"What is the hardest ride you've done," I sometimes get asked. Usually I demur. I ride to discover beautiful places, to enjoy the flow of beautiful climbs and descents (on gravel or pavement)—and, yes, to explore the limits of what my body (and mind) are capable of doing. But I...
Summer hasn't quite started yet, but I've decided to head out for a big adventure: I'll ride the Oregon Cascades Volcanic Arc, a bikepacking route created by Ryan Francesconi as an alternative to the Oregon Outback. Where the Outback is all about the wide-open spaces of eastern Oregon, the OCVA...
Is there anything more boring than tariffs these days? With everything going on in the world, it seems selfish to focus so much on price increases. Unless you run a company, of course. At that point, tariffs are a fact of life, like all other taxes, too. Taxes usually don't...
If anybody had doubts whether gravel is still growing, this year's Unbound answered that question with a definitive "Yes!" Never before has Unbound seen so many top-level racers, so many product launches, so much media coverage. The race itself is one of the most fascinating on the calendar, too, because...
Ed.: Unbound, the world's most important gravel race, is today! For a week, professional racers and mere mortals from all over the world congregate in Emporia, Kansas, to celebrate gravel cycling. Unbound is truly special. There's the course, which combines scenic beauty with challenging hills and the infamous super-sharp rocks....
Four days and seven hours later, and Meaghan Hackinen has won the Hellenic Mountain Race, finishing ninth overall. Not just that, she's also pulverized the women's record for this ultra-tough event by eleven hours. On a course that climbs (and descends) 27,800 meters (91,200 ft)—with no flat sections to recover...
In our series about changes at Unbound over the years, we talk today with Jenna Rinehart. Riding for the Rene Herse gravel team this year, 2025 will be Jenna's third Unbound. Many things have changed in just three short years: During this period, Unbound stopped mixing men and women pelotons....
Meaghan Hackinen sent us a dispatch from Greece, where she's starting the Hellenic Mountain Race a few hours ago. Meaghan won last year's Tour Divide, placed second in this year's Atlas Mountain Race, and plans to become the first woman to complete all three Mountain Races (Atlas, Hellenic, Silk Road)—and...
Unbound, the world's most prestigious gravel race, is a little over a week away. Unbound isn't just one of the biggest gravel races, it's also one of the oldest ones. The race across the Flint Hills of Kansas has been at the forefront of how gravel racing has exploded in...
If you are like me, you probably have a love-hate relationship with pumps. First of all, using a pump usually means we've had a flat tire, and nobody likes those. (Fortunately that happens very rarely these days.) I guess I should love the pump at that point, since it gets...
The new Bicycle Quarterly is at the printer. Make sure your subscription is current by the end of May 18, 2025—then you'll be among the first to get your copy, straight off the press. And you'll want to read this edition: filled with inspiration, information and fun—with 108 pages of...
Congratulations to national gravel champion Brennan Wertz for winning the legendary King Ridge Hopper in Sonoma County last Saturday. Here is Brennan's story:“The King Ridge Hopper has a unique format that included time segments, but also a bit of a group tactics as we started the segments together in small...
There are rides and races that we want to do because they are famous. Riding over the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix or the dusty strade bianche of Tuscany once in our lives is something many of us dream of. That's why there are amateur versions of these races. Part of the...
Our post about the new tariffs and what they mean for the bike industry has been our most popular article—ever. In fact, several bike industry contacts have told me that the article has been required reading for their employees. It's clear that there's a...
Many of our international customers wonder what happens when they order from Rene Herse Cycles these days. Especially Canadian customers may worry about the reciprocal 25% tariff that's imposed on many imports from the U.S.The good news is that those tariffs affect only products that originate in the U.S. Most...
This is just a quick notice that we'll do the last mailing of Bicycle Quarterly 87 next week: One more chance to start your subscription with this exciting edition.Some readers may wonder: Why do we print a paper magazine in this digital age? Especially when we also publish the online...
A few days ago, a message from Andy Kessler landed in my inbox. The subject line said: "Your tires rock!" The message itself just contained a photo, of an unpainted carbon bike equipped with our Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks.Andy is of course co-owner of the iconic bicycle brand OPEN, together with...
Congratulations to Jenna Rinehart for an excellent race at this year's first American race in the UCI Gravel World Series. Placing second at the Highlands Gravel Classic in Fayetteville, AR, Jenna also qualified for the UCI Gravel World Championships in the Netherlands later this year.After the race, Jenna reported: "I...
My 1992 Subaru Legacy gained some unexpected notoriety when it was stolen and recovered thanks to Instagram and the vigilance of a BQ reader who saw it parked by the roadside while riding to work. Thank you, Zach!It's hard to describe how relieved I was to get my car back—it's...
Ted King isn't just one of the most successful gravel racers of all time—he also hosts the popular podcast 'King of the Ride.' In the most recent episode, he invited me to talk about, well, everything and anything related to making your bike faster. We explore why aero socks are...
For quite a while now, the Rene Herse 700x44 Snoqualmie Pass has been the fastest wide tire (>32 mm) on www.bicyclerollingresistance.com, a popular website that tests tire performance. Every month, they test new tires—recently Pirelli's latest P Zero Race TLR SpeedCore that now comes in a 40 mm width—but none...
The days are getting longer here in Seattle, but one thing never seems to change: We're too optimistic with our ride plans. More than once have we returned home as twilight was fading into complete darkness. That's when a visibility vest comes in handy. Especially in the city, with so...
Tire choice used to be simple: If you wanted to go fast, you rode narrow tires and ran them at high pressures. If you valued comfort and didn't mind giving up speed, you went with wider tires. Not anymore! When we published our book The All-Road Bike Revolution, we recommended...
If you've followed gravel racing, you've noticed that some of the biggest and most prominent teams have been riding on Rene Herse tires. This wasn't a paid sponsorship agreement—these teams simply chose Rene Herse tires to give their riders the best chance at winning. That's how Lauren de Crescenzo's Cinch...
Tubeless or TPU tubes? Cyclists choose tubeless setups mainly for one reason: The sealant inside the tire seals small punctures caused by glass shards and tiny steel wires. (For mountain biking, a reduction of pinch flats is even more important. For road and most gravel cycling, wide tires have made...
Today's post was going to be about a new product we're introducing—but we need to hold off while we recalculate our prices. You've probably seen the news: Virtually all imports into the United States will be subjected to additional, steep import taxes, also called tariffs. The goal is to radically re-orient...
Many riders love our new 700C x 44 mm Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks. They've have been so popular that supply can't always keep up with demand, and they've been out of stock for a few weeks. We just received another shipment. All back-orders have been sent out, and limited quantities of...
April 1, 2025In a surprise move, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today handed down its latest technical rule: Effective immediately, road bikes are limited to a maximum tire width of 31 mm.The new rule has been rumored for a long time. As more pro racers started using 30 mm tires,...
Last year, we published our Scientific Guide to Choosing Gravel Tires. It was 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's been one of our most popular...
We're starting a new program, trading no-longer-functional Ergopower levers for brand-new Rene Herse tires. We'll rebuild the levers into pure analog brake levers. We plan to offer the refurbished levers in our program. That's less wasteful and better for the environment than developing new brake levers from scratch.Why analog brake...
It's no secret that prices are expected to go up again in the near future. There are three main reasons for this: Tariffs—essentially a tax on imports—will increase costs. This will not only affect imported goods, but also things made with imported parts, or with imported tools. Exchange rates: The value...
We started making components because nobody made what we needed for our rides. Way back, it started with supple, wide tires. I still remember the incredulous look of the engineers at one supplier when we showed them the specs for the tires we wanted to make. "What kind of rider...
Zipp latest gravel wheels, introduced last year, went into uncharted territory: The 303 XPLR rims measure a whopping 40 mm wide. Their inner width is 32 mm. According to the ETRTO standards that govern rim/tire compatibility, rims that wide are suitable for 58 to 71 mm-wide tires. And yet Zipp...
Today's bikepacking races like the Tour Divide or the Atlas Mountain Race, but also Unbound XL and the Arkansas High Country Race, share the ethos of randonneuring events: They are self-supported long-distance rides. They include equal parts of adventure and performance. And they do without the sole focus on winners...
Today we celebrate all the women who have inspired us—in cycling, in life, in the world. Here are a few of the women who have been part of the Rene Herse family—both literally and figuratively—since the beginning in 1938.Marcelle Herse (right) was not just a strong cyclist herself, but also...
Tubeless is great for many applications, but it comes with the hassle of having to top up sealant frequently. If you don’t ride on debris-strewn highway shoulders (where the sealant will seal small punctures from glass and steel wires) and if your tires are wide enough (so you don’t get...
This is just a short note that the Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks are back in stock in all casings. Demand for the new tires has been so great that they ran out before production could catch up. Quantities are still limited, so there is a limit of 4 tires per order....
Brennan Wertz started the 2025 race season on a high note: The reigning U.S. Gravel national champion won the 90-mile (150 km) Huffmaster Hopper in northern California. A punchy mixed-surface race with 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of climbing near the Snow Mountain Wilderness, the Huffmaster Hopper is known for its...
Demand for the new 700C x 44 Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks has far outpaced our expectations. We have sold out of the Endurance casing, and other models are running low. A small quantity with Endurance casings is on the way to Seattle—we expect them in 7-10 days. We are now taking...
A short trip to Japan, to visit family, friends and suppliers, was a welcome break from Seattle's winter. It's always fun to immerse ourselves into the vibrant cycling culture that inspires us in so many ways.One highlight of recent trips to Japan is riding with Makoto Ayano, the founder...
We returned from Japan just a couple of weeks ago, but so much has happened since then that it almost seems like we were there during the last century. With this onslaught of news, it can be hard to maintain our sanity. In difficult times, we must find our inner...
We developed the 700C x 31 mm Orondo Grade tires for riders like Ted King and Brennan Wertz, who had grown to love supple Rene Herse tires on their gravel and all-road bikes, and now wanted to experience the same comfort and speed on their road bikes. And they wanted...
We received another shipment of chainrings, and now we have all Rene Herse cranks, in all configurations, back in stock. That includes 15 different crankarms, 26 different chainrings, custom chainring and crank bolts, pedal washers and more. Why do we go through all the trouble to offer so many combinations—and...
Early on Wednesday morning local time in Morocco, Marei Moldenhauer won the 1,300 km Atlas Mountain Race in record time. For 4 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes, Marei rode and pushed her bike over the rough dirt tracks that criss-cross the Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains, climbing more than 30,000...
Few reviewers command as much respect as Anne-Marije Rook (aka 'Rook'), the North American editor for Cycling Weekly, the world's oldest bike magazine. Rook really knows how to ride: She placed 2nd in the 350-mile Unbound XL in 2023, the year when it was relentlessly muddy and most racers had...
The Atlas Mountain Race, the famous bikepacking race in Morocco, started on Friday. More than 250 racers headed out of Marrakesh and into the Atlas mountains on their 1,300 km journey. The Atlas is a true adventure.We took this opportunity to catch up with a few riders. After talking to some...
The Atlas Mountain Race, the great bikepacking race in Morocco, is happening right now. Yesterday, more than 250 racers headed out of Marrakesh and started their 1,300 km journey over long-forgotten gravel tracks. What they are finding along the way is very little pavement and plenty of hike-a-bikes. Distances between resupply...
The Atlas Mountain Race, the great bikepacking race in Morocco, will start within the hour. More than 250 racers will head out of Marrakesh and climb into the Atlas mountains on their 1,300 km journey over long-forgotten gravel tracks. Ahead of them is very little pavement and plenty of hike-a-bikes. Distances...
The Atlas Mountain Race, the famous bikepacking race in Morocco, starts tomorrow. More than 250 racers will head out of Marrakesh and cross the Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains on their 1,300 km journey over long-forgotten gravel tracks. There will be very little pavement and plenty of hike-a-bikes. Distances between resupply...
The 'King of Gravel' has added the Race Around Rwanda to his long list of trophies. Best known for his strength in North American one-day gravel races like the Unbound 200, Ted likes to get outside his comfort zone—this time with a self-supported bikepacking race over 1,000 km (620 miles),...
And they are off! More than 100 racers and bikepackers started a few hours ago in Kigali for the Race Around Rwanda, a self-supported bikepacking race in east Africa. The challenging course will have them climb into the clouds at elevations of almost 3,000 m (10,000 ft), before dropping back...
A few weeks ago, Mark told the story of his new bike and the incredible adventure in the Pyrenees Mountains that was its maiden voyage. A number of readers went to our 'Suggestions' page to ask about the specs of his bike.Many wondered how a...
We just received another shipment of TPU tubes from Germany. Demand is still so strong that production has trouble keeping up. Some models have been out of stock for a while. Right after the tubes were delivered, we shipped pre-ordered tubes to our customers. Even with those tubes sent out,...
Amanda Naumann Sheek and Ted King will join the Gravel Hall of Fame in 2025. The selection committee couldn't have made a better choice! Both Amanda and Ted not only have won the 200-mile Unbound twice (in addition to numerous other races), they've also been the face of gravel for...
If you're running 700C tires on carbon rims, the wheel situation is better than ever. As companies have rolled out new rims, they've redesigned them to (mostly) meet the ETRTO / ISO standards for rim/tire fit. That's good news, whether you run your tires tubeless or with tubes.Things don't look...
When we were growing up, the year 2000 was short-hand for 'the future.' Now we're a quarter century past that landmark. To celebrate this new milestone, Natsuko and I compiled an (entirely subjective) list of a dozen innovations that have reshaped cycling during these...
The new Corkscrew Climb semi-slick tires are now shipping. First priority went to our racers who've been testing and racing on prototypes for months now. Above is the Stars-and-Stripes bike of the current USA Gravel National Champion, Brennan Wertz. Jenna Rinehart (above) and Ted King (below) rode their prototypes at...
Update 1/14/2025: The new Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks are now shipping. You can order yours here.Interest in our new Corkscrew Climb Semi-Slicks has far exceeded our expectations. It's clear that the cycling world has been waiting for a semi-slick that finally delivers—combining the speed of a slick with...
To all our readers (and everybody else) in Los Angeles, we hope that you and yours are safe. We are saddened by the lives lost and hope that the count will not go up further. That is the most important, but losing homes, neighborhoods, and places you love is devastating....
We've added one more patch and alcohol wipe to our TPU Tube Patch Kits. Patching TPU tubes is easy—just wipe the area around the puncture with the included alcohol wipe and apply the self-adhesive patch. There's no need to sand the tube or use vulcanizing fluid. And since there's no...
We're introducing the Rene Herse Ultimate headset to complete our program. Some readers may wonder: Why would anybody run a 1" threaded headset in this day and age? There's no doubt that carbon forks need massive tapered steerer tubes—that's how makers have finally eliminated the dreaded brake judder of earlier...
We just received a re-stock of the forged Drust Taillight Mounts. They just received a coveted 'Gear of the Year' award from www.bikepacking.com. Now they are also available in anodized colors in very limited quantities. Get yours while stocks last!More Information:Lights and mounts in the Rene Herse...
Selecting Rene Herse tires for your bike is easy, because our program is logical and simple. It's all based on performance. We don't offer dozens of functionally similar tread patterns—just three that cover all riding conditions. Rene Herse tires are available with four different casings, because the casing, more than...
It's always fun when somebody mentions Rene Herse components among their favorites, but it's doubly meaningful when it's somebody of the stature of Joe Cruz. bikepacking.com contributor, route finder, philosopher—Joe is an absolute legend!Imagine our surprise (and delight) when Joe mentioned TPU tubes among his four favorite new products...
"Not just another semi-slick."We don't 'innovate' just to create something new. We have a lot of respect for pioneers who came before us, like the U.S. Army engineers who discovered suspension losses or the mid-century constructeurs who built the original gravel bikes at a time when most roads in the...
It's almost 2025! A quarter century has passed since that big landmark, the year 2000. It's a great moment to take stock of the revolutionary changes in cycling over those 25 years, and then have a look how things might develop in the future. Natsuko and I talked about the...
A 'wide tire revolution' has swept through the cycling world. Whether it's gravel racers on 48 mm rubber or Tour de France champions on 30s, today's tires are wider than ever before. At the same time, pressures have dropped. In the past, 4 bar (58 psi) would have been a...
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
When 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...
This 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...
When 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...
Two 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...
The 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...
if 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,...
We 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...
The 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...
Bicycles 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...
We 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...
When 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...
We 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...
"Giving gifts is about finding something that both you and the recipient love." I heard that once in Japan, and I like it—even though it rules out most bike parts. Unless you use them as tree ornaments before putting them on your bike. And if you're working on a special...
A 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...
Here 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...
As 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...
We 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:...
It'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...
Editor'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...
Ideally, 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...
The 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...
Thank 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...
Editor'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...
Some 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...
A 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...
Our 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...
Next 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...
It 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...
After 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...
Light 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...
Realizing 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...
Natsuko 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...
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