The results are in: Hundreds of photos from all over the world were entered in the BQ Photo Contest. It was fun to see so many different photos – in style and subject – and it was difficult to selected eight finalists. Many great photos didn’t make the cut.

Here are the ones we selected – now it’s up to you to vote for the winner, who will receive a $ 200 gift certificate from Rene Herse Cycles. All finalists will get a one-year subscription to Bicycle Quarterly, and their photos and associated stories will be published in the magazine.

So here they are, in random order, with Photo 1 above. Please vote for your favorite at the bottom of the post!

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photo 8

To vote, just select your favorite photo and click ‘Vote’ at the bottom of the post before October 31. We’ll announce the winner on November 4. For U.S. citizens, don’t forget to vote in the ‘other’ election, too!

Today I did one of the most important things I will do this year: I voted.

It’s a privilege to have a voice in deciding the future of our country. Like all rights, it’s also a responsibility. The right to vote was not won without a fight – whether it was the break-away from the British crown or the struggles that finally allowed non-whites and women to vote as well. Even today, my vote for president won’t influence the election, because I don’t live in a swing state. It’s quite possible that the candidate who I consider most qualified to lead the country wins the majority of the vote, yet loses the presidential contest. (Thank the Electoral College for that.)

And yet my vote is important. This election will likely be very close. If one party or another claims fraud based on perceived irregularities in one swing state or another, the popular vote conveys legitimacy to the candidate who won the most votes, regardless of where they were cast. As we worry about unrest and violence in the event of a contested election, the best way to prevent it is to make sure one candidate wins by a large margin that leaves no room for doubt.

The local races have their own importance – whether it’s the fight over banning plastic bags (which made it on the ballot here in Washington State disguised as a referendum over a ‘tax increase’) or voting for state leaders who will take us forward as we face the challenges of Covid-19, climate change and racial justice.

That is why I implore you: Vote! I don’t care which party and candidate you favor – I firmly believe that the one with the most votes should win. If you live in a swing state, your vote might actually determine the outcome of the election. If you don’t, it’s still extremely important to convey legitimacy and show that you care.

Because once the election is over, we’ll need to work on making the system more democratic. For the first time, there seems to be momentum gathering to abolish the Electoral College, a remnant from the past designed to enshrine minority rule. Once people feel that their voices are heard regardless of where they live and what color their skin, we might be able to return to a more respectful discourse on the real issues we face as a nation and world. Please take the time to vote! Thank you!

Covid-19 has created many challenges for the bike industry. Supply chains have been disrupted, lockdowns have stopped production, shipping has become erratic, and exchange rates fluctuate wildly. Even staples like inner tubes are in short supply.

At Rene Herse, we’ve been working hard to keep our products in stock, because we know you rely on them for your rides. Even so, a few things have been in short supply. This week, we first received a big shipment from Japan (above), and now also from France. Continue Reading →

This is just a quick note that a few popular items are back in stock. Among them are all Rene Herse fenders in polished and black finish. Continue Reading →

Now that summer officially has officially ended, we can start to look back on the cycling season. So much has happened since we started riding in late winter under clear, sunny skies! The events of 2020 have upended many plans, but cycling is the one place where we can live in the moment and restore our spirits.

The Bicycle Quarterly photo contest celebrates the joy of riding our bikes – and of sharing that feeling with our community to inspire others and be inspired by them. Entering is simple: Post your photo(s) and short stories of your rides in 2020 on Instagram and tag them #bqcontest. There’s no need to register or purchase – it’s just our way of celebrating the beauty of riding bikes. Continue Reading →

After much thought, we’ve decided to cancel this year’s Bicycle Quarterly Un-Meeting in Marin County, California. We’ve made this difficult decision together with this year’s organizers, Bicycle Counterculture. The pandemic shows little sign of letting up. To have a large number of cyclists travel to the Un-Meeting and gather does not seem like a responsible option. We apologize to all who’ve made plans and have been looking forward. Continue Reading →

We’re heartbroken to hear about the fires that are raging in California and much of the West. Our thoughts go out to all who are affected. Learning of acquaintances in the bike industry who lost their homes and workshops… Seeing old-growth redwoods and historic park buildings burn… Seeing the air above entire states filled with smoke… We’re at a loss for words, and we are thinking about what we can do to help.

—Natsuko & Jan

Rob English is not just a talented framebuilder, but also a top-class rider and racer. He recently built this bike for himself. Even though the bike is a superlight racer, it rolls on (extralight) 700C x 32 mm Stampede Pass tires – a sign how far racing bikes have come. Continue Reading →

Our friends at Berthoud Cycles in France have been working overtime, and we just received another shipment. We’ve got most saddles in stock again, as well as spare parts to rebuild your worn saddle with a new leather top, swap stainless steel rails for titanium, or replace parts that got damaged in a crash. The saddles are fully rebuildable with just a 5 mm Allen and a T20 Torx wrench. Continue Reading →

The Enve Builders Roundup is a show of custom bikes (and Enve’s components). Among all the great bikes, here are three of our favorites Continue Reading →

Keeping everything we sell in stock hasn’t been easy: Lockdowns in the U.S., Europe and Japan have interrupted production, and international shipping is taking longer than it used to. And in some cases, demand has increased as well. Temporary shortages are hard to avoid, but we’re working hard to keep everything in stock. We’ve just received a number of shipments, and many essentials are available again. Continue Reading →

Over the last few months, we’ve revamped our customer service, both because we’ve had to adapt to the restrictions that came with Covid-19 and because we want to improve your experience. We’ve added a lot of information online – instructions for our parts, specs and Frequently Asked Questions, plus links to blog posts about things like how to set up tires tubeless. This enables you to find the information you need, right away and without having to wait for a reply.

For requests that go beyond that, we had to stop using email and the phone, because the amount of spam and robocalls was overwhelming. The phone rang almost non-stop, and we had to sort through hundreds of emails to find legitimate requests from our customers. Instead, we have switched to forms when you contact us. This has the added benefit that we have all the information we need to work on your request from the get-go. Eliminating the back-and-forth means you’ll get a response more quickly. Continue Reading →

The first half of 2020 has brought unexpected changes in many ways. When Covid-19 spread so suddenly around the world, there was little time to figure out how to deal with this. We stopped everything that was non-essential, we socially distanced, we discovered face masks, and we talked about contact tracing. Just as we were reassessing what is essential and what isn’t, the murder of George Floyd made us realize that systemic racism remains a problem that needs to be addressed.

As we head into the second half of 2020, we are facing a lot of uncertainty. The virus has not been vanquished, and racism won’t stop overnight, either. Thinking about the future can be discouraging, but there’s always hope. We have to stop pretending that all will be fine, and start addressing the issues we are facing. At the same time, we must find a way to live our lives – as much as possible – with the new realities. In other words, we need to pivot from stopping everything that is non-essential to figuring out what we can do safely. Continue Reading →

In the middle of a global pandemic, delays in shipments from suppliers are not a big concern with everything else that is going on. And yet we’re happy that the situation has improved to the point where deliveries are arriving again – because this means that things are getting better for our suppliers, who are also our friends.

Over the winter, we’ve worked with Berthoud Cycles in France to design a new, bigger handlebar bag, the GB 31. It’s useful for tall riders and those who like their handlebars high – the bag spans the distance from the bars to the front rack, so it’s sized to fit your bike. We’ve not just increased the height of the bag; we’ve also adjusted the size of the pockets: a bit larger so they are proportionate with the bag, but not so large that it becomes difficult to retrieve their contents.

You can see the new GB31 in the photo above, together with the three existing models. All Berthoud bags are available in the classic blue-gray (shown) and in black with leather trim, or in all-black versions. We offer them with and without side pockets. They all include a shoulder strap for easy carrying when you’re off the bike. They’re waterproof, because the cotton fabric swells when it gets wet, and they last almost forever. I’ve used my current Berthoud bag for 9 years, 2 Paris-Brest-Paris, many wet winter rides, countless tours… and it’s still as good as new. Continue Reading →

Ted King’s DIY Gravel may have been born out of necessity – there are no gravel races right now, so why not ride our own rides and challenges in the mean time? Ted’s idea has been a lot of fun, and more than a thousand riders have risen to the challenge.

A few weeks ago would have been Dirty Kanza, the biggest and most prestigious of the gravel racing calendar. Ted King used the opportunity ride across the entire State of Vermont on backroads: 312 miles (500 km) and more than 32,000 ft (9700 m) of climbing. His team made a great video about his ride. I was struck by how the emotions of Ted adventure remind me of the great randonneuring challenges, like the Raid Pyrénéen or Paris-Brest-Paris. It’s neat to see how racing, cyclotouring and randonneuring all come together in this epic adventure. Enjoy the video!

We want to do more than just say nice words. We want to help make change that is real and lasting. With that intent, we’re renewing the tradition of Bicycle Quarterly fund drives to address urgent needs. For 24 hours, from 0:00 on June 2 until 24:00 (Pacific Time) on June 3, 2020, we’re donating $ 36 for each Bicycle Quarterly subscription to Black Lives Matter. Continue Reading →

Last year, on the train to Sacramento, we met a wonderful black couple in the dining car. They had gone to Seattle to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They had met when they were part of the civil rights movement in the South. They moved to the West Coast, because, as her husband explained about his wife: “She has a strong sense of justice. She’d have got killed if we had stayed.”

We have to remember that the suffering, the injustice, the racism continue. We have to stand against racism in all its forms, not just today, but tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. If we change our thinking and our behavior, it will change the world.
—Natsuko & Jan

Most of our customers considers their Rene Herse tires ‘essentials’ – components they need to keep riding. Knowing this, we work hard to keep all models in stock at all times. Sometimes there are unforeseen fluctuations in demand, delays in production and/or shipping, and a model or two may be out of stock.

We just received another shipment, and all tires are back in stock. Thank you for your patience!

Today would have been the Belgian Waffle Ride in California – which means that Round 2 of Ted King’s DIY Gravel is starting. We’ve got until next Sunday to do our own version of this iconic ride, which offers three versions:

All of us are figuring out how we can resume our lives safely and responsibly. How can we ride our bikes? Does it make sense to train when races and events are postponed or cancelled? How can we enjoy the community that cycling brings us? I caught up with gravel racer Ted King and asked him about life and cycling in these times.

JH: As the ‘King of Gravel,’ how have you been dealing with the current global scenario? How does riding fit into your schedule these days?

TK: Cycling is an enormous part of my life, but my cycling life doesn’t revolve exclusively around racing. 2020 is already a year that’s completely different from any in the past, because Laura and I are now a family of three, with little baby Hazel as part of the mix. We had decided to limit some of the smaller races that I typically jump into and focus on our family and the bigger events of the year. Continue Reading →

April 1, 2020: This is the time of year when we take a break from the daily news and look at areas where real progress is possible in bicycle design. Forget marginal gains – today we’re looking for revolutionary ideas!

The industry likes to crow about disc brakes and carbon frames, but when you really think about it, bikes have not evolved much at all since the 1890s. The very first Paris-Brest-Paris was won on a bike similar to the Humber above, and yet most of the Humber’s features have been carried over almost unchanged to the latest ‘high-tech wonders’! Continue Reading →

Let’s face it: Life isn’t the same as it was just two weeks ago. We’re all in this together, and we’ve been encouraged how everybody has been pulling together to face this challenge.

At Rene Herse Cycles, we’ve thought about what we could do to help. Most of us still ride our bikes – solo – for transportation, exercise, and to keep our bodies and spirits healthy. Most of us still need bike parts…

We have a sizable stash of parts that haven’t been used, but that we don’t want to sell as brand-new, either. These are parts that we’ve used for photo shoots or for testing tire fit on rims. Some are prototypes that don’t have the right stickers – we commission the molds first and make a small run of tires for testing, long before the new stickers are finalized. We always make more prototypes than we need for the actual testing, just in case.

Usually, we keep these components for our own bikes, but we’re now offering them to everybody in our Sample Sale.

Update 3/25: The Sample Sale has ended. Thank you. Continue Reading →