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Narrow Rene Herse tires

Old 07-27-20, 12:38 PM
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Narrow Rene Herse tires

Does anyone have experience with these? I'm thinking of switching out my Stampede Pass Extralights (32mm) for some 28mms, for fender clearance purposes. Is it worth it to splurge for the RH 28s, or do other manufacturers make equally comfortable (and fast) narrower tires?
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Old 07-27-20, 07:30 PM
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I think there are other companies that make fast 28mm, but I have no experience. I thought about getting some 28mm RH tires for PBP, but never got around to it.
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Old 07-28-20, 07:01 AM
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I was gonna try the RH tires a while back, but found the vittoria corsa in 28mm were cheaper with the free shipping from the UK sites, and they are available in black without paying a premium. I just got a pair from chain reaction for 63$ canadian shipped to my door. The waiting time was much longer due to covid but I wasn't in immediate need. I was thinking of trying out the GP5000 but they were out of 28mm tires. I'm not sure which tires are the fastest but the corsas seem to compare favourably to the 32mm RH/compass tires I used to ride. I just wish they'd make them all black in the standard casing, I hate gumwall after a few rides they look so grimy.
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Old 07-28-20, 09:06 AM
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I'm pretty sure RH tires are still the best tires available even in the narrow widths for the type of riding you do. However, at the narrower widths, you don't give up a lot of quality for a significant savings. I bought 3 new 28mm gravel kings for under a hundred dollars. Could have gotten corsas or gp5000's for around the same price. RH EL's would have been almost triple that, but there's no doubt that they are a little bit better than those other tires. Only you can decide if it's worth it.
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Old 07-29-20, 01:11 PM
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RH 28mm tires

I have used the standard RH 28mm tires for a few years. Ride is nice and feels fast. Easy to mount. I have also used the Continental GP4000 sII tires in 25 mm which measure at 27.5 on my Velocity A23 rims. The Continental's feel as fast but a bit harsher and are much harder to mount or change. I am now on the Continental GP5000 sII's in 32mm which I feel are as fast. I use the 28mm RH tires when I am running fenders as the 32mm don't give a lot of clearance on my bike if I mount them with the fenders. The Continentals have a bit of flat protection. The RH tires are nice but a bit expensive. I got 2 Conti's with tubes for around $90. Hope this helps. Conti's seem a bit taller.

Jim
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Old 07-29-20, 04:57 PM
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Conti 5000. No reason to spend more for an inferior tire from RH.
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Old 07-30-20, 07:27 AM
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Not to pile on, but to support what I said:

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...prix-5000-2018
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...-jon-pass-2018

The Bon Jon Pass has the same construction as the other RH / Compass tires, so I would expect similar results from other tires RH sells.

The Conti is superior in rolling resistance, puncture resistance, and cost. Other than being unduly influenced by marketing, if Conti makes the 5000 in a width you are happy with, there is no reason to go with RH tires.

Where RH tires make more sense is in the fatter widths, were the competition / selection is not as good. If Conti and Vittoria and Schwalbe really wanted to go after the same market as RH, I think they would beat RH at the game they invented / the market they helped create.

I my sense is that Panaracer (who makes RH tires) is not really up to par with those other companies in terms of rubber compound and casing technologies.
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Old 07-30-20, 08:22 AM
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Steamer , Have you ridden the RH tires? I've ridden a lot of tires, and there's just something about those EL casings that feels different that I don't think shows up in the BRR tests. Could be the marketing hype, placebo effect or whatever, but I normally don't consider myself susceptible to such things. That said, I agree with you that for anything under 35mm they aren't worth the premium, would have said down to 32mm just a few years ago when they were the only game in town.
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Old 07-30-20, 01:59 PM
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Originally Posted by kingston
Steamer , Have you ridden the RH tires? I've ridden a lot of tires, and there's just something about those EL casings that feels different that I don't think shows up in the BRR tests. Could be the marketing hype, placebo effect or whatever, but I normally don't consider myself susceptible to such things. That said, I agree with you that for anything under 35mm they aren't worth the premium, would have said down to 32mm just a few years ago when they were the only game in town.
No, not recently. I have a pair of the Compass 26" tires that had the same tread design as the Pasela, but JH repeatedly would point out that the casings on his tires were totally different than the Pasela, and his tires were significantly better as a result. I swapped them out for a set of identically sized Paselas (really putting his exact claim to a direct comparison) and I could not tell a difference in how they rode, even though I was pre-disposed / expecting there would be a difference. I should point out those tires have very light casings (in a general sense) but they are not the EL casings.

I can admit there is a chance there is something real about what you sense that is not captured in a test, but I think you also recognize it might just be placebo too. Hard to know for sure.

That all said, if I was looking for road tires fatter than 32mm, I'd still have to give RH tires serious consideration.
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Old 07-31-20, 02:42 PM
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Originally Posted by samkl
Does anyone have experience with these? I'm thinking of switching out my Stampede Pass Extralights (32mm) for some 28mms, for fender clearance purposes. Is it worth it to splurge for the RH 28s, or do other manufacturers make equally comfortable (and fast) narrower tires?

You realize part of the comfort is the larger tire volume, functioning at a lower PSI, with a small volume tire the PSI it operates in is necessarily higher..
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Old 07-31-20, 06:28 PM
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I’ve run Compass 28s, Grand Bois, and Conti GP4000s/5000s (25mm for the 4000s since they were actually 28mm), and Gravelkings. Not that much different.

I like the grip of the Contis in bad weather better, but they’re also a little harder to mount; on one set of wheels I had that was an issue.
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Old 08-04-20, 02:33 AM
  #12  
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I've used the EL Chinook Pass in 28mm on a couple of bikes, maybe ~15,000km worth and not found anything as nice. I won't go as far as to say they are 'the fastest' but IME they are 'as fast' as other options I've used* but are definitely more comfortable**. They are however very expensive and not what I'd call good value. Generally speaking you're better off with one of the cheaper but equally excellent options like a GP5000 or Corsas etc. They'll be great tyres and 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost. But if you have the spare cash and really do appreciate (or just want) the comfort of the EL casing RH tyres then go for it. Only you can decide where your'line in the sand' is with regards to cost/benefit.

What I've been doing for the last few years on my long-distance bikes with smaller tyres is running a RH EL casing tyre on the front to filter out the buzz and get the most life out of the expensive tyre, and then run something else on the back. In 28mm my favourite pairing has been a GP4000 (now 5000) rear with a Chinook Pass EL front, but I did quite a lot of winter miles using Clement Strada LGG (120TPI) on the rear as well.
On bikes with bigger tyres >32mm I've been happily running RH at both ends as they last a lot longer but at least one is still running a Pasela on the rear from when I trashed a Barlow Pass on a tour a while back, it's a little slower but I'm not racing that bike so who cares ;-)

* for ref, the other tyres in the 25-30mm arena I've put enough km on to evaluate ie: > 5000km
Conti GP4000Sii
Conti GP5000
Panaracer Gravel Kings
Vittoria Corsa
Challenge Paris Roubaix and Strada Bianca
Clement Strada LGG (120TPI version)
Schwalbe Ultremo ZX
Specialized S-Works Turbo

and others I've tried but put < 5000km on

Michelin Pro4
Fairweather For Traveller
Clement Strada LGG (60TPI version)
Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton
Bontrager R4
Veloflex Master

** I think this is real rather than placebo as every time I jump on a bike with the RH EL casings I get surprised by how smooth and comfy it feels. I do most of my miles on a Ti Audax bike with GP4000s which is a pretty comfy bike by any standard, but it is definitely noticeable when I either use the RH EL shod bike, or bung the RH EL wheels on the same bike. It's no better in terms of big hits/potholes etc. there jsut seems to be a filter on the 'road buzz' even on good roads, and on chipseal and bad roads it's definitely noticeable.

What's really telling is that I find this effect more noticeable on the EL casing Chinooks at 28mm compared to the standard casing 32mm Stampede Passes at a lower pressure so I'm convinced it's the EL casing making the difference.

Last edited by amedias; 08-04-20 at 02:45 AM.
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Old 08-04-20, 07:31 PM
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Thanks for all the insights, everyone. I ordered a pair of the RH 28s after all. Yeah, nuts from a financial perspective, but I figured it's good to have a little thing to look forward to to break up the dreariness and covid anxiety.
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Old 08-05-20, 07:01 AM
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Originally Posted by samkl
Thanks for all the insights, everyone. I ordered a pair of the RH 28s after all. Yeah, nuts from a financial perspective, but I figured it's good to have a little thing to look forward to to break up the dreariness and covid anxiety.
Let us know how they are are. Curious to hear.
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Old 08-18-20, 02:55 PM
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I just ordered the RH 700x32 tires. They will be the first tire I've rode that didn't come stock on my bike so I'm excited (currently on stock 28's). I heard they feel soft and I have a shoulder issue so I'm hoping that will help smooth out some of the jarring bumps on my rides.
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Old 08-19-20, 09:31 AM
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GP5000's were by far the most common narrow tire on the IP, and everyone loves them. Most of the wide-tire crowd were running RH, but one guy with 650b's said he has given up using them on gravel due to repeated sidewall failures and was using some WTB gravel tires that he agreed were overkill for that ride. I was satisfied with my gravelkings which I still think are the okayest tire for randonneuring.
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Old 08-19-20, 10:00 PM
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I put on the RH 28s for a 150-mile ride this past weekend, and they're nice and plush - definitely more than my 28mm GP4000s, which run wider. But no doubt, the 32mm RHs are plusher. You can tell when you pick em up that the sidewalls on the 32s are thinner. The old pair of 32s I have weigh only 30 grams more than the new 28s (500g vs. 470), but take that with a grain of salt because the 32s are worn out.

I ran 80 PSI in the rear and ~77 in the front for a bike+gear+rider weight of around 208 lbs. That felt like atiny bit too much air. But still, they seemed comfy. $180 comfy? Unclear so far. But comfy enough.
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