The leadup to Unbound is always busy, even when you arrive with every box checked. This year was unusual for me: the first trip to Emporia in eleven years without my family in tow. With fewer responsibilities outside the race, I had a little more opportunity to observe what was...
As the Unbound racers head into the Flint Hills of Kansas—with the exception of the XL riders, who've already spent the night on the road—we continue our celebration of Unbound with gravel pioneer Amanda Nauman, winner of the 200-mile race in 2015 and 2016. Jan: How did you get into cycling,...
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Unbound. The first edition in 2006 saw just 34 riders at the start. Today, Unbound is without a doubt the most important gravel race on the calendar. Even though the UCI is now organizing world championships on gravel, Unbound is the race every...
This week we celebrate 20 years of Unbound, the great gravel race across the Flint Hills of Kansas. In the second part of our series, we talk to Jenna Rinehart. Currently leading the 'Wild Card' category of the Lifetime Grand Prix, Jenna balances training and racing with her full-time job.
The world's biggest gravel race celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Back in 2006, it started as a 200-mile adventure with just 34 riders. Over the last 20 years, it has evolved into a race that brings pro racers from all over the world to the Flint Hills of Kansas—while...
Bicycle Quarterly 90 is at the printer! Why make a print magazine when the Internet is filled with bicycle content? That's a bit like asking "Why ride outside when Zwift lets you do it in the comfort of your home?" Both have their place... Turning off our screens, making a cup...
When someone asks me why they should care about bike racing, I think of Soichiro Honda's famous words: "Racing improves the breed." Honda was talking about cars and motorcycles—above is a Mercedes in the grueling Liège-Sofia-Liège rally—but the same applies to bicycles. Racing is the reason why modern carbon bikes...
After years of promoting 'Tubeless for Everybody,' bike industry and media are finally realizing that many riders prefer tubes—and for good reasons. Sure, if you're a pro gravel racer at Unbound, you'll probably want to set up your tires tubeless. Riding in a peloton, you'll hit huge rocks that you...
What would happen if you rode Paris-Roubaix on truly wide and supple tires? We now know, because Olly Townsend from the popular Gravel Union website has done that: He rode this year's Paris-Roubaix Challenge on Rene Herse 700x48 Hatcher Pass tires. Paris-Roubaix is a unique race: It is fascinating because it...
Every year, we publish our Scientific Guide to Choosing Gravel Tires. It is 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 is consistently one of our most...
You have to give the bike media credit: The original argument about the benefits of 32" wheels on road and gravel bikes—that they are more efficient because of their better 'roll-over'—has pretty much vanished from the discussion. A while ago, we laid out why that isn't the...
Thank you to all our customers who have made this project possible! It seems like everybody who asked for all-black tires stepped up to the plate (which isn't always a given). Many others have come through as well. Shops and our international distributors joined the crowdfunding drive, too. Most of the...
A big 'Thank you' to all who've contributed to the crowdfunding of our all-black Rene Herse tires. We're very close to meeting our goals, so we've decided to extend the deadline through the weekend, until end-of-day on May 4, 2026. Here is where each all-black tire stands as of this morning: Knobbies:
We just received a shipment of TPU tubes from Germany. We also got a restock of TPU Sealant. After shipping all the pre-ordered tubes, some models are already running low, but more tubes are in production. We recommend reserving yours by pre-ordering them. If our website doesn't allow pre-ordering a...
Spring has arrived, and the racing season is in full swing. Over in Belgium, Tadej Pogačar added a fourth win in Liège-Bastogne-Liège to his unrivaled palmarès. Here in North America, there were big events on the calendar this weekend as well. First and foremost was the UCI Highlands Gravel Classic....
Our 'Suggestions' form continues to be popular. We love to hear from you, our customers! Your suggestions range from additional information on our website—which we've implemented in dozens of cases—to new products. Among product suggestions, by far the most popular are all-black tires. As...
It's nice to report good news! The Rene Herse cantilever brakes are ready. The arms are forged, the bushings machined, the small parts manufactured. Pre-orders from our crowd-funding are shipping now. Since we assemble these brakes by hand—pressing in the bushings, installing the pads, assembling the straddle cable holders, etc.—it's...
Two recent Bicycle Quarterly test bikes have made me think about the 'One Bike' question. Unless you are a collector, the idea of one bike for everything is appealing. For many, it's a necessity, as budget or storage limitations don't allow for more. For others, it's a choice that simplifies...
Summary: Carefully controlled tests have shown that larger wheels generally don't roll faster—neither on pavement, nor on gravel, nor on cobblestones. The concept of better 'roll-over' applies to solid wheels, but not to pneumatic tires that absorb road irregularities, rather than lifting bike-and-rider over them. Wheel size doesn’t really matter...
Adrien Liechti did it! Ninety-six days and 16 hours after he started at Cap Angela in Tunisia, he reached Cape Agulhas at the southernmost tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. He's cycled from the northernmost point in Africa to the southernmost, setting a world record...
Making a good semi-slick tire is harder than it may seem at first. How do you balance the features that make Rene Herse tires perform so well on pavement and on loose surfaces: Thin tread: to keep the tire supple (but thick enough for long service life) Round profile: to avoid sudden...
How do you make a semi-slick tire that lives up to the promise of smooth-surface speed and traction on loose surfaces? How do you avoid the pitfalls of conventional semi-slicks—especially the sudden transition from smooth center tread to bumpy side knobs? And how do you improve power transfer during out-of-the-saddle...
At Rene Herse Cycles, we've got a policy: We don't make anything that exists already. As a small company, our resources are limited. We'd rather use them to create something that's going to improve the riding experience for us and our customers—not recreate something we already can buy from others. There's...
April 1, 2026: Cycling is a relatively safe sport. And once we factor in the health benefits of exercise, cyclists actually tend to live longer than people who don't exercise. That doesn't mean we can't make cycling even safer. At Rene Herse Cycles, we've been working on just that. After...
Ten years ago this week we crossed the 3,700-m (12.200 ft) Paso de Cortés in Mexico in one of our biggest adventures. That expedition is significant beyond the epic ride: It was a proof-of-concept for ultra-wide and ultra-supple tires on all-road bikes. It marks the point when the wide-tire revolution...
TPU tubes have been widely hailed as the 'next big thing' in the mainstream media. TPU tubes are lighter, faster and more durable than butyl tubes, while holding air far better than latex tubes. That brings up the question: How fast are they on real roads? The following article was...
We've been planning to do an update of Adrien Liechti's Africa End-to-End record attempt. But just after he sent us photos and stories, his tracker stopped in Cameroon. For almost two weeks, we had no news from Adrien. Needless to say, we were worried, and so were his many friends...
Here at Rene Herse Cycles, we don't want to sell you what you don't need! Our mission is to create tires, components and accessories that enhance your cycling experience. We're confident we offer things that you, our customers, find valuable. There's no need to try and sell you things you...
Today Salsa is launching their new Flyway gravel bike. It's replacing the 4th-generation Warbird that's been around since 2019. We loved that Warbird, but not the moniker. So it's perhaps timely that the new bike has a more peaceful name: Flyways are the established travel patterns of migratory birds. When...
This year marks 20 years of Bicycle Quarterly's ground-breaking real-road research into tire performance. Back in the spring of 2006, we started testing tires on real roads, with a rider on the bike. The results surprised everybody—us included: High pressure doesn't make supple high-performance tires roll faster. That went counter...
When I met Natsuko on a bicycle tour that was organized by mutual friends in Japan, she looked at my bike and equipment. "You don't carry a musette bag?" she asked, puzzled. Back then, I thought of musette bags as something pro racers used to carry water bottles from the...
Editor's Note: After you’ve (hopefully) digested the big headlines of the day, you may be in need of something a little more uplifting. We’ve got that for you: On Saturday, Brennan Wertz won the Huffmaster Hopper, the mixed-surface race near the Snow Mountain Wilderness in northern California. The 89-mile (143-km) season...
Editor's Note: Rene Herse tires aren't usually associated with mountain biking, but there's a place for fast-rolling supple tires, especially in endurance races. The 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo is America's longest-running 24-hour mountain bike event. More than just a race, it's a celebration of the mountain biking community.The...
Many cyclists dream of working in the bike industry. And it's true: The hours may be long, but the work is fun, because our world is populated by enthusiasts. These pioneers are riders first and foremost, who started their companies because they wanted to make something that didn't exist. In...
Keeping top-quality products simple, lightweight and affordable has always been our goal. Rene Herse X-Light Butyl Tubes are made in Japan to our specifications. They weigh just 78 g. They are sized for a perfect fit with road tires between 23 and 32 mm. And they cost just $ 9.95. The...
Update: The pre-order cut-off for Berthoud mirrors and saddles has been extended until Monday, February 16, at 7 p.m. (Pacific Time). The news for made-in-Europe bike parts hasn't been great lately. Between new tariffs (15% on top of the already existing ones) and exchange rate fluctuations (the dollar lost 15% of...
Tomorrow, the Atlas Mountain Race will start in Morocco. Over 1,350 km, riders will climb more than 25,000 m as they traverse the Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains on long-forgotten colonial pistes. The fastest riders will complete the course in about four days. Most riders will take eight days or more....
We're now offering all our TPU tubes with threaded valves and locknuts, in addition to the models with smooth valves. This came about via a suggestion from a customer... Here's the story: We love feedback from our customers. Most of it comes via the
"XC mountain bike tires are the hottest gravel trend!" You've probably seen the headlines. Ever since Lachlan Morton won the 2024 Unbound 200 with a 50 mm tire on the front—the largest he could fit on his bike—there's been a trend toward running mountain bike tires on rough gravel. BikeRadar.com recently...
Like many of us, I had intended to participate in the Goodnight 2025 campout that we've been organizing together with our friends at Bikepacking.com. Torrential rains in Seattle and the need to prepare a trip to Japan meant that I didn't get out for a 'night under...
When Zipp introduced their 303 XPLR rims, they broke new ground with respect to rim width: a whopping 40 mm (outer) translates to 32 mm where it matters, on the inside of the rim. Zipp developed the 303 XPLR for gravel bikes and suggests running tires as narrow as 40...
When you watch a big Tour or head to a local gravel race, you're likely to see only carbon bikes. If you're lucky, there may a titanium frame or two at the local race. On mainstream cycling websites, it's the same: carbon everywhere, at least as far as performance bikes...
We get this question from time to time about our TPU valves with smooth valve stems. (We also offer threaded valves.) Can you inflate smooth valves with pumps that connect to the valve with a hose? The hose of the pump needs threads to hold onto the valve. Here's why...
When I wrote about the Rene Herse components that are the lightest of their kind, I was reminded of a reader who once asked: "Why are you so focused on saving a gram here or there? For the 99.999% of us who are not...
When another company recently introduced their TPU tubes, they offered three models. With two carefully chosen widths, they cover 700C tires between 24 and 64 mm wide, with no overlap. For their narrower tubes, they offer two valve lengths; for their wider tubes, only one. From a production and warehousing...
With all the excitement over our TPU tubes, it might seem like we're about to abandon tubeless. Nothing could be further from the truth! All our gravel pros ride their Rene Herse tires tubeless. (They carry TPU tubes as spares, just in case.) It was Ted King who turned us...
For most of us, cycling is a way of life. Our bikes aren't just tools; they are extensions of ourselves. A reliable supply of tires and components is essential. That's why, at Rene Herse Cycles, we do everything we can to keep our parts in stock at all times. As...
As the new year started, our friend Adrien Liechti embarked on his biggest adventure yet: Traversing all of Africa, from the northern tip to the far south. If he succeeds, he'll be the first unsupported cyclist to connect the farthest points of the African continent—ever! Ahead lie 17 countries, a distance...
Tread patterns are the most noticeable part of a tire, yet there seems to be little agreement of what makes a good tire tread. With road tires, some are completely slick. Others have small scallops or longitudinal lines. Off-road, some tires have knobs that are round, others are square, or...
All of us wish you a great 2026 with health, happiness and many great rides! Jan, Natsuko & the RH team
Looking over the most popular articles in the RH Journal this year, our front derailleur made it into the top five! Clearly, this unusual derailleur has caused quite a stir: It's operated directly via a lever behind the seat tube. Derailleurs don't get more analog than this! Readers liked that the...
It’s human nature to look forward. Whether we’re thinking about the next event, whether we’re anxious about getting through the next interval, or whether we’re planning next year’s race calendar, we’re programmed to look ahead. Reflection, by contrast, takes a bit of work. It requires patience, it taps into our...
All of us at Rene Herse Cycles wish you Happy Holidays! We are grateful for your support during the past year. We look forward to being part of your rides and adventures in 2026! Natsuko, Jan & the Rene Herse team
I mostly ride cyclotouring bikes, and they work very well for me. But I'm always curious about other bikes. Years ago, I ordered a custom-built steel road bike with 23 mm tires to find out what that feels like. I've ridden a few modern carbon gravel bikes for Bicycle Quarterly...
As holiday and year-end preparations are winding down, it's a great time to head out and spend some time away from it all. That's the idea behind the Good Night 2025 Bikepacking Overnighter. In collab with bikepacking.com, we invite everybody to slip away for a quiet night under the stars...
It's no secret that we love classic bikes at Rene Herse Cycles. In fact, classics are one reason Rene Herse Cycles was reborn in the Cascade Mountains. Jaye Haworth and I rode a 1946 René Herse tandem in the 2003 Paris-Brest-Paris—and received the trophy for the fastest mixed tandem.
Editor's Note: Adrien Liechti has been a fixture of the bikepacking world for many years. Winner of the inaugural Hellenic Mountain Race in 2023, he's been a consistent top finisher in the biggest races: The Rhino Run, Atlas Mountain Race, Silk Road Mountain Race, The Transcontinental... What I like about...
We just received a small shipment of our ultra-soft Merino Wool Jerseys... That's a good opportunity to revisit why we go through the trouble of making our favorite jerseys in tiny numbers: They are a key component for our rides and adventures. It's no exaggeration to say that these...
The dashboard for our website lists our most popular articles for the day, month, year and all-time. It's fun to see that some older articles have real staying power. That's the beauty of good science and good history—it doesn't become outdated quickly. Here are four articles that continue to be...
The recent furor around 'privatizing' the last kilometers of famous mountain stages in the Tour de France, and charging admission, has died down a bit. For now, those ideas have been dismissed by Tour organizers... In all those discussions of how free viewing is an essential part of the Tour...
During much of my 20s, I raced mountain bikes, before taking almost a decade off to focus on my bike shop, Nicollet Bike and Ski in Mankato, Minnesota. I returned to racing at the top level in 2023, now mostly on gravel, but with plenty of mountain biking in the...
Gifting is about giving and receiving joy. Ideally, both giver and recipient are equally excited about the gift. That's where it can get tricky for us cyclists—how do we explain to our family and friends that bike parts make ideal gifts? Here's a slightly tongue-in-check guide on how to make...
Most of us have been there: During the cycling season, we head out for rides and adventures whenever we can, and maintenance is reduced to checking that there's enough air in the tires, and maybe a quick glance at the brake pads... And then we suddenly realize that we haven't...
We’ve extended the deadline to pre-order the Rene Herse canti brakes at the old price, until Sunday (11/30/2025). It’s our way of saying ‘Thanks’ to all who help us keep rim brakes alive and well. After that, the price will go up 10%. The last production run was a few years...
Together with our friends at bikepacking.com, we invite everybody to slip away for a quiet night under the stars sometime between the winter solstice and the new year (December 19–31). That's the idea of the Good Night 2025 Campout: As the year winds down, riders everywhere will pedal out for...
Wide tires on performance bikes. A new understanding of front-end geometry. A different view of frame stiffness. Of course, we didn't do it all alone... And yet, when we started researching these topics, they weren't on anybody's radar. It may comes as a surprise that we didn't set out to...
Our long-awaited shipments have (finally) arrived. The ship actually arrived almost three weeks ago... With all the new tariffs, the custom's people are overworked, and it can take weeks to inspect and clear a shipment. Here is what's back in stock: Fenders If you've been anywhere near the West...
The crowdfunding for the Rene Herse canti brakes has been a resounding success. Over the weekend, we blew through the 75 pre-orders that made another forging run for these brakes possible. A big 'Thank You!' to all of you who stepped up to the plate! In this day...
The new Bicycle Quarterly has come off the press. Copies are in the mail to subscribers all over the world. And we've got the new edition in stock at Rene Herse Cycles, too. If you're BQ-curious, you can just add a copy to your order of components, books or other...
A few weeks ago, Ted King rode across the entire state of Vermont on the epic VTXL bikepacking route, a non-stop ride of 301 miles (484 km). The route takes in many 'Class IV' dirt roads, a local designation that, as route creator Joe Cruz describes, "indicates a public right...
Update: The crowdfunding was successful. Thank you! The brakes are now in production. They will be delivered in March 2026. As a company, we don't like asking our customers for favors. We hope you'll buy our products (and read Bicycle Quarterly) because they make your cycling experience better and more fun—and...
As much as I love my carbon gravel and road bikes, it's the steel rando bike that gets ridden the most these days. The reason is simple: Here is Seattle, it gets dark early, and the weather is unpredictable. Having a bike that I can just roll out of the...
When Velo-News recently talked about '7 Road Bike Trends We Expect in 2026,' TPU tubes were on their list: "You’re going to swap your tubeless setup for a TPU tube," predicted tech editor Alvin Holbrook. He continued: "Why would someone want to swap...
The Autumn Bicycle Quarterly is coming off the press this week. And in case you wondered based on the photo above: We aren't going to publish the first bike magazine with a cover that doesn't show a cyclist at all! Here's the full cover: This is one of my favorite covers...
The European Tire and Rim Technical Organization (ETRTO) usually works behind the scenes. If you look at the the sidewalls of a car tire, you see a bunch of numbers like P185/70R14. Those are the ETRTO specs of the tire, and they guarantee that you can buy a tire almost...
Tire manufacture is a bit of a black art. Rubber for the tread is mixed and rolled out in huge sheets like making pies in a giant bakery. The casing fabric is impregnated with a different kind of rubber. Then everything gets assembled by hand, together with puncture-proof layers (on...
We've been waiting for a few big shipments that will fill holes on our shelves. One of them just arrived; the others are scheduled in early November. We're taking pre-orders now, so you'll be among the first to get your long-awaited parts. Why were so many parts out of stock? Rando,...
Good news: Sofiane Sehili, the world-famous ultra-distance cyclist, will be released from Russian prison shortly. Here is the update from his partner Fanny Bensussan: “Sofiane’s court hearing was today. Our Russian lawyer did remarkable work to get a decision as quickly as possible—and a positive decision, too! We kept all this...
The wait is over! All casings of the new Poteau Mountain semi-slicks are in stock. That means you can get our revolutionary semi-slick tread, with its round profile and gradual transition from slick center to side knobs, in the two most popular widths—44 and 48 mm—with a choice of casings...
Late one afternoon last month, as I threw a leg over my bike and pushed off, I looked up at the sky—the clouds were the color of cold metal. I could feel the wind picking up as I started the short ride from my home in Boulder, Colorado, to Treehouse...
Ever since waxing chains has become popular again, some proponents say that everybody should wax their chains, all the time. They usually point to the (marginally) lower resistance of a waxed chain compared to lube. Yet others prefer to wet-lube their chains, as they've done for decades. Their reasoning is...
And they are off! As we post this, the riders of this year's Arkansas High Country Race are on the road. Headed by well-known racers like Tour Divide winner Justinas Leveika, Matt Pike, Nick Elliott, Andy Zolyak and Bryan Dougherty, they are racing not just for the win, but also...
"I'll ride Salida to the Sea in September. After that event, I won't be far from Seattle. Perhaps we can go for a ride together?" A message from Adrien Liechti, the Swiss bikepacker, ultra-racer and adventurer. Adrien is famous for his monumental mustache, his fun-loving attitude, and sense of humor....
Why would we make a video showing how to install tubes? For most of us, that was one of the first things we learned when we started cycling! Well, for most of us, that was also a long time ago. Since then, rims have changed. Tubes have changed. And tube installation...
Every summer, I'm a guest on my friend Gerolf Meyer's popular German podcast 'Antritt.' This year, we spoke about what it takes to make tires. How do you develop tires? What are the considerations when you choose casings, tread rubber and other materials? How do you get the tires made?...
One reason we're working with racers and also enter events ourselves is R&D: It's the best way to check whether our ideas, calculations and tests work in the real world. There's a second reason why we love races: They're great fun. The Arkansas High Country Race ticks both boxes: The course...
The national championships! Which American bike racer doesn't dream of donning the stars-and-stripes jersey for a year? (I once came close, as a student, when our team finished a very close second at Collegiate Nationals.) The opportunity to race against the very best is a wonderful challenge. The championships are...
Brennan Wertz was the defending champion at last weekend's Gravel National Championships. Today he takes us inside the action from the race: Early in the race, a break of 7 racers got up the road and quickly opened up a big gap, while many in the main group looked at each...
An eagerly awaited shipment showed up at the Rene Herse headquarters here in Seattle. All TPU tubes and the innovative TPU sealant are back in stock. However, with pre-orders taken care of, some models are already running low again. Why has production still not caught up with demand, more than a...
At Rene Herse Cycles, racing is an important part of our R&D. It helps us improve our products. Racing inspires us to make our tires faster and grippier. Racing helps us to create reliable tires that withstand the toughest courses and highest power outputs. And once a tire is released,...
Colorado-based Rene Herse ambassador Hailey Moore here! For the last four years, I've relied on RH rubber for everything from my daily training rides, to three finishes at the Unbound 200, bike tours across the US and abroad, and bikepacking races (and ITTs). Based in Boulder, I feel lucky to...
Some of you may already have heard that Sofiane Sehili, the bikepacker and ultra-cyclist, has been detained in Russia at the end of his World Record Attempt. Here is what happened: As the clock ticked toward 64 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes—the current record for cycling all the way across...
Recently, I talked to a famous racer who is planning an attempt for an FKT (Fastest Known Time) over a bikepacking route. We discussed timing: During the summer months, there was heat and smoke to contend with. "But if I wait until late September, the days are getting short," worried...
If you've been at a big gravel race lately, you may have noticed some unfamiliar tires on the bikes of racers like Ted King, Brennan Wertz and Jenna Rinehart. Well, they are now official: The 700x48 Poteau Mountain uses the same patented technology as our revolutionary 44 mm Corkscrew Climb...
A huge congrats to Meaghan Hackinen, first woman across the line in the 2025 Silk Road Mountain Race, and 10th overall in a field stacked with the world's fastest ultra racers. The Silk Road is arguably the hardest of the three 'Mountain' races, traversing the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan on...
What is going on at Rene Herse Cycles? One day we talk about the latest Enve carbon wheels and why they have hooks again. And then, just a few days later, we introduce a direct-lever derailleur that is about as far from modern carbon...
Enve raised quite a few eyebrows with their new SES 4.5 Pro wheels. Made specifically for Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates, the new wheels are narrower than their predecessors. They also incorporate a bead hook, after years of hookless Enve wheels. What is going...
And they are off! The Silk Road Mountain Race started yesterday. As I'm writing this, it's already heating up to become an exciting race, with the top-three riders just a few kilometers apart as they traverse the inhospitable mountains of Kyrgyzstan. In 9th overall, and first woman, is Meaghan Hackinen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4aPXsU5p68 Just...
When Sofiane Sehili set out from the southern tip of Portugal 44 days ago, he knew that trying to ride all the way across Europe and Asia in record time would be an adventure. That was part of the appeal. As Sofiane put it: "This route starts in the familiar—Europe—and...
When Meaghan Hackinen won the Hellenic Mountain Race a few months ago, we wanted to know more about this epic race and Meaghan's experience. Here is her story: The Hellenic Mountain Race (HMR) lived up to its reputation as a wild and unforgettable ride into the rugged Pindus Mountains of Greece....
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