range and unplugged from the news that don't have anything new to report at this stage any longer. However, winter has already come to the Cascade Mountains, and I've got the next Bicycle Quarterly...
TPU Tube Pre-Order
Jan Heine2024-10-27T23:09:01-07:00The response to our TPU tubes has been extraordinary. Production has not been able to keep up with demand. A significant portion of orders are from repeat customers, who are outfitting additional bikes with TPU tubes. Why do they love these new tubes so much? There are many reasons. Light weight...
$ 5,538 Raised for Helene Rebuilding!
Jan Heine2024-10-27T09:36:55-07:00Thank you to all who signed up for Bicycle Quarterly, gifted a subscription, or bought past editions. So many of you stepped up, and the result is $ 5,538. That's huge! Beyond the financial contribution, it's truly inspiring that so many people care. Thank you to all of you! 100% of...
Deadline Extended: Hurricane Helene—Let’s Help Together!
Hailey Moore2024-10-27T09:41:34-07:00Editor's note: Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage to Asheville and surrounding communities in western North Carolina in late September. More recent events have displaced the aftermath of this devastating storm in the news, but the rebuilding is only beginning. Buildings and roads are destroyed, more than 5,000 North Carolinians are...
Finding the Top of Bessemer Road
Jan Heine2024-10-16T18:02:59-07:00Some climbs are appealing simply because they are out there. One of the most famous is the road to L'Alpe d'Huez. It climbs 1,118 m over just 13.9 km. That works out to an average gradient of 8%. The steepest sections are 15%. Simply climbing the Alpe was a great...
Fender Installation and Parts
Jan Heine2024-10-08T08:09:31-07:00A long time ago, the leading American bike magazine called us 'Fender Snobs.' Perhaps that was the inevitable result of our belief that 'Everything Matters.' Nobody has ever been called a 'Derailleur Snob.' Yet we don't shift all that often during our long winter base miles, but the spray from our...
TPU Tube Re-Stock
Jan Heine2024-10-06T23:24:00-07:00Our latest batch of TPU tubes has arrived. Every tube size and valve type is in stock now, but some quantities are already running low: Most of the tubes were pre-ordered. We also got the patch kits back in stock... There are quite a few TPU tubes on the market. What...
Heading to UCI Gravel Worlds
Jan Heine2024-10-02T22:40:32-07:00Next weekend are the third-ever UCI Gravel World Championships. That's a big deal—it doesn't get bigger than that. You can say that gravel has really arrived and carved out its place in the bike world, not just in North America, but world-wide. We're especially excited that four of the elite/professional racers...
Forged Light Mount and SON Restock
Jan Heine2024-10-01T07:17:27-07:00It probably doesn't make sense to get a minimalist taillight like the Busch & Müller μ (pronounced 'Mu' for 'Micro') and mount it with a big bracket that weighs more than the light itself. Konstantin Drust, the framebuilder from Berlin, Germany, felt the same way, and so he created an...
Specs of the Unbound XL Rene Herse
Jan Heine2024-09-23T00:28:49-07:00After we published the story about a steel bike for Unbound XL lighter than most carbon bikes that line up for this gravel ultra race, a number of you asked about detailed specs of the bike. That makes a lot of sense: Almost everything (except the bottom...
A Steel Bike Lighter than Carbon!
Jan Heine2025-06-23T08:39:09-07:00Light weight isn't everything, but a lighter bike is faster and more fun. There is the simple physics of climbing—less weight means more speed. More important, to me at least, is the feel of the bike when I rock it from side to side as I climb or sprint out...
The Rene Herse Pass Tour
Jan Heine2024-09-16T23:36:55-07:00Realizing that Rene Herse tires are named after real passes, ridges, and climbs—places that one can go ride—Henley Phillips schemed a route that linked together as many passes as he could squeeze into a short bikepacking trip. He wrote up his adventure for bikepacking.com, complete with beautiful photos of mid-summer riding...
Riding with Dustin
Jan Heine2024-09-13T07:19:46-07:00Natsuko and I met Dustin at a café in the neighborhood. We talked about bikes and book projects. We had recently published The All-Road Bike Revolution, and Dustin was working on his first book, Blood and Lightning (link below), about becoming a tattoo artist. As we talked, he told us...
Brennan Wins Gravel Nationals
Jan Heine2024-09-09T08:13:06-07:00After a hard-fought race against America's fastest and most experienced racers, Brennan Wertz won the 2024 USA Cycling Gravel National Championships. John Borstelmann was second, Colby Simmons third. Defending champion and general favorite Keegan Swenson finished sixth, while Inno Zavyalov was tenth. Brennan and Inno were on Rene Herse tires....
Brennan’s Bike from Gravel Nationals
Jan Heine2024-09-09T08:24:35-07:00In a field of mass-produced carbon bikes, it's refreshing to see a national championship won on a custom-built metal frame. Brennan's Mosaic GT-1 iAR is the latest all-road offering from the Colorado maker. With an Enve Gravel fork and Mosaic's All-Road chainstays, Brennan's bike juuuust clears the 44 mm-wide Snoqualmie...
Why Women Want to Race Against Women
Jan Heine2024-09-07T13:08:40-07:00One reason behind the popularity of gravel racing is that it treats female riders as equals to men. That is a big break from traditional racing that used to focus on men first and foremost—women were either completely ignored or treated as an afterthought. Throughout history, a few women have tried to...
26″ Tires & Bags on Sale; TPU Tube Pre-Order
Jan Heine2024-09-07T13:10:49-07:00Before we go into our sale, just a quick note that another shipment of TPU tubes is on the way. There isn't much we can say about the tubes that hasn't been said, so I'll quote a friend and customer instead. He's definitely not a racer, but uses his bike...
Back in Stock: Chain Covers, Bags and more
Jan Heine2024-08-27T22:58:11-07:00We just received another shipment from Ostrich in Japan. Included are the chain covers—essential protection when you travel with your bike. The Chain Cover keeps your chain away from luggage and clothing during travel or bike storage. The Chain Cover attaches with Velcro and fits virtually any bike. Made from...
Innovation at MADE: Carbon Fenders and Titanium Forks
Jan Heine2024-08-27T09:41:47-07:00Last weekend, the MADE Show in Portland celebrated the art of framebuilding, as the show's official motto put it. Of course, the exhibitors brought much more than just beautifully crafted and gorgeously painted frames. There was some real innovation, as well as other news that didn't make it into the...
Inno Runner-Up at Gravel Worlds on Extralights
Jan Heine2024-08-26T08:37:38-07:00Congratulations to Inno Zavyalov for a stunning 2nd place at Gravel Worlds in a star-studded field, riding on Rene Herse 700C x 44 Snoqualmie Pass Extralight tires. Here is his report: Gravel Worlds 150Lincoln, Nebraska 5:55 am start High index 105 Wow. I’m still processing exactly what happened yesterday. I’ll be fully transparent and say...
Nivex T-Shirt Re-Stock
Jan Heine2024-08-24T21:38:50-07:00Long sold out, we now got a small number of Nivex T-Shirts back in stock, with Manga-inspired artwork by Franck Stephan. Only a few in each size…
Racing and Touring: Why-Not-Chee
Jan Heine2025-05-10T18:21:32-07:00Summer in the Pacific Northwest is a glorious time, when the days are long, the sky is blue, and the mountains are calling. We answer that call as often as we can, creating memories that tide us over the long and rainy winters, when the high passes are covered under...
FMB Tubulars are here!
Jan Heine2024-08-16T17:11:11-07:00FMB tubulars are made to order in a small shop in Plurien, France. Our latest order has arrived. If you've pre-ordered tubulars, they'll be shipped shortly. We also have some more 'cross and road tubs in stock. Get them while they last! More information: FMB tubulars in the Rene...
Road.cc Recommended: Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge
Jan Heine2024-08-12T08:19:52-07:00It's natural to wonder whether what we say about our Rene Herse dual-purpose knobbies is just marketing. We've all heard the word 'revolutionary' bandied about too many times. Who really believes it when a company says that they've created something completely new, something that eclipses everything that came before? "Come...
TPU Tubes Have Arrived
Jan Heine2024-08-08T17:53:19-07:00This is just a short note that our TPU tubes arrived. If you pre-ordered tubes, your order is being shipped first. For those customers who've been waiting for the tubes to actually be in stock, I really hate to say: "Get yours while supplies last." But that's the current situation...
The Science behind Ultra-Wide Rims
Jan Heine2026-01-16T04:39:15-08:00When we started riding wide, supple tires more than a decade ago, we wondered about rim width. Do extra-wide tires need extra-wide rims? Figuring this out was part of our research into tire and bicycle performance. Last week, Zipp introduced their new 303 XPLR gravel wheels. Their main selling point are...
Pre-Order 700C TPU Tubes and Rinko Headset Wrenches
Jan Heine2024-08-04T00:23:31-07:00We've been working hard to get more of our customers' favorite products in stock. Our TPU tubes have been incredibly popular. Perhaps that shouldn't surprise us—superior strength, ultra-light weight, ultra-low rolling resistance and leak-free all-metal valves are convincing arguments in their favor—but we've just not been able to produce them...
Introducing Rene Herse Headsets
Jan Heine2024-07-31T23:16:16-07:00Headsets are among those bike parts that you don't think about much—until you have to, because they aren't working as they should. Fortunately, the headsets on modern carbon bikes rarely intrude into the cycling experience—massive, tapered steerers spread the load over much bigger bearings than in the past. For steel bikes,...
SON Restock and New Products
Jan Heine2024-07-31T08:25:18-07:00More and more bikepackers and adventurers are adopting generator hubs. Having lights whenever you need them, at the flick of a switch, without worrying about battery charge, is liberating when you want to focusing on the road, trail and scenery. SON hubs, with their precision manufacture and unique pressure compensation...
Bike Gear Database Interviews Jan
Jan Heine2024-07-29T22:41:56-07:00Interviews are always interesting, because many questions are unexpected, and impromptu answers often chart new territory. That was definitely the case when Bike Gear Database talked to Jan recently. Among the questions: What is the vision for Rene Herse Cycles? Why did Jan continue a company with a rich tradition rather than...
Introducing Supple Sealant
Jan Heine2024-07-27T18:58:02-07:00At Rene Herse Cycles, we've been running some of our bikes tubeless for more than a decade. Back then, neither rims nor tires were tubeless-ready yet, so there was much improvisation. On rough terrain, the tires tended to burp, and there were other issues, too. It was all part of...
Jan’s OPEN MIN.D.
Jan Heine2024-07-23T09:02:35-07:00These days, Rene Herse Cycles is often associated with gravel and bikepacking, so it may come as a surprise that my love of cycling started on the road. Growing up in Germany, my family lived at the edge of a small village on a popular training route. Seeing groups of...
To Humptulips Ridge and Back
Jan Heine2024-07-17T22:27:15-07:00Four years ago, I first attempted to reach Humptulips Ridge. It was the first year of the pandemic. There were no races, and group rides were frowned upon. Vaccines were not yet available, and nobody knew yet what was safe and what wasn't. But I yearned for big adventures. I...
Berthoud Re-Stock and Tech Trials Bags
Jan Heine2024-07-10T20:53:25-07:00We just received a new shipment from Berthoud in France. Included are Ted King's favorite mirrors in silver and black. Machined from aluminum, these mirrors plug into the end of your (drop) handlebars. They are small and unobtrusive, yet they give you a good view of what's approaching from behind. We...
Cyclotouring in the Cascade Foothills: Lake Joy Loop
Natsuko2024-07-08T22:44:25-07:00Summer has finally come to Seattle. After finishing some work in the morning, followed by a short brunch, we drive to Duvall, a short 45 minutes by car from Seattle. Today we'll head into the Cascade foothills on some favorite roads and trails. The weather forecast is for sunny skies, and...
Cyclocross Tubular Tire Pre-Order
Jan Heine2024-07-06T22:06:05-07:00It feels like summer has just begun in Seattle, and yet cyclocross season is just two months away. 'Cross is huge fun and riding multiple laps on a slippery course is a great way to hone bike handling skills. If I take a corner too fast, I'll scrub off most...
TPU Tubes Have Arrived
Jan Heine2024-07-06T22:01:05-07:00Our shipment arrived earlier than expected (yes, that can happen!), so the TPU tubes are now in stock. If you've pre-ordered your tubes, yours will be shipped first. Stocks of some models are already low, but all sizes are still available—for now. Production of Rene Herse TPU tubes is running...
TPU Tube Pre-Order
Jan Heine2024-07-02T22:35:30-07:00We want to apologize to our customers who have been trying to order our TPU tubes: We didn't anticipate this much demand. By the time many customers saw our newsletter announcing the last re-stock, the most popular sizes were already sold out. We understand your frustration. It wasn't intended that...
Big Wins at Robidoux Rendezvous
Jan Heine2024-07-02T08:39:36-07:00The Robidoux Rendezvous may be a new race, but very generous prize money brought some of the best gravel racers to Gering, Nebraska, last weekend. The result was an action-packed race. We're proud to report that both the men's and women's winners rode on Rene Herse tires. Here's the report from...
OPEN × Rene Herse MIN.D. Road Bike
Jan Heine2024-07-16T07:28:32-07:00For years, I used to think that road bikes were relics from the past, when we thought that pencil-thin, rock-hard tires were a prerequisite for speed. Then Gerard Vroomen and Andy Kessler sent us the appropriately named OPEN MIN.D.—their road bike for tires up to 32 mm wide. And we...
Winning UCI Gravel on a Steel Frame
Jan Heine2024-06-23T11:04:47-07:00You don't expect steel bikes to be ridden to the top steps of the podium in international races any longer these days, but that's exactly what happened last weekend when the UCI Gravel World Series came to Collingwood in Ontario (Canada). Blue Mountain Gravel was the last opportunity in North...
Ted’s Video from Bon Jon Pass Out
Jan Heine2024-06-21T22:28:17-07:00After racing (and winning) the Bon Jon Pass Out race last weekend, Ted King made a video for his 'King of the Ride' series. In seven minutes, he sums up the experience of gravel racing in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Click on the arrow below to watch him...
Ted King’s Impressions from Bon Jon Pass
Ted King2024-06-18T09:12:56-07:00Ed.: We invited Ted King to the Bon Jon Pass Out gravel race to show him a part of the local gravel racing scene in the Pacific Northwest. Despite the weather—showers and even sleet all day—a lot of fun was had by all. Here are Ted's impressions from the race,...
Summer 2024 Bicycle Quarterly
Jan Heine2024-06-14T11:00:39-07:00The Summer 2024 Bicycle Quarterly is at the printer. With every edition, we bring you a variety of fascinating articles by some of the best authors in cycling. Stories you won't find anywhere else, with award-winning photos that come to life on the printed page in a way monitors simply...
TPU Tubes Back in Stock
Jan Heine2024-06-13T08:03:32-07:00A new shipment of TPU tubes has arrived in Seattle. The new tubes have been so popular that each of the first production runs sold out in less than a day. The tubes are made in small batches. We rigorously check each tube for quality. That's why those batches aren't...
8 Take-Aways from Unbound 2024
Jan Heine2024-06-11T19:54:53-07:00Unbound, the gravel race across the Flint Hills of Kansas, keeps getting bigger with every year—in every way. This year, more than 5,000 riders lined up in various categories to test their stamina, skill and speed. I don't know whether Unbound is the world's biggest gravel race, but it certainly...
Charity Drive: Thank You!
Jan Heine2024-06-11T07:48:10-07:00Thank you to all our readers and customers who've made our charity drive a success. We were able to round up a bit—also to take into account subscriptions that came in after the deadline—and donate $ 2000 to Doctors Without Borders. Thank you to everybody! If you missed the
Bicycle Quarterly Charity Drive
Jan Heine2024-06-08T21:43:06-07:00Update: Thanks to the great response to the charity drive, we've extended it by a day. It also covers renewals to Bicycle Quarterly subscriptions. Cycling is a wonderful part of our lives, and it's fun to talk about fascinating bike tech and inspiring adventures. At the same time, as cyclists, we...
Unbound XL: People, Bikes, Landscapes
Jan Heine2024-06-04T07:36:30-07:00Why do people ride 355 miles on hilly gravel roads? On the face of it, Unbound XL seems a little crazy. Perhaps something you suffer through so you can tell the tale afterward? Actually, quite to the contrary, it can be hugely enjoyable, because it combines endorphins, beautiful landscapes and...
Unbound XL: Packing List and Tracker
Jan Heine2024-05-30T20:46:25-07:00What do you pack for a 350-mile gravel race into the Flint Hills of Kansas? There are two philosophies: Pack light and buy what you need on the road. That's the classic bikepacking strategy. For races that last a week or longer, you simply have to resupply on the road. Bring most...
Tire Pressure for Unbound
Jan Heine2024-05-30T06:00:08-07:00Yesterday's post about my Unbound XL bike mentioned tire pressure: 21 psi (1.5 bar). That is very low. In fact, it's about 20% less than the 'soft' value from the Rene Herse tire pressure calculator. Should we all run our tires that low? Not necessarily—what works for...
Unbound XL: Jan’s Bike
Jan Heine2024-05-30T15:46:28-07:00The Flint Hills are totally different from the Cascade Mountains where I usually ride, but equally fascinating. Flying here yesterday, Kansas seemed flat, but the Flint Hills are anything but. The climbs are shorter, but relentless. The rocks are chunky and can be sharp. The climate is hotter, especially at...
Wired Mag: Your Bike Tires Are Too Skinny.
Jan Heine2024-05-25T21:33:30-07:00Today, Wired magazine published an article titled: "Your Bike Tires Are Too Skinny. Riding on Fat, Supple Tires Is Just Better." It's not like we don't know this already—after all, Tadej Pogačar is currently dominating the Giro d'Italia on 28 mm tires. Rubber that wide was considered appropriate only for...
Adrien Liechti: My Bike after Accursed
Adrien Liechti2024-05-22T10:38:28-07:00The Accursed. A 1,600 km bikepacking race with 32,000 m of elevation gain through the wilds of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. This year was the first edition, and Adrien Liechti traded the lead with Alexander Kopp for much of the race. In the end, Alexander eked out...
SON and Dumonde Restock
Jan Heine2024-05-22T08:48:27-07:00Just in time for bikepacking season (and for the long brevets), we received a restock of the wonderful generator hubs and lights from Schmidt in Germany. It's no exaggeration to say that these hubs and lights have changed the way we ride. Having lights available anytime, at the flip of...
See you at the Races?
Jan Heine2024-05-20T23:32:38-07:00Summer is finally arriving in Seattle, and the rides and adventures that we've been dreaming of all winter are approaching. It's an exciting time, full of training, preparation and anticipation. This year, my calendar is organized around a few big races. I love that these races are fixed dates on...
Introducing Rene Herse Handlebar Roll Bags
Jan Heine2024-06-02T21:59:43-07:00The days when all we needed on a ride was a spare tube that fit into a tiny underseat bag are in the distant past. Today's rides are longer and venture further off the beaten path. That means carrying several tubes—just in case—plus some food and a rainshell. We need...
Unbound Tire Guide from Ted and Brennan
Jan Heine2024-05-11T08:36:14-07:00The courses for Unbound Gravel 2024, the famous race across the Flint Hills of Kansas, were announced today. This year, the race heads north from Emporia, where the gravel is rougher and the hills are steeper and longer than in the south. We've asked two of the pro racers who...
85th Anniversary Tires Are Here!
Jan Heine2024-05-06T08:23:02-07:00To celebrate 85 years of Rene Herse Cycles, we're offering some of our most popular models as Limited Editions with all-black Endurance casings. Because some bikes, like the 'Super Fern' from our friends in Berlin, Germany, simply look better with black tires. We've just received a big tire shipment that...
Pogačar uses RH Tire Pressure Calculator?
Jan Heine2024-05-02T09:31:45-07:00Tadej Pogačar is the undisputed star of pro cycling this year. After winning the Volta a Catalunya, Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in dominant fashion, he's the favorite for the Giro d'Italia that starts on Saturday. That may not come as a surprise if you are following pro cycling: Pogačar has...
Jenna and Brennan Win in AR; Head to UCI Worlds
Jan Heine2024-04-28T22:42:52-07:00On Saturday, Jenna Rinehart and Brennan Wertz won Elite women's and men's categories at the UCI Highlands Gravel Classic in Arkansas, which guarantees each a spot at the UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium. It was an exciting race over 68 miles (109 km) with more than 7,000 ft (2,100...
TPU Tubes Are Back in Stock
Jan Heine2024-04-28T08:26:11-07:00Rene Herse TPU tubes are back in stock. The first production run sold out in less than 24 hours. We have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, we are happy that so many customers share our excitement about the new TPU tubes. On the other hand, we consider our...
New Lights and Other Parts
Jan Heine2024-04-25T08:38:11-07:00We're excited to announce a few new products in the Rene Herse program. For a while now, we've been working with Schmidt in Germany, the makers of SON generator hubs and Edelux headlights, to make a taillight that mounts in various places on a bike. The result is this taillight...
Happy Earth Day!
Jan Heine2024-04-22T13:42:31-07:00More than half a century after the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, there has been much progress, and yet the world we live and ride in faces more challenges than ever before. At Rene Herse Cycles, we shy away from meaningless promises of becoming carbon-neutral at some point...
Brennan Wins Sea Otter Gravel!
Jan Heine2024-12-22T14:47:04-08:00...and achieves P2 in the road race! A huge congratulations to our friend Brennan Wertz for two amazing races at the Sea Otter Classic. The big festival of bikes in Monterey, California, started with the 68-mile road race. Brennan raced his custom Mosaic RT-1 titanium bike, shod with tubeless Rene...
Paris-Roubaix: One Bike for Everything?
Jan Heine2024-04-20T17:20:56-07:00This year's Paris-Roubaix was a gripping race. With 60 km to go, Mathieu van der Poel launched a crushing solo attack and won the race at the fastest-ever speed, averaging 47.8 km/h. (That's almost 30 mph!) It was bike racing at its best. Van der Poel was one of the...
Introducing the Ultralight Handlebar Bag
Jan Heine2024-04-16T09:39:50-07:00To celebrate 85 years of Rene Herse Cycles, we're introducing a new line of Rene Herse bags. The first model is the Ultralight Handlebar Bag, a minimalist bag that's designed for long and challenging adventures. In recent months, eagle-eyed readers have spotted a new bag on my bikes—those were actually...
TPU Tubes are here!
Jan Heine2024-04-12T08:43:49-07:00The new Rene Herse TPU tubes are here. It's still surprising to me how tiny and light these inner tubes are. There is much to like about them: Lighter than butyl and latex tubes. Lighter than tubeless sealant. Faster than butyl tubes or tubeless. As fast as latex tubes. Better puncture- and pinch flat-resistance than...
Handlebar Restock and New Travel Parts
Jan Heine2024-04-06T08:15:06-07:00The same boat that brought the first of our 85th Anniversary Limited Edition tires also carried long-awaited shipments from Nitto, Honjo and Ostrich. Many customers have been patiently waiting for our handlebars, which had been out of stock due to high demand. As more riders embark on...
Limited Edition: Black Endurance Tires
Jan Heine2024-04-04T08:30:43-07:00This year, we are celebrating 85 years of Rene Herse Cycles. In late 1938, René Herse built the world's lightest bikepacking bike and entered it in the prestigious Concours de Machines, the competition for the best bicycle, to showcase the innovative components he had developed. Drawing on his experience of...
Analog Simplicity: Rene Herse Floating Chain
Jan Heine2024-04-03T21:57:19-07:00Seattle, April 1, 2024: Now that the Nivex derailleurs have been in production for a while, Rene Herse is taking analog shifting to the next level with the Floating Chain. This system is lighter, has less resistance and costs far less than all derailleur systems available today. Jan Heine, head of...
Rene Herse Introduces TPU Tubes
Jan Heine2024-03-27T23:11:35-07:00We're beyond excited to introduce the new Rene Herse TPU tubes. They take the performance of our tires to the next level. Why tubes? Tubeless is great for many applications—anytime you ride on debris-strewn highways, where the sealant will seal small punctures from glass and steel wires. Or during gravel races,...
Global Cycling Network: 35 mm as fast as 26
Jan Heine2024-03-23T09:21:51-07:00Global Cycling Network (GCN) has been following Bicycle Quarterly and Rene Herse for a long time. Recently, they covered our Nivex derailleur in their Hot Tech review. Back in 2018, they talked about a "brand-new idea": suspension losses due to vibrations of rider and bike. And they credited Bicycle Quarterly...
Mid South Gravel: Podiums on Rene Herse
Jan Heine2025-08-04T13:36:43-07:00Mid South has been called the opening weekend of gravel: It marks the real start of the season's big races. And for good reason: The team in Stillwater puts on a festival like no other, and the red dirt of Oklahoma makes for great racing. Rene Herse has a long...
Tubeless 700×31 Orondos back in stock
Jan Heine2024-03-18T16:41:17-07:00The reception of our new road tubeless Orondo Grade tires has been overwhelming. Riders love the speed, grip and road feel that Rene Herse tires are famous for, in a tubeless-ready tire for road bikes. In fact, demand has been so overwhelming that our first production run sold out quickly....
34-Tooth One-By Cranks
Jan Heine2024-03-14T22:59:10-07:00One-by cranks are great when the going gets rough: There's always another gear just a click away, and modern cassettes have a range that gets you up (and down) the steepest hills. They work great with 11- or 12-speed drivetrains: Few riders need 22 or even 24 gears. Many of...
Valley of Tears: 3 of top 5 on Rene Herse
Jan Heine2024-03-11T16:32:43-07:00Valley of Tears is a new gravel race, and the stars of gravel racing lined up last weekend in Turkey, Texas, as a prelude to next weekend's Mid South. Ted King described the 115-mile (185 km) course: "The Texas panhandle is true Wild West, and the sand presented quite the...
Francesca Selva: Racing in Europe
Natsuko2024-06-20T08:24:33-07:00Francesca (Fra) Selva has been racing on Rene Herse tires for years, on road and track. Her feedback is part of our R&D. Her spirit and the joy she gets from cycling inspire us all. We recently caught up with Fra as she prepares the 2024 season. RH: Our readers...
UAE Tour and Tubeless: What is Safe?
Jan Heine2024-03-15T21:05:06-07:00If you are following bike racing and/or tech, you will have heard of Thomas De Gendt's mysterious crash during Stage 5 of the UAE Tour in Abu Dhabi. Video footage shows the front wheel of the Belgian breakaway specialist jerking to the right before he falls. After the crash, De Gendt's...
Why Rene Herse tires score best in real-road tests
Jan Heine2024-03-08T08:42:00-08:00An acquaintance once remarked: "Isn't it funny that Rene Herse tires always score best in your tests?" There was a twinkle in their eye, and their voice made clear that this was a gentle ribbing and not an accusation, but it got me thinking... It's easy to suspect foul play...
Brennan Wertz Wins Huffmaster Hopper
Jan Heine2024-02-29T09:03:23-08:00The 2024 gravel racing has started with exciting racing in California's Grasshopper Adventure Series. Last weekend, the second event of the series, the 88.8-mile (142.9 km) Huffmaster Hopper saw an all-star field. There was the long-standing, but friendly, rivalry between local favorites Brennan Wertz and Peter Stetina. Lachlan Morton and...
