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rené herse hurricane ridge 700x42 gravel tyres

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

gravel could be perceived to have , at least temporarily, supplanted cyclocross when time comes to acquire a bike for offroad that does not resemble a sprung farm gate. though adherence to the competitive side of the 'cross milieu, in the uk at least, is hardly oversubscribed, i know that many a commuter has purchased a 'cross bike to ride to and from work due to its sturdiness, disc brakes and less aggressive stance than that of the road going counterpart.

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

i too participated, at least temporarily, in this diversion, equipping my bright orange and green specialized crux with a set of challenge strada bianche 33mm road tyres, for a brief weekend in arran. its composure, thus shod, was more than appropriate for the task at hand. but therein lies the difference, or at least one of them. the uci, in their infinite wisdom, restricts the competition width of 'cross tyres to 33mm maximum, so not all 'cross bikes, particularly those at the high end, where competition use would be most likely, have clearance for tyres of greater width.

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

this factor, no doubt, plays into the hands of the manufacturer, who can now sell 'cross bike owners a gravel bike, should they perceive a need for wider rubber in the course of their perambulations.

well, maybe.

dorset's sven cycles, aside from building superb, bespoke bicycles, are also agents for rené herse tyres, a company formerly known as 'compass cycles'. darren coppin, at sven cycles, very kindly despatched a pair of 700x42mm hurricane ridge gravel tyres for review, my only fears being that the crux would not offer sufficient clearance at the rear (clearance on the front fork is massive) to allow the fitting of these tyres. happily, the width between the chainstays coped well with the extra 9mm of rubber, so all appeared fine in happy valley.

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

fine, that is, until it came time to fit them to the stock dtswiss rims. though the tyres are tubeless compatible, the rims are not, and allowing for my misgivings over the point of tubeless tyres in the first place, they were always going to be fitted with inner tubes in any case. in order to spare you the gory details, it took approximately three hours to fit two tyres, puncturing two inner tubes in the process and giving me thumb ache that still persists seven days later.

having corresponded with others on the subject, it would appear that the art of creating a tubeless tyre, given that it has need of creating a renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres tight seal between bead and rim, has made the blighters all but impossible to ease onto a rim. my great concern is suffering a puncture when out in the wild, particularly if gravel riding at the time. i sincerely hope that tyre and rim manufacturers can come to some sort of compromise, particularly in the light of the majority of recent tyre releases involving tubeless compatible models. obviously, your mileage may vary, depending on the type and make of rim onto which you hope to fit a pair of hurricane ridge gravel tyres, but at present, my thumbs are still not speaking to me.

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

however, having invested so much time, effort and swear words in getting the tyres up and running, it was my fervent hope that they would at least compensate by offering a ride quality every bit the equal of a flying carpet. actually, they're darned close.

all of islay's distilleries offer tours of the premises, pointing out why it is that their individual product is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and giving insights into the many nooks and crannies that feature in buildings constructed well over a century ago. however, in order to satisfy the demand for more and more, almost all list several distinct tours, exponentially increasing in price as you read down the programme. the ultimate tours are surely those offering a walk to their particular water-source, or perhaps out to the peat moss, where a gent, well-practiced in the art of cutting peats, will make it look like simplicity itself, then allow you to make a complete fool of yourself while attempting to emulate his demonstration.

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

the latter demonstration will more than likely be undertaken using age-old tools specifically designed for the purpose centuries ago. but considering the current demand for islay's malts, those reliant on peat smoke for a high phenol count (such as ardbeg, lagavulin and laphroaig), consume peat at greater rate than could be supplied by one or two individuals cutting peats all day using quaint hand-tools. in point of fact, the peat is extracted on a far greater scale, using several double-wheeled tractors, excavators and huge tracts of peat-rich land. and, obviously enough, to get to the latter, a wide, lengthy gravel track has had to be constructed, one made even longer in order to reach the site of islay's sole wind turbine.

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

it is this very gravel road on which i experienced the commendable grip and comfort offered by the rené herse hurricane ridge tyres. grip is provided by an evenly spaced, repetitive pattern of large knobbles. these seem to shrug off pretty much anything standing in their way, including large, embedded rocks, loose gravel and substantial, periodic coverings of peat. negotiating large, parked tractors and diggers, served only to demonstrate a commensurate degree of manoeuvrability, without once provoking a skid or slide.

and, just as cheerfully, the tyres roll remarkably well on tarmac too.

renŽ herse hurricane ridge tyres

according to the molded detail on the tan sidewall, rené herse recommend 60psi (4bar). i'd to err a few psi above that to seat the tyres properly on the rims, but subsequently lowered the pressure to around 45-50psi. they give every indication of riding well at pressures lower than this, should muddy conditions dictate, but for the purposes of my first ride in changing conditions, that choice would appear to have been more than appropriate.

it would be foolish to pretend that only 30 or 40km of gravel-riding is sufficient to gauge the efficacy of a pair of tyres. it will take far more than that to come to a suitable conclusion; i have yet to get the tyres wet. however, despite the thumb-breaking effort required to fit them, initial appreciation would seem to confirm that these will possibly be the bees knees for those intent on participating in next year's grinduro on arran, or, farther afield, america's dirty kanza. time will tell, and so will i.

rené herse tyres are distributed in the uk by sven cycles. the standard weight 700x42 hurricane ridge gravel tyres retail at £58 each/$71 (£116/$142 per pair) also available, at greater cost, are light weight, endurance and endurance plus versions.

sven cycles, dorset | rené herse cycles

sunday 14 july 2019

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................