Rene HERSE Cycles tech info.

[grantoury]

From the article linked below about tyre widths in the '24 TdF, widths were 26 to 30mm, which I would still consider a narrow tyre that is optimal for paved roads. In my experience the larger tyre cushions and moves along the road better than a heavily pumped up 25mm i.e. it has less rolling resistance. But moving to a 40mm means loss in other areas like weight and inertia. Tests have just measured rolling resistance. As is explained in another article linked to below. I made this point earlier in this thread, not to rain on Jan Heine's parade or talk down on wider tyres which I happen to love, but just to point out a simple physical principle that everyone who rides bicycles on the road will encounter. Which is that there is a trade off between wider tyres and narrower ones in rolling resistance and weight and inertia. Supple tyres like the Rene Herse will improve on this but will never cancel it out. No animosity from my part, just an appeal for common sense.

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...e/every-tire-teams-using-tour-de-france-2024/

https://en.brujulabike.com/der-poel-on-the-trend-of-riding-increasingly-wider-tires-i-think-there-is-a-limit/#:~:text=In fact, recent tests suggest,already using 30 mm tires.

 

[grantoury]

Also, I have the Challenge Strade Bianchi 30mm and it is an exceptional tyre, the bike just floats on our smooth Dutch bicycle lanes.

 

[Tsundere]

Aerodynamics will have an effect too no doubt.

It's still amazing to me that 26 seems to be the new 'narrow', 28 is the new standard and 30s are growing in popularity. I distinctly remember people scoffing at 23mm tyres back in the day.

 

[Titiritero]

I have no idea on physics and rolling resistance. But I know that the cycling industry likes to push something, then go to the other extreme, and then settle somewhere in the middle as "best of both worlds", selling us 3 "solutions" instead of just 1.

-MTB tires had 2" tires. Then came fat bikes, and 4" tires were the solution to any surface. Then "plus" tires at 3" were sold as the best of both worlds, and now it seems the dust is settling at around 2.5", which I predict will keep reducing back to 2.2", at least on the hardtail/fast MTB side of the spectrum.
-In gravel bikes, everything started with the 33mm of cross bikes, and the race came to 40mm, then 45mm, and now some "pros" are pushing for 2.2" tires (57mm), which forces some compromises if you want to keep narrow road cranks. I predict soon people will realize that 40mm are more appropriate if you want to keep your gravel bike agile, and if you really need the 2.2" you are just better off with a hardtail mtb...

So we'll see where the Rene Herse tires evolve. As an owner of mostly 26" bikes, I love the development of new stuff in this size, same as Ultradinamico or Stridsland are doing. What I wonder is how many existing 26" frames can accept 2.3" tires or wider, since new 26" bikes are extremely niche...

 

[Tsundere]

I have no idea on physics and rolling resistance. But I know that the cycling industry likes to push something, then go to the other extreme, and then settle somewhere in the middle as "best of both worlds", selling us 3 "solutions" instead of just 1.

-MTB tires had 2" tires. Then came fat bikes, and 4" tires were the solution to any surface. Then "plus" tires at 3" were sold as the best of both worlds, and now it seems the dust is settling at around 2.5", which I predict will keep reducing back to 2.2", at least on the hardtail/fast MTB side of the spectrum.
-In gravel bikes, everything started with the 33mm of cross bikes, and the race came to 40mm, then 45mm, and now some "pros" are pushing for 2.2" tires (57mm), which forces some compromises if you want to keep narrow road cranks. I predict soon people will realize that 40mm are more appropriate if you want to keep your gravel bike agile, and if you really need the 2.2" you are just better off with a hardtail mtb...

So we'll see where the Rene Herse tires evolve. As an owner of mostly 26" bikes, I love the development of new stuff in this size, same as Ultradinamico or Stridsland are doing. What I wonder is how many existing 26" frames can accept 2.3" tires or wider, since new 26" bikes are extremely niche...

Recreational riders really don't need to worry too much about what's happening out there at the cutting edge, except out of academic interest. In the sphere of professional road racing new ideas are always being tested, and many experiments fail or are otherwise abandoned.

That some world class athlete is getting better performance from a race tuned bike with a specific tyre on a particular stretch of road is almost irrelevant to most of us in the real world. For the same reasons we don't put Formula One slicks on our family cars, we know that practicality and comfort are generally more important than pure performance gains, especially so when we lack the horsepower required to take advantage of those potential gains.

What really matters is how much enjoyment we get from our bikes, and that means striking a balance across multiple dimensions, of which tyre choice is only one. The industry is very good at convincing us that just one more £60 spend will make our bikes perfect.

In truth the greatest fun most of us ever had on two wheels involved poorly set up kid sized BSO's.