They're incredibly light and supple, good grip on trails and quiet on road. But the light weight is balanced by needing way more sealant than any other tire I've ever used.
I rode the crap out of this one… It was a front until my rear completely wore out, then did a solid session on the back, but eventually even Silca carbon goop couldn't seal it at all.
I was on a ride pumping it up every few miles when I poured my water bottle over the tire and thousands of bubbles formed on every bit of the sidewall. I gave up and tubed it, but since then I've gotten like 3 more flats… 2 from glass, one from a staple. Flats that a tubeless setup would haven't even noticed.
With a heavy heart, the time came to get something new… I'm gonna run a Pirelli Cinturato M. It mounted and sealed up immediately and feels very robust, especially the sidewalls which I believe have edge to edge protection. Confidence inspiring for the off-grid riding I do.
Do I still recommend Rene Herse? Absolutely. These tires are amazing. Just hold one next to a gravel king… They're not the same. Buy the ticket… Take the ride.
by DNAthrowaway1234
24 Comments
Cinturatos are fantastic tires.
The latest rounds of BRR numbers have everyone creaming themselves for G-One RS somethings and Speederos, but Cinturatos are some of the best out there.
If only the cinturato weren’t so expensive…
I haven’t ridden them, but this tread pattern looks like something I’d expect to see on a 90’s Walmart mountain bike? I’m sure the rubber is a lot better though. Coming from vittoria, WTB, pathfinders etc these just seem boxy and slow.
Glad to hear they’re not though.
Schwalbe for racing and Specialized for training (or a race I really don’t wanna flat)
Conti are nice but don’t last and have had QC issues with them.
Would like to try Pirelli at some point tho …
Were these the ultralight version? I’ve ridden thousands of miles on the regular casing without these issues. I do love the way they ride and the knobbies are amazingly versatile, but I have concluded that they are not as fast as some other options.
I was talking tires with a mechanic at my LBS and he mentioned Rene Hearse. I told him I was worried they would flat a lot based on what I’ve read, especially at my weight. His response was “that’s just kinda the deal but they feel amazing.”
I’m glad they work for people but that’s a no for me.
I had the same issue with a similar set of high TPI tyres, my challenge gravines would never seal properly no matter how much sealant I put in them, which is a shame because they were amazing in the UKs muddy winter
The Rene Herse tires were the best riding tires I’ve ridden… while I could keep them riding.
The knobby set I had wore out super quick, and then a sidewall puncture totaled them. I had to inflate these tires every damn ride.
The slicks I had managed to spray sealant all over me almost every ride. Then, after swapping them to a new set of wheels, the bead stretched out so much I couldn’t set them up tubeless at all. I popped a TPU tube in them, and flatted after two rides.
Yeah… these things ride fantastic, but they are just such a pain to keep on the bike. Maybe I’ll try the endurance casing, but honestly, probably not. For $200+ you can get *two* sets of Maxxis Rambler/Ravagers, which are a much nice gravel set up. If I’m on the slicks… well, I’m just going to buy some Conti’s and call it a day.
Great riding tires. Terrible to live with.
Been riding Cinturato H for a couple seasons now. No flats that I am aware of and still going strong. 💪
Had the same experience, I threw out my Barlow Pass tires after about 1000 miles because they kept pissing sealant out the sidewalls, even with the expensive panaracer sealant they tell you to use.
Meanwhile my pair of Cinturato Gravel H’s did about 3k miles and only came off recently after a couple years of regular use. I barely ever refreshed sealant and I had one flat the whole time.
However I’m thinking the Tufo’s strike the ideal balance. They feel about as fast and supple as RH tires and so far they’ve held up well and don’t leak sealant.
So did you have issues after the tire got worn out, or it was always having issues?
they just not durable and so many other tires are while offering the same traction
I have ridden my Rene herse tires in the rockiest gnarly gravel and never had an issue – certainly a few thousand miles this summer and haven’t seen a spot of sealant. Works great for me
I’m running 650B Babyshoe Pass 42 mm tubeless on my Polyvalent. I’m very impressed at the ride quality and grip. Seeing these last so well reassures me that it’s a good choice. I’ve been waiting for them to show some wear, but none seems to be happening yet, so I expect a decent life!
Considering 35 or 38 mm 700c for my Jamis Aurora touring bike. The rims really should be maxed out at 32mm, which I’m running now. I’m pondering whether I can get them to go tubeless, even though the rims aren’t made for that! Maybe I’ll just get different lighter wheels with wider rims.
Although the commentors here have so many good ideas on tires. Mine last so long, I could never try them all without leaving gobs of wear on the table, so to speak.
I’ve heard great things however I am very partial to Gravelkings of all kinds . Both Rene and Gravelkings are made by Panaracer.
I was OMTM pilled when I first got a gravel bike. Bought RH knobbies because I thought they were supposed to be good and seemed to be the “cool” tire that OMTM heads rode. The next season I found out about pathfinders and finally realized how dog shit slow RH tires are. Never again.
Cinturato M are a bit on the heavy side but they’re like riding on pillows
Cinterato Ms are very durable tires. My only complaint is that makes for a bit of a harsher ride compared to more supple tires. It that’s often the trade off
Schwalbe. Leaking Rene Herse has been a known issue since they launched in 1942.
Doesn’t maxxis make Rene herse?
Ive never liked maxxis tires. Schwalbe, continental, surly, and specialized all work for me. I’m also a big challenge guy. But just never liked Maxxis.
Edit: someone else is correct, it’s panaracer that makes Rene herse. My bad.
I’m not a huge panaracer guy either. They seem to not be super durable.
Oddly enough, my specialized weep something bad through the side walls but not a single flat riding single track and chunky gravel in a few hundred miles.
Great, so I won’t be buying these.
You bought ultralight tires and they performed like ultralight tires. Buy the endurance plus version if you value durability over speed.
After months of folks asking I did a round of rolling resistance testing over pavement, easy gravel, and medium gravel on these in 700 x 47 standard casing. Prob the best option as they were close to the thinnest sidewall from everything else I tested and also had some trouble holding air initially.
It’s posted on this sub somewhere but I’ll catch everyone up. For anyone in search of a very supple (thin) sidewall tire these are your jam. They are very thin. The smooth tread version is equally thin if you don’t want the knobs.
For anyone hoping a supple tire means a fast tire, these are by far the slowest of any of the thin sidewall gravel tires available and actually markedly slower everywhere compared to the new Maxxis rambler hypr-x 45 mm which was a rather thick sidewall …. and an updated compound/casing. They both matter.
So yeah, if you want supple/thin sidewalls and like this tire in general you should get these. No doubt about it.
If you want supple and fast with some grip get the Enve Hex 48. If you want supple and super fast but Euro get the Caracal Race 45.
If you want solid all rounder that’s among the fastest on all types of gravel and still grips get the RX pro 45. Boring but fast? Thundero 48.
For the budget minded the new specialized tracer is faster and cheaper and overall rides very nice.
Cinturato M is likely a good call but have not tried them yet, so speculating a bit. Enjoy it. Best in the Pirelli lineup most likely.
Can you even call them lightweight if you throw more sealant in them than in other tires?