Originally Posted by
abshipp
Ever been around the Compass/Rene Herse fanboys in the randonneuring & gravel scene?
I mean, they're insanely nice tires (I run a pair of their extralight 650Bx38 on my Trek) and the ride is sublime.
Whether they are worth almost $80 / ea to me remains to be seen. Supposedly they will last a long time, especially in the wider sizes, but if one gets ruined prematurely I might end up trying something a little more wallet friendly.
I looked hard at the 35mm Bon Jovi or whatever the heck it's called. I ended up with the Panaracer slick Gravelking + tires because I know/trust the brand from the miles I've put on 32mm Pasela PT tires. They have essentially the same puncture resistance tech for the tread. I just have lots of nasty chipseal roads full of glass on my route. If I had better bike handling skills, I think I would buy the super supple Rene Herse tires, but for now I will see how the Gravelkings do. They're actually really similar tires, I just assume I'm giving up some weight and suppleness for at least a perceived benefit of durability.
EDIT: Actually, I guess Panaracer makes the tires for Rene Herse? and the Gravelking + is the same weight as the standard casing Bon Jon Pass? And the tread is basically identical? Not even sure what the real difference is at this point.