Rene HERSE Cycles tech info.

[dirttorpedo]

A Jan Heine thread is always good to get the blood pressure up. I personally don't care how Jan acquired the Rene Herse brand - he's obviously a fan of what Herse and the other French constructeurs did and I see it more of an homage as he produces replicas, other high end classic randonneur accessories, or slighly updated versions of their technology. His take on tire widths and marketing of ultra light supple balloon and knobby tires for a range of sizes is an overall positive IMHO and his prices are certainly consistent with other manufacturers / resellers of good quality japanese or european tires (I certainly spent a similar amount on the Vittorias on my "race bike") and his "research" and thinking on tires and pressure has certainly revolutionized modern bike frame design, UCI racing strategies, air pressure guides, and tire offerings.

I am tempted to try a pair of his more robust casing 26'ers on my Surly Troll, but I'm not expecting them to help me propell myself at PR generating speeds. As mentioned by someone else, ride what works for you.

FWIW, Jan lives in Seattle. I believe he has had a partnership with a frame builder (I believe one with a strong reputation) in Colorado so any bikes produced by him under the Rene Herse brand were made there.

 

[Retrorockit]

His tire tech is feeding back into road racing (where it came from) in larger sizes. It's probably going to do the same thing in CX, and XC as it did in Gravel Racing. I don't do any of those things. At my age (71) I don't ride fast enough for aero to be a big concern anymore. But fast rolling, lightweight, and smooth ride are all a plus for me. Wide enough to ride street and flat sandy trails too. On a Surly Troll they won't make much sense. Or on my 65# Ebike. But for a Vintage 26" XC racing Sofftail, it's new lease on life. I'm not giving much if anything away to 700C hybrids, nothing at all to 29er MTBs for what I'm actually going to do. There are some very real handling and acceleration advantages to the smaller 26" format.

 

[dirttorpedo]

His tire tech is feeding back into road racing (where it came from) in larger sizes. It's probably going to do the same thing in CX, and XC as it did in Gravel Racing. I don't do any of those things. At my age (71) I don't ride fast enough for aero to be a big concern anymore. But fast rolling, lightweight, and smooth ride are all a plus for me. Wide enough to ride street and flat sandy trails too. On a Surly Troll they won't make much sense. Or on my 65# Ebike. But for a Vintage 26" XC racing Sofftail, it's new lease on life. I'm not giving much if anything away to 700C hybrids, nothing at all to 29er MTBs for what I'm actually going to do. There are some very real handling and acceleration advantages to the smaller 26" format.

Jan's tires are already being used by bikepacking / self supported adventure racers and performing quite well. I would imagine that his focus on riding roadish bikes with large tire clearance meant that his tires were affecting drop bars on dirt riders early on. Will his tires affect mountainbikeing in any significant way - I guess never say never, but I'd think its unlikely. It is nice that he does provide some tire options for vintage mountain bike riders.

I feel that when you look at Jan's tire offerings its good to recognize that over time he has expanded his range to offer three casing options so that you can get the ultralight and supple tires and two more puncture resistent versions. It suggests to me that he recognized his original approach was not practical for all situations and riders - which is a positive to me.

 

[Retrorockit]

DH racers at MTBR will never use his tires. I mean if coasting down mountains is what cycling is all about so be it. But XC racers, CX racers, and anyone using the MTB format for commuting, or touring will benefit from this. The other day I was following someone 1/2 my age on a 29" MTB. I waited for a slight incline. Sprinted up over the top, and was gone....