Customer Suggestions: Black Extralight Tires
It’s been a year since we’ve revamped our customer service. The main objective was to make it easier for you to contact us with questions about your orders, how to set up your Rene Herse parts, warranty requests, etc. At the same time, we’ve also added a ‘Suggestions’ form to our website. We want to hear from you!
The suggestions have made for interesting reading. Our customers have great ideas! The most common by far has been: “Please bring back the black 650B x 48 Switchback Hill tires.” This was followed by requests for more black tires in general.
One of those requesters was our friend Flo from Fern in Berlin, who makes some of the world’s most beautiful custom bikes. And as much as we love our tanwalls, Flo’s bikes are often designed around black tires. The bike you see here is a great example. By focusing on just two colors, blue and black, Flo (and Tine, who made the custom Gramm Tourpacking bags) made a statement. This bike really wouldn’t look the same with warm tanwalls. So we asked Flo about his tire thoughts. Here’s what he had to say:
“In fact, I’ve bunkered away eight of the black Switchies, because I was afraid they’d never be available again. I have a pink rando bike, and tanwalls would just be unthinkable on that. I’ve even had requests from people who offered huge money for black Switchback Hills, but I wasn’t willing to part with them.
“For me, the Switchback Hill is the world’s best rando tire by far. The width of +/-50 mm is perfect for fast road riding, super comfortable and still superfast… and mega for riding off-road! Tine rode Paris-Brest-Paris on Switchbacks this year, and she has only good things to say.
“I think there are bikes that need tanwall tires, and others just need blackwalls. I can’t really say why, I just decide based on feel. The blue bike is a good example—only black will do. Another bonus is that blackwalls just look better for much longer.”
We’ve got good news for Flo and all the other blackwall fans: A number of popular Rene Herse tires are back—in black. Not just the 650B x 48 Switchback Hills, but also 700C x 42 Hurricane Ridge dual-purpose knobbies, and the 26″ x 1.8″ Naches Pass. Quantities are still limited, but more are on the way. And, of course, most of our smooth-treaded models have always been available in black. Blackwall fans rejoice!
More information:
- Rene Herse tires in blackwalls and tanwalls.
- For a shop visit to Fern Bicycles and Gramm Tourpacking in Berlin, check out Bicycle Quarterly 72.
