~rene-herse-cycles | Bookmarks (55)

Today’s bikepacking races like the Tour Divide or the Atlas Mountain Race, but also Unbound XL and the Arkansas High Country Race, share the ethos of randonneuring events: They are self-supported long-distance rides. They include equal parts of adventure and performance. And they do without the sole focus on winners that you find in racing. […]

Today we celebrate all the women who have inspired us—in cycling, in life, in the world. Here are a few of the women who have been part of the Rene Herse family—both literally and figuratively—since the beginning in 1938. Marcelle Herse (right) was not just a strong cyclist herself, but also an essential part to […]

Tubeless is great for many applications, but it comes with the hassle of having to top up sealant frequently. If you don’t ride on debris-strewn highway shoulders (where the sealant will seal small punctures from glass and steel wires) and if your tires are wide enough (so you don’t get pinch flats), TPU tubes are […]

This is not a political journal. However, there are rare times when current events give us a responsibility to speak out. This post represents my personal views, not those of our company or its employees. —Jan In the current situation, it can be easy to feel discouraged. Whatever our political opinions, the wholesale dismantling of […]

This is just a short note that the Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks are back in stock in all casings. Demand for the new tires has been so great that they ran out before production could catch up. Quantities are still limited, so there is a limit of 4 tires per order. That way, riders and racers […]

Brennan Wertz started the 2025 race season on a high note: The reigning U.S. Gravel national champion won the 90-mile (150 km) Huffmaster Hopper in northern California. A punchy mixed-surface race with 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of climbing near the Snow Mountain Wilderness, the Huffmaster Hopper is known for its technical descents. The race has […]

Demand for the new 700C x 44 Corkscrew Climb semi-slicks has far outpaced our expectations. We have sold out of the Endurance casing, and other models are running low. A small quantity with Endurance casings is on the way to Seattle—we expect them in 7-10 days. We are now taking pre-orders for these, so you […]

A short trip to Japan, to visit family, friends and suppliers, was a welcome break from Seattle’s winter. It’s always fun to immerse ourselves into the vibrant cycling culture that inspires us in so many ways. One highlight of recent trips to Japan is riding with Makoto Ayano, the founder of Japan’s most popular cycling […]

We returned from Japan just a couple of weeks ago, but so much has happened since then that it almost seems like we were there during the last century. With this onslaught of news, it can be hard to maintain our sanity. In difficult times, we must find our inner strength—by focusing on who we […]

We developed the 700C x 31 mm Orondo Grade tires for riders like Ted King and Brennan Wertz, who had grown to love supple Rene Herse tires on their gravel and all-road bikes, and now wanted to experience the same comfort and speed on their road bikes. And they wanted a tubeless tire. What sounded […]

We received another shipment of chainrings, and now we have all Rene Herse cranks, in all configurations, back in stock. That includes 15 different crankarms, 26 different chainrings, custom chainring and crank bolts, pedal washers and more. Why do we go through all the trouble to offer so many combinations—and then custom-assemble them to order? […]

Early on Wednesday morning local time in Morocco, Marei Moldenhauer won the 1,300 km Atlas Mountain Race in record time. For 4 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes, Marei rode and pushed her bike over the rough dirt tracks that criss-cross the Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains, climbing more than 30,000 m (100,000 ft) in the […]

Few reviewers command as much respect as Anne-Marije Rook (aka ‘Rook’), the North American editor for Cycling Weekly, the world’s oldest bike magazine. Rook really knows how to ride: She placed 2nd in the 350-mile Unbound XL in 2023, the year when it was relentlessly muddy and most racers had trouble just keeping their bikes […]

The Atlas Mountain Race, the famous bikepacking race in Morocco, started on Friday. More than 250 racers headed out of Marrakesh and into the Atlas mountains on their 1,300 km journey. The Atlas is a true adventure. We took this opportunity to catch up with a few riders. After talking to some of the favorites, including […]

The Atlas Mountain Race, the great bikepacking race in Morocco, is happening right now. Yesterday, more than 250 racers headed out of Marrakesh and started their 1,300 km journey over long-forgotten gravel tracks. What they are finding along the way is very little pavement and plenty of hike-a-bikes. Distances between resupply points are large. The Atlas […]

The Atlas Mountain Race, the great bikepacking race in Morocco, will start within the hour. More than 250 racers will head out of Marrakesh and climb into the Atlas mountains on their 1,300 km journey over long-forgotten gravel tracks. Ahead of them is very little pavement and plenty of hike-a-bikes. Distances between resupply points are large. […]

The Atlas Mountain Race, the famous bikepacking race in Morocco, starts tomorrow. More than 250 racers will head out of Marrakesh and cross the Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains on their 1,300 km journey over long-forgotten gravel tracks. There will be very little pavement and plenty of hike-a-bikes. Distances between resupply points are large. The Atlas […]

The ‘King of Gravel’ has added the Race Around Rwanda to his long list of trophies. Best known for his strength in North American one-day gravel races like the Unbound 200, Ted likes to get outside his comfort zone—this time with a self-supported bikepacking race over 1,000 km (620 miles), with no less than 17,000 […]

As one of the first acts after assuming power, the U.S. president has declared a national emergency: It appears that our country is being invaded from the north and the south. Under a law that used to be called the Trading with the Enemy Act, a new 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada will become […]

And they are off! More than 100 racers and bikepackers started a few hours ago in Kigali for the Race Around Rwanda, a self-supported bikepacking race in east Africa. The challenging course will have them climb into the clouds at elevations of almost 3,000 m (10,000 ft), before dropping back down into the East African […]

A few weeks ago, Mark told the story of his new bike and the incredible adventure in the Pyrenees Mountains that was its maiden voyage. A number of readers went to our ‘Suggestions’ page to ask about the specs of his bike. Many wondered how a fully equipped bike could be so light: Mark’s bike weighs […]

We just received another shipment of TPU tubes from Germany. Demand is still so strong that production has trouble keeping up. Some models have been out of stock for a while. Right after the tubes were delivered, we shipped pre-ordered tubes to our customers. Even with those tubes sent out, all models are in stock—for […]

Amanda Naumann Sheek and Ted King will join the Gravel Hall of Fame in 2025. The selection committee couldn’t have made a better choice! Both Amanda and Ted not only have won the 200-mile Unbound twice (in addition to numerous other races), they’ve also been the face of gravel for years. Their podcasts—Amanda’s Groadio and […]

If you’re running 700C tires on carbon rims, the wheel situation is better than ever. As companies have rolled out new rims, they’ve redesigned them to (mostly) meet the ETRTO / ISO standards for rim/tire fit. That’s good news, whether you run your tires tubeless or with tubes. Things don’t look as great for 650B […]