“The Mythical Tire Is No Myth.”
It’s common for companies to write about their ‘revolutionary’ products, when in reality the new stuff is very similar to what’s already out there. That’s why independent reviews are so important, especially when they come from experienced riders who buy their own products. I’ve been following the adventures of joeski_nw (Joe Korbuszewski) on social media for a while, but only recently stumbled across Joe’s blog—and found a review of our tires.
“Once you’ve ridden enough different tread and sidewall combinations, you realize that a lot of the marketing about rubber compounds, sidewalls, and rolling resistance is just that: marketing.”
That’s a refreshing statement in a world where so many reviews are just rehashing marketing copy. Of course, that meant Joe initially was skeptical about Rene Herse tires as well:
“It just seemed impossible that what I had read and heard [about Rene Herse tires] could be more than just hype. After all, I had ridden the best tires that the biggest companies had to offer, and they probably knew a lot more about tires than this guy in Seattle.”
That’s what I used to think as well. Having visited many makers of bicycles and components, I’ve come to realize that their engineers are busy with quality control and solving production problems. That’s a huge task by itself, and there is little time for R&D, and even less for fundamental research into what makes bicycles fast. We only started researching tire performance because we had visions of riding in ways that seemed impossible at the time…
But let’s get to the review of the tires:
“Is it really possible for a 48mm tire with huge knobs to maintain great traction on every unpaved surface, but still roll fast and handle predictably on pavement? Yes it can, and I know it’s high praise, but there is no other tire that comes close.”
“When inflated, Rene Herse tires have a rounded profile with flat and slick knobs, which maintain that rounded profile. This means that when you are on pavement, you can ride as aggressively as you would on a road slick and this knobby tire will corner low and fast while sticking to the tarmac.“
“This is a rather genius design because cornering at speed with a squared-profile or super-knobby shoulder can get really scary, really quickly. The tread pattern also makes very little road noise and therefore, little to no road buzz is transmitted into the handlebars.”
“The 48mm Oracle Ridge feels like a lot less tire when you’re actually pedaling it. You almost forget that you have all that tire underneath you, until you go running over roots and big chunky rocks, and it reminds you that there are very few obstacles you can’t traverse.”
“[Before trying Rene Herse tires,] I’ve never found a tire that handled like a road tire on pavement, but also chewed through mud and sand, while gripping hard on loose climbs. In fact, the tire I just described sounds like a myth.”
“The mythical tire is no myth. Overall, I have to say that any hype surrounding Rene Herse is anything but hype.”
Thank you, Joe. It’s always nice to see our customers enjoy Rene Herse tires as much as we do.
Further reading:
