Road.cc Recommended: Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge
It’s natural to wonder whether what we say about our Rene Herse dual-purpose knobbies is just marketing. We’ve all heard the word ‘revolutionary’ bandied about too many times. Who really believes it when a company says that they’ve created something completely new, something that eclipses everything that came before? “Come on—these are knobby tires,” you may think, “how can they be as fast as slicks? Corner as well as slicks, too? And noise cancelling technology—give me a break!”
OK, so you’ve seen the photos of riders leaning deep into corners on Rene Herse knobbies, but that may just be rider skill—and risk taking—rather than proof of superior cornering grip. (Although we probably wouldn’t use our company president for dangerous stunts.) And those race wins on Rene Herse knobbies—don’t pro racers ride whatever they are paid to ride? (Although these racers probably could get more money from bigger companies that have marketing budgets.) It’s normal to have a healthy dose of skepticism.
That’s why independent media reviews are important. Rene Herse rarely advertises—we don’t have a marketing budget, as we prefer to spend our money on Research & Development—so there is no ‘incentive’ when media review our products. (That’s also why you many media won’t review our products…)
So when the renowned British cycling website road.cc included the Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge among their ‘Recommended Tyres,’ it was nice to see that they found our dual-purpose knobbies “ridiculously fast.” They wrote that“grip diving into corners is god-like.” As to the noise canceling, they report that the tires are “far quieter than any knobbly tyre should.” Exactly the things we’ve been saying about them. Their only complaint was that the tire aren’t inexpensive. Sadly, that is true in the UK, where road.cc is based, due to Brexit and exchange rates.
But rather than tell you what they wrote, read it for yourself!
Here is their review: “The René Herse Umtanum Ridge 650b tyres are a ridiculously fast yet grippy upgrade to any bike that can take them. They’re quiet, supple and very confidence inspiring, and the overall performance is outstanding.
“The Umtanum Ridge is the same design as Rene Herse’s Fleecer Ridge, just in a different size and range of casings. The rolling is very good on the road. You forget it’s a knobbly and enjoy the isolation from small bumps and surface cracks. With the uniform tread across the tyre, there’s no transition point from slick to shoulder knobs.
“The Umtanum Ridge rolls far quieter than a knobbly tyre should too, and at 25 psi the comfort is sublime and the grip diving into corners god-like. On the few occasions when we suffered slippage, it was predictable and recoverable.
“If you’re after a wide tyre for the worst gravel conditions imaginable, one that still rolls stupidly fast and quiet on hard surfaces, the Umtanum Ridge should be high on your list.
“Why it’s here: Fat, supple tyre for all manner of off-road use, and fast and quiet on-road – expensive, though”
There’s really not much we can add to what road.cc said. Except perhaps that you can get the same performance from our other knobbies, too, if you’re running a different tire size.
More information:
- Road.cc’s original review
- 700C / 29″ tires
- 650B tires
- 26″ tires
