Handlebar Restock and New Travel Parts
The 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 long-distance adventures, many turn to Rene Herse handlebars. The generous and truly ergonomic shapes give your hands room to roam, yet support them to prevent numbness (or worse). Riding long distances can (and should) be fun and pain-free.
We’ve got both our Randonneur and Maes Parallel (above) models back in stock. Narrow bars for better aerodynamics? We’ve got you covered, all the way down to 37 cm in our Randonneur model. Wider bars for riders with broad shoulders? Up to 50 cm, no problem.
All Rene Herse handlebars are made by Nitto in Japan to our exclusive specs—superlight, yet strong, thanks to superior alloys that are heat-treated for strength. There aren’t many sub-300 g handlebars that are strong enough for rough gravel, and that bend rather than break if your bike falls over. Available for 31.8 or 25.4 mm bar clamps.
Also back in stock are all Rene Herse fenders, in black and polished aluminum. Superlight, super-strong, and with generous coverage to keep your feet and drivetrain dry and clean, these fenders make riding in the rain not just tolerable, but fun. The simple truth is that, unless you’re riding in a typhoon, the amount of water falling from the sky is much less than the spray thrown up by your bike’s wheels. Eliminate the spray, and the rest becomes manageable.
We’re also excited to add a few products from Ostrich to our program. We’ve long been fascinated by Rinko, the Japanese art of packing fully equipped bikes into small bags for travel by train or car, with minimal disassembly. Taking this idea one step further is the new SL-100 ULTRA Rinko bag. It’s hard to believe, but this tiny 150 g bag holds an entire bicycle.
The whole process, from complete bike to finished package, takes less than 12 minutes—at least if you are Natsuko, our resident expert on Japanese cyclotouring and Rinko. In a future post, we’ll show how to pack different bikes in these bags. The bags are suitable to modern bikes with disc brakes as well as fully equipped cyclotouring bikes with fenders, racks and lights. They are designed to protect other travelers and your luggage—they aren’t intended for airplane travel. (For that, we’ve got different bags.)
Also new from Ostrich is the Chain Cover. The name says it all: This simple cover keeps your chain from touching other luggage or your clothes when you travel or store your bike. The cover is eco-friendly: It’s made from fabric left-over from the making of cycling bags. Light, simple, inexpensive—it’s useful in many ways.
Also back in stock are the Ostrich Disc Rotor/Cassette Covers (above) and the Disc Brake Pad Spacers that never fall out.
And finally, the world’s lightest musette bag (just 25 g) is back in stock, too. It packs so small that you can carry it on every ride. It’s great for taking your snacks from a bakery to scenic lunch spot, or for carrying some supplies you bought at a farmer’s market on the way home.
We’re excited to have these parts in stock just as the travel season starts. Click on the images or the links below for more information.
More information:
- Rene Herse handlebars
- Bags and travel accessories in the Rene Herse program
- Rene Herse fenders
- Pain-free Paris-Brest-Paris: How to ride long distances without suffering
