This year, we are celebrating 85 years of Rene Herse Cycles. In late 1938, René Herse built the world's lightest bikepacking bike and entered it in the prestigious Concours de Machines, the competition for the best bicycle, to showcase the innovative components he had developed. Drawing on his experience of...
Seattle, April 1, 2024: Now that the Nivex derailleurs have been in production for a while, Rene Herse is taking analog shifting to the next level with the Floating Chain. This system is lighter, has less resistance and costs far less than all derailleur systems available today. Jan Heine, head of...
We're beyond excited to introduce the new Rene Herse TPU tubes. They take the performance of our tires to the next level. Why tubes? Tubeless is great for many applications—anytime you ride on debris-strewn highways, where the sealant will seal small punctures from glass and steel wires. Or during gravel races,...
Global Cycling Network (GCN) has been following Bicycle Quarterly and Rene Herse for a long time. Recently, they covered our Nivex derailleur in their Hot Tech review. Back in 2018, they talked about a "brand-new idea": suspension losses due to vibrations of rider and bike. And they credited Bicycle Quarterly...
Mid South has been called the opening weekend of gravel: It marks the real start of the season's big races. And for good reason: The team in Stillwater puts on a festival like no other, and the red dirt of Oklahoma makes for great racing. Rene Herse has a long...
The reception of our new road tubeless Orondo Grade tires has been overwhelming. Riders love the speed, grip and road feel that Rene Herse tires are famous for, in a tubeless-ready tire for road bikes. In fact, demand has been so overwhelming that our first production run sold out quickly....
One-by cranks are great when the going gets rough: There's always another gear just a click away, and modern cassettes have a range that gets you up (and down) the steepest hills. They work great with 11- or 12-speed drivetrains: Few riders need 22 or even 24 gears. Many of...
Valley of Tears is a new gravel race, and the stars of gravel racing lined up last weekend in Turkey, Texas, as a prelude to next weekend's Mid South. Ted King described the 115-mile (185 km) course: "The Texas panhandle is true Wild West, and the sand presented quite the...
Francesca (Fra) Selva has been racing on Rene Herse tires for years, on road and track. Her feedback is part of our R&D. Her spirit and the joy she gets from cycling inspire us all. We recently caught up with Fra as she prepares the 2024 season. RH: Our readers...
If you are following bike racing and/or tech, you will have heard of Thomas De Gendt's mysterious crash during Stage 5 of the UAE Tour in Abu Dhabi. Video footage shows the front wheel of the Belgian breakaway specialist jerking to the right before he falls. After the crash, De Gendt's...
An acquaintance once remarked: "Isn't it funny that Rene Herse tires always score best in your tests?" There was a twinkle in their eye, and their voice made clear that this was a gentle ribbing and not an accusation, but it got me thinking... It's easy to suspect foul play...
The 2024 gravel racing has started with exciting racing in California's Grasshopper Adventure Series. Last weekend, the second event of the series, the 88.8-mile (142.9 km) Huffmaster Hopper saw an all-star field. There was the long-standing, but friendly, rivalry between local favorites Brennan Wertz and Peter Stetina. Lachlan Morton and...
Some cyclists find it hard to believe that a small company from Seattle can make some of the best tires in the world. Surely the big names must have much greater resources. How can a couple of scientists compete with an army of technicians in white lab coats who have...
The days of shortages in the bike industry are largely over—thankfully—but for small companies like Rene Herse Cycles there is still some catching up to do. Many of our products take a long time to make, with multiple steps, each done by a different supplier. That takes time. And sometimes,...
Rene Herse tires have won many awards over the years, starting with the bikepacking.com's 'Gear of the Year' award and the Design and Innovation Award when the 29" x 2.2" Fleecer Ridge was first introduced. More recently, our 650B x 55 Umtanum Ridge won road.cc's coveted 'Recommended Tire 2022/2023' award, and...
Every edition of Bicycle Quarterly brings you carefully curated stories that will surprise, delight and inspire. We cover many areas of cycling and refuse to be pigeonholed into one category, because the world of cycling is simply too great and exciting for that. As one reader recently put it: "It's nice...
Working in the bike industry is fun, because our world is populated by like-minded enthusiasts. Sure, there are always those who are looking for the latest ideas, so they can swoop in and copy whatever others have developed with love and sweat (and sometimes tears). That's inevitable in today's world......
Riding 1200 km (750 miles) almost non-stop is never going to be easy. That's one reason Paris-Brest-Paris, the world's oldest long-distance event, is held only every four years. There's enough time in between to forget how hard it was, yet it's short enough that we remember the lessons from the...
Our new tubeless road tires have a lot of people excited—including the editors at Cycling Weekly, the world's oldest bike magazine. Luke Friend penned the article. He mentioned the three casings—Standard, Extralight and Endurance—and he was especially impressed with the new tires' longevity and light weight: Of course, the truth...
I love solo rides, especially on flat terrain. They have a different rhythm from rides with friends, and from mountainous courses. They invite meditation und contemplation. They are also a great time to test equipment and ideas. During our year-end trip to Japan, I discovered perhaps my favorite course for solo...
A while ago, we mentioned our new road tubeless Orondo Grade 700C x 31 mm tires to our friends at Above Category Cycles, the famous pro shop in Sausalito, California, in an email. Almost immediately, we got a message back: "Have been waiting for that type of tire from you....
The new Rene Herse 700C x 31 mm tubeless-specific Orondo Grade road tires are now available. As true road tires, the Orondo Grades are designed to handle high pressures of up to 90 psi (6.2 bar) whether you run them tubeless or with tubes—enough for heavy riders and those who...
Gravel riding isn't really a big thing in Japan, because there are so many wonderful mountain roads, and almost all are paved. There is no need to head onto gravel just to get away from traffic and explore interesting places. And yet, there is a burgeoning gravel scene... It's spearheaded...
The new year is off to a good start: We've just received a shipment from Europe, plus we've made use of the days between the year-end holidays to assemble more Nivex derailleurs. We're excited to have Ted King's favorite mirrors (above) back in stock, as well as the ultra-comfortable, fully rebuildable...
When we posted about the tires ridden by Sofiane and other top-ten finishers in the Tour Divide, Mark Rude contacted us and asked—maybe half in jest—whether we'd want to look at the tires of a heavier rider after a full season of gravel racing. Mark seemed surprised when we took...
As riders prepare for rides and races in 2024, they also wonder what tires to run. How do you choose the right width, tread pattern, casing, pressure, etc.? It can seem overwhelming, but in reality it's simpler than you might think. We've distilled the science down to five points. With...
Wishing you a great 2024 with health, happiness and many great rides! Jan, Natsuko & the RH team
It's no secret that we love steel bikes at Rene Herse Cycles. (We are fond of carbon and titanium, too!) Bikes from each material have their purpose in our stables. I love my carbon Rene Herse × OPEN U.P.P.E.R. and my titanium Firefley for what they do. Both are wonderful...
In many ways, 2023 has been a year full of challenges. For me, that's where cycling provides an antidote, and I'm glad 2023 will be a year to remember for the incredible rides and emotions it brought. At times it seemed like a whirlwind, with a packed schedule that forced...
Usually, we don't pay much attention to 'favorites' lists, since most are little more than paid advertisements. (We get plenty of solicitations to have our products placed on these lists.) This one is different: We didn't even know Josh Weinberg, on of the contributors on The Radavist, was using a...
All of us at Rene Herse Cycles wish you Happy Holidays! We are grateful for your support, and we hope you’re staying warm and safe. We look forward to being part of your rides and adventures next year! Natsuko, Jan & the Rene Herse team
At Rene Herse Cycles, we take protecting your data seriously—and your privacy, too. We don't store sensitive data in our systems, we don't collect data we don't need, and we'll never sell your data. This means that sometimes our website doesn't know things about you that you think it should...
It's been a year since we've introduced our Suggestion Form as part of our revamped customer service. Twelve months and more than 600 (!) suggestions later, we can say: Our customers have a lot of great ideas—and quite a few far-out ones, too! Earlier this week, we discussed the most...
We're on the final straight toward the holidays. If you need last-minute gifts—or your own reading material or bike parts for projects you'll tackle over the quiet days at the end of the year—don't worry: There's still time. Here's the shipping situation at Rene Herse Cycles for the next week: Most...
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...
There is joy in reading a magazine or book that is hard to explain, but easy to experience. As we get more and more of our information on-screen, we also become aware of the pitfalls. With ads popping up, links begging to be clicked, and beeps alerting when messages arriving...
The wait is over! We have Nivex derailleurs, shift levers, cables, dropouts, brazing jigs—the entire program is in stock now. We appreciate all our customers who've waited patiently while we finalized this innovative drivetrain. At a time when electronic shifting works extremely well, developing an alternative only makes sense if...
It's that time of year again... when we tend to ride less, spend more time indoors with family and friends, and also think about gifts that show how much we appreciate them. At Rene Herse, we're no fans of the holiday shopping frenzy, and we don't want to sell you...
We wish all our readers, customers and friends a happy Thanksgiving! We honestly think we have some of the nicest customers in the world, and we're grateful for your support. Let's celebrate our love of cycling together! Jan, Natsuko & the RH team
Rene Herse Cycles is excited to team up with the Peninsula Adventure Sports as a sponsor of the Gravel Unravel race series. The Pacific Northwest has some of the best gravel roads in the world, yet there aren't many well-known gravel races in the region. When I heard that there...
We always work on improving our products. For every ground-breaking change, there are dozens of small improvements that we make all the time in our production runs. One recent one was to increase the length of the standard struts on our UD-1 racks from 240 to 250 mm. Why does...
Tire design comes down to one essential rule: Supple, wide, high pressure—pick two. Why can't we have all three? At high pressure, wide tires have to withstand extreme forces, so they need to be stronger (and thus less supple). Here is how this works: The tension on the casing is directly...
Good routes are treasure maps. If well-designed, they are timeless—a canvas for adventure. Seasons, weather and company color the experience. Creating events takes a track on a map from two dimensions to three. It’s simple. You set a date, a time and a meeting place. Somehow daydreams become a real possibility. At least,...
It wasn't too long ago that every high-end bike was equipped with quick releases. (Track bikes were the rare exception.) Quick releases allow removing the wheels without tools. Good quick releases grip the dropouts tighter than nuts. Quick releases were considered so important for bicycles that the story of their...
Last week, we saw the new Bicycle Quarterly come off the press here in Seattle, where the magazine is printed. Right now, the pages are in the bindery. Soon the finished magazines will be sent to our subscribers. Printing a magazine requires a lot of extra steps compared to putting content...
Every brake system is only as strong as its weakest link, and often that is the cable hanger. When you brake hard, the hanger flexes. That means less braking force is available to squeeze the rim – your brake is lacking in stopping power and feel. To solve this problem,...
Just minutes ago, Kevin 'Benky' Benkenstein finished the 2,712 km (1,685 miles) of The Rhino Run bikepacking race. After traversing the rugged Cape Province of South Africa and the Karoo and Namib Deserts, Benky arrived in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, just before midnight (local time). For 7 days, 18...
Fender can seem unglamorous compared to electronic derailleurs or one-piece carbon cockpits. Yet fenders actually make a bigger difference in how much we enjoy our bikes, especially during the rainy season. Even when it's dry outside, the forecast may predict a "30% chance of rain." With fenders, we head out...
In the current situation, the news can become overwhelming. We want to be aware, but we also need to tune out from time to time to retain our sanity. That's when we make a cup of tea and sit down with a good magazine... So we've decided to do another mailing of...
Kevin 'Benky' Benkenstein has finished the first leg of the Rhino Run bikepacking race, traversing the Cape Province of South Africa at a blistering pace. He took a short rest in Stellenbosh near Cape Town, before embarking on the 'main course' of the race into the deserts of the Karoo...
This morning, the 2023 Rhino Run bikepacking race started in Plettenberg, South Africa. Riders will cross the rugged mountains of the Cape in South Africa before traversing the Karoo and Namib Deserts during the 2,750 km (1,708 mile) race. Last year, Kevin 'Benky' Benkenstein and Abdullah Zeinab raced neck-to-neck for...
During the Arkansas High Country Race, my most memorable—and fun—riding was at night. As it turned out, I rode the roughest and most technical sections of the course in the dark. What surprised me was that I found riding gravel easier at night than during the day....
When the podium for the challenging South Loop of the 2023 Arkansas High Country Race was announced, we were excited to see that all riders in the first places chose Rene Herse tires: 1st and FKT – Andrew Onermaa: 700x55 Fleecer Ridge Endurance 2nd – Bryan Dougherty: 700x42 Hurricane Ridge Endurance 3rd – Jan Heine: 26"...
When I entered the Arkansas High Country Race last year, it was just the right mix of fun and hard to create lasting memories. Winning the South Loop and setting the FKT was nice, too. It was almost a foregone conclusion that I'd return. Partially to experience it again, and...
Yes, I'm back! Beautiful, challenging roads; amazing scenery; friendly people; a wonderful start/finish location... I just could not resist. So I'm lining up on the start line again this year to race the South Loop: 486 miles (780 km) and 32,500 ft (10,000 m) in elevation gain. I really loved the...
We're excited that our friend Kong Fùfù (he prefers to remain anonymous) has been selected to represent France at the UCI Gravel Worlds this weekend. Naturally, I asked him which tire he'd run. His reply: "I will ride the 700x44 Manastash Ridge. I don't like to do what the others do,...
In late 1938, Rene Herse Cycles was founded out of a passion for making bikes faster, more versatile, and more reliable. In the 85 years since then, this passion has set records and FKTs, won national titles and world championships, and has made cycling more fun for...
A huge congrats to Lauren de Crescenzo for winning The Rad Dirt, the final round of the Lifetime Grand Prix race series. Averaging 19.08 mph (30.71 km/h), Lauren surged into the lead on the challenging 110-mile (177 km) course that traversed the remote and rugged Spanish Peaks region of Colorado. Lauren...
This year is the second time that the UCI holds the Gravel World Championships. USA Cycling has announced the roster they are sending to Veneto, Italy, to take on the best racers in the world. We're excited to see these two outstanding athletes selected as part of the national team....
Our book about the technical developments of the last 15 years is called 'The All-Road Bike Revolution.' We don't use the term 'revolution' lightly—modern all-road bikes truly have changed how we ride. We used to have multiple bikes: a road bike for going fast, a touring bike for carrying...
Ted King and his wife Laura have long been champions of the cycling community in every sense of the word. Ted, of course, is best known as the 'King of Gravel,' having won Unbound (twice), SBT GRVL and many other big gravel races. Laura is a champion in her own...
Last weekend, the first-ever USA Gravel National Championships were held in Gering, Nebraska. The chance to put their name forever at the top of the list of U.S. gravel champions brought together most of the fastest racers in the U.S. Nobody wanted to miss the chance of putting on that...
One of the most popular tires in the Rene Herse program is the Oracle Ridge dual-purpose knobby. Now it's also available with our ultra-tough Endurance PLUS casing. At 48 mm wide, the Oracle Ridge hits the sweet spot between narrow gravel tire and mountain bike volume—ideal for the latest generation...
If you've read the previous post, you know that this year's Paris-Brest-Paris wasn't without challenges. It was a hard ride, and if the final result is actually quite respectable (60:05 hours for the 1218 km), that's due in large part to my bike. Not only did it perform flawlessly, but...
The 1200 km of Paris-Brest-Paris are never easy—the relentless hills will see to that—but the best rides are those where working hard is almost pure pleasure. It's not that the pedals turn by themselves—you feel your legs working hard, but all you notice is what the French call "the taste...
With Paris-Brest-Paris, a big part of the adventure is just getting to the start. First you have to qualify, then train, then plan your ride... and finally you have to get yourself and your bike to Paris. Especially your bike. Air travel with bikes has become easier as airlines have...
A huge congratulations to Sofiane Sehili for winning the Silk Road Mountain Race for the third time in a row! The 1880 km (1170 mile) race goes over long-abandoned military roads in Kyrgyzstan, climbing 35,000 m (115,000 ft) over some of the world's highest passes. In recent years, it has...
"I'll be in Seattle for one day in August. I'd love to go riding," said the email from our friend Hirohisa Yamaguchi. He's the editor-in-chief of Japan's Bicycle Club magazine. At first I thought of a big adventure in the mountains, linking several gravel passes. But with jet lag and...
The training is done. The bike is (almost) ready. The time to go to Paris for the 1200 km (750-mile) Paris-Brest-Paris is approaching rapidly. Over the last year, we've talked about preparing for this big ride (or any other) in our 'Road to PBP' series in Bicycle Quarterly. The days...
Long-distance events like the Dark Divide 300 require more than just leg power. Unlike road racing, where bikes are very similar, strategies are decided by directeurs sportif in team cars, and the rider with the most watts usually wins, there's no established standard for bikepacking bikes, and strategy is just...
There are many cycling films, but few have moved me as much as Don't Look Back, the story of last autumn's Rhino Run ultradistance race in South Africa and Namibia. Readers of the Spring Bicycle Quarterly are familiar with the story of how Abdullah Zeinab and Kevin 'Benky' Benkenstein raced...
The new Bicycle Quarterly is at the printer. It's always fun to see the pages come off the press. We're there to check that the colors are exactly right. It's much more work than putting together an online journal, but the sheer beauty and permanence of print make it worth while....
Writing about the Dark Divide 300 is a challenge—not quite as much as riding it, fortunately. You see, I'm suffering from the opposite of writer's block: There are too many stories. Which one to tell? This route is epic, reminiscent of the dramas of ancient Greek: full of action, beauty,...
This afternoon, I am heading out on the Dark Divide 300 bikepacking route. Ever since Ben Everett, the mastermind behind the Evergreen Gravel Racing series, announced this challenging route, I've wanted to ride it. The course includes many of the best gravel roads in the central Cascades, passing through the...
Just a quick note that we finally received our latest shipment from Berthoud in France. Ted King's favorite mirrors are back in stock. If you pre-ordered one, it's been shipped, and you'll receive an email with tracking information in the next day or two. We also have most Berthoud saddles,...
Adrien Liechti is one of the world's fastest ultra-distance racers. Recently, he won Ascend Armenia, a new race on the calendar that took riders far off the beaten path in this relatively unknown eastern European country. After the race, I caught up with Adrien to talk about the race. Jan: Congratulations...
In France right now, the Tour de France is omnipresent. That's not an overstatement. Almost everybody, whether they are sports fans or not, follows the Tour. It's not just the racing, but also the beautiful images. The Tour is a carefully choreographed show of French landscapes and sites, with the...
Readers of this Journal may remember that I've been dreaming of testing tires in an abandoned railroad tunnel. A bit of background: We've known for a long time that testing tires on drums in the lab produces misleading results. Without a rider on the bike, you can't measure the suspension...
For the last few editions of Bicycle Quarterly, we've been celebrating the 20th anniversary of the magazine. Back then, we were just out of college, ready to challenge the established cycling world with new ideas (and a few forgotten ones that we were rediscovering). At a time when road racing...
A huge congratulations to Lael Wilcox! First female finisher of the Tour Divide, still smiling after 2698 miles and a ride that was not without challenges. Way to go, Lael! Photo credits: bikepacking.com (Photo 1); Rugile Kaladyte (Photo 2)
I'm riding in a world of green and white. Evergreen tree branches are above my head. Ferns grow by the roadside. Moss covers the tree trunks. All are different, vibrant shades of green. Anything beyond the next fifty meters disappears in the white fog of low clouds and drizzle. The...
In two weeks' time, we'll celebrate the lofty ideals on which this country was founded—today we reflect on the long and sometimes arduous path to get there. And yet today isn't a solemn holiday, but a joyful celebration of what we've achieved, and a way to get energized to continue...
Sometimes we forget how much there is to discover close to home. Last week, we headed for a short trip to the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. It was a cloudy afternoon—not a perfect day by any means. But it's always great to get out, and it's good to...
The Tour Divide, the bikepacking race along the spine of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to the Mexican border, started this morning. More than 190 riders took off on their 2,745-mile (4,418 km) journeys that will take weeks to complete. (The late Mike Hall set the FKT of just under...
Unbound, the race across the Flint Hills of Kansas, has effectively become the world championship of gravel cycling. Year after year, professional racers from all over the world line up next to amateurs to tackle the steep hills, the rough gravel—and the weather. When it's dry, the challenge comes from...
When we started to develop tires, we refused to accept what passed as 'common sense.' Back then, you just 'knew' that wide tires rolled slow. But when we looked at what could be done to make wide tires less slow, we realized that there was no need to compromise: Wide...
One reason we love racing is the beautiful images that accompany the sport. Whether it's Jered and Ashley Gruber's moody images from Europe or Marc Arjol Rodriguez captivating photos of gravel racing in the heartland, there is an aesthetic to racing that appeals whether you care about the sport itself...
Rene Herse cranks don't need an introduction any longer. Net-shape forging makes them stronger than other small-production cranks. They are superlight. Chainrings choices are almost unlimited. We think they are beautiful, too. The cranks are made in small batches, and recent production runs sold out before we could even announce...
A huge congrats to Adrien Liechti, winner of the inaugural edition of the Hellenic Mountain Race! Created by the folks behind the Silk Road Mountain Race and Atlas Mountain Race, the all-new Hellenic Mountain Race is a 940-kilometer unsupported bikepacking race through the rugged mountains of Greece. Traversing the steep slopes...
Twenty-twenty-three is a PBP year. Cyclists who want to participate in the world's oldest long-distance event also ride four brevets to qualify: 200, 300, 400 and 600 km. (Paris-Brest-Paris is organized every four years.) The idea is that riders build their stamina, speed and experience until they are ready for...
Last year's Tour Divide was a true challenge, with snow, wind, rain and fires adding to the difficulties presented by the 2,666-mile trek along the spine of the Rocky Mountains—from Canada to the Mexican border. At a time when most sports are reduced to short made-for-TV formats, long bikepacking races...
Congratulations to Marisa Boaz for first place at last weekend's Hogback GRVL in Iowa. The Mazda Lauf Factory Team rider raced on 700C x 44 mm Snoqualmie Pass Endurance tires and averaged more than 20 mph (32 km/h) over the very hilly 70-mile (115 km) course. Marisa reported: "There were...
Last year's bikepacking races saw some incredible competition. Sofiane Sehili won the Silk Road Mountain Race from James Hayden by less than an hour. Even more suspenseful was the Rhino Run, the race across the Karoo and Namib deserts of southern Africa. For almost eight days and 2,750 kilometers, Kevin (Benky)...
This weekend was the finale of the Grasshopper Adventure Series: The Six Sigma Hopper included some Class IV gravel with five creek crossings as well as "pavement pocketed with wheel-enveloping potholes." That's Laura King's (right) assessment of the course, but it didn't hold her back. She came second in the Pro...
Long-distance gravel races put extreme demands on chain lubes. Wide and often knobby tires throw up a lot of dust, and the bikes are usually not equipped with fenders to keep that dust off the chain. Adding to the challenge are creek crossings where the chain gets submerged. Repeat for...
We think a lot about limiting our impact on this world. Making parts for bikes that last for decades without becoming obsolete, and that encourage us to ride from home, is a big part of it. On the left, Mark’s 2007 machine, on the right my 2021 bike for the Oregon...
Ted King made a video about how he chooses the tires for his gravel and road bikes. Watching it, I was reminded that we've been working together for 4 years now—and I found out that he's been riding Rene Herse tires for 7 years. I had noticed the occasional photo...
We are excited to work with some of the world’s best racers. All of them could ride any tires they want. That they choose Rene Herse tires is a vote of confidence, and their results speak for themselves. They've stood on the podiums of all the big gravel races: Unbound,...
Many of our customers have patiently been waiting for the Berthoud Bar-End Mirrors to come back in stock. The mirrors are small and unobtrusive, yet offer a good field of vision. They are machined from aluminum, so they are sturdy and beautiful. They adjust by hand, yet they don't go...
We just received a big shipment from France, which includes components from Berthoud Cycles and the famous FMB tubulars. We're excited all these wonderful parts are back in stock. These components are made by hand in small batches, so quantities are limited. Most eagerly awaited are Ted King's favorite bar-end...
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