On Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 9:39:47 AM UTC-8 [email protected] wrote:
Of course, none of this means that they didn't do robust studies and publish their results in reputable, peer-reviewed journals. And it does not mean that their tires aren't faster, grippier and more comfortable than any other tires available. I was just making a wisecrack about the tendency to reference science that indicates you should buy their products if you like things like speed, comfort or traction without sharing the actual science (on the parts of the website I've been too, at least). EIther way, I definitely want to try their extralight tires at some point. I've just been intimidated about them being "fragile," especially because me plus my bike weigh about 270lbs. I don't trust anything Rene Herse says about their tires. (The tread pattern in particular is a bunch of hogwash, as I'll describe below) For instance, I think that at 32mm or less, there are plenty of other comparables from major manufacturers at 1/2 to 1/3 the price that will work well for most riders. I run Michelin Power Cup 28s on my single bikes ($35 each) and are very happy with them. Having said that, for 35mm tires and up, there really aren't any comparables that are as light. And at the prices RH is charging there's no point (for my use cases) to using anything other than extralights, since if you're happy to carry extra weight there are plenty of large sized tires that are heavy. As for your weight and size, I use extralight Bon Jon Pass tires on my tandem/triplet. When we're unloaded as a 2-seat tandem the bike is 250 pounds, when fully loaded we're 270 pounds. The bike survived last year's tour of the dolomites and alps (including off roading) for 730 miles and over 57000' of climbing and the tire still hasn't worn off the center tread pattern yet. The year. before that, we did 823 miles and over 73000' on a much tougher tour with 700x32 Stampede pass extralights. Within 4 days of that sort of treatment the center tread pattern disappeared (which is why I think the center tread is just marketing --- how could it make any difference if it wore out after 4 days into an 800+ mile tour), but the tire kept going. We got the bike home, put the bike into 3-seat configuration and it wore out when we rode it in Santa Cruz on a day ride. (In triplet we were 350 pounds) That was when I started shopping for the Bon Jon Pass 700x35 tires, which measure 38mm on our tandem. So if you want to try the extra-light Rene Herse tires I think we've tested that tire way beyond your weight class for you and you can buy with confidence. I'd wager that I'm also a much more aggressive rider off road than most folks. :-) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/94b2884f-2b09-4ef6-8b55-d1fc3a5b5330n%40googlegroups.com.
