Need a substitute for Rene Herse Endurance TIres

I run these on my bike and love them. Bon Jon Pass. My wife HATES the tan sidewall and refuses to have them on her bike. I know.... 😏  I have wracked my brain trying to come up with something that is high volume, rolls well and works on road/gravel (which is EXACTLY how I came up with the RH in the first place!) AND has a black sidewall.

Help me find a 35-38mm tire that will keep me married. 😄

(She can put a lot more w/Kg down than I can.... perhaps a slow, heavy tire.... 😈)

If you can live with the Extralight casing you can get the Barlow Pass in black.  If you get too many flats (I did) a Panaracer FlatAway Kevlar liner might help.

If you want something tougher the Pirelli Cinturato Velo and Continental Urban Taraxagum have black sidewalls and are available in 35 mm.  You can also get the GravelKing and GravelKing+ (slick) in black up to 38 mm.  I've used the Taraxagum and GravelKing+, both roll pretty well.

stu wrote:If you can live with the Extralight casing you can get the Barlow Pass in black.  If you get too many flats (I did) a Panaracer FlatAway Kevlar liner might help.

If you want something tougher the Pirelli Cinturato Velo and Continental Urban Taraxagum have black sidewalls and are available in 35 mm.  You can also get the GravelKing and GravelKing+ (slick) in black up to 38 mm.  I've used the Taraxagum and GravelKing+, both roll pretty well.

Thanks. *JUST* found the GK and GK+ slicks.  Not sure how I missed those.  I'll give them a shot.  The price is right.

I made it 52 miles on a RH Extralight, the first 30 of which was pavement and tore the sidewall on a rock.  Never again.  Awesome ride, but super fragile.

The slick GravelKing in 700x35 will be the most apple-to-apples tire for ride quality / rolling / tread pattern (Panaracer makes RH tires with magic fairy dust I guess).

The Pirelli Gravel H in 700x35c or Specialized Pathfinder Pro in 700x38 are also fast tires with tougher construction and side knobs, but you give up some in weight, and ride quality.

What about Challenge?

as long as you don’t need tubeless, they come in black in the handmade super poly casing.

https://us.challengetires.com/shop/products/strada-bianca-1/55114

Yea...I had the Panaracer GK Slicks in the 700x35. They were fantastic tires. Easy to setup tubeless too, and roll well!

If you don't like the GK and the bike has enough room you might also consider the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion HS603.  This is a light touring tire with a shallow tread pattern.  The sidewalls are black but have a narrow (4 mm) silver reflective stripe.  The smallest size is 700 x 38C (ETRTO 40-622) which measures about 40 mm on a 25 mm (inside) rim.

I've been riding these a lot lately and I'd say they have a lot of good points and no notable issues.  They're lighter than most touring tires but heavier than the GK, more like the GK SK and other all-purpose gravel tires.  The tread is about 2 mm deep with large blocks in the center and smaller blocks on the sides.  They roll and handle well on pavement and grip better than slicks on softer surfaces.  Ride quality at 40 psi is quite good.   After 700 or 800 km I've had no punctures, cuts, or other damage and I see no signs of wear - the front still has most of its molding flash.

BTW this is not the same tire as the older HS453 tested by BRR.  It's very expensive in the USA, much less in Europe.

FWIW I've been using these with Schwalbe Aerothan tubes so I gave no idea how they set up tubeless.

mtbnut87 wrote:

Thanks. *JUST* found the GK and GK+ slicks.  Not sure how I missed those.  I'll give them a shot.  The price is right.

 

I made it 52 miles on a RH Extralight, the first 30 of which was pavement and tore the sidewall on a rock.  Never again.  Awesome ride, but super fragile.

I can definitely recommend the GKs.  Excellent option for mixed riding.  No experience with the + version (nor sense that it's needed).  They were difficult to mount on my rims but I managed by using a tube to seat one side.

If those wear in the center, you may find my past thread helpful:
https://www.ridinggravel.com/forum/?p=post%2Ftire-for-paved-durability-loose-gravel-brakingclimbing-traction-11477385%3Fpid%3D1323123696

Colorado Cyclist has Specialized Pathfinder Pro on sale, so I went for that.  I'm towing my special needs son on a tag-a-long and am a big guy, so probably putting double the load on the rear that you are.  Initial impression is that the shape is good for this mixed use, and at higher pressures the solid center rib will take most of the paved trail wear, but in anything remotely loose or soft, the rib will sink in and the rest of the surface is pretty grippy.  The angled blocks on the tire edge seem to give it a bit of directional tread with the V best open towards the front in front and the rear in rear (see pic below).  The Donnelly Xplor it replaced went bald pretty quickly in the rear, but the one on the front (much less load & no drive friction) is doing well.  My past tire experience is that anything that isn't almost a solid ridge in the middle will wear fast on road.

My wife also climbs like a goat.  Regardless of what tire you pick, why not give yours "the best of tubed and tubeless options, all the sealing without the mess" and throw these boat anchors inside  https://shop.slime.com/collections/self-sealing-bicycle-tubes/products/extra-strong-self-sealing-bicycle-tubes-700-x-28-35mm-presta?variant=14220796035138 😈  I bought the 20in version to be the spare for my son's Burley, since it is the only wheel that size when we ride, so a second flat would be a pain, and it weighs a ton! I finally bought a regular spare because it has gone years without a flat. Can't imagine how much the 700C would weigh!

If you only need a 35mm tire then buy the GP5000 TL, put in on a 25 or 26mm internal rim and it will measure close to 35 and go.  I could not believe how durable a super fast road race tire was for gravel, but it is.  Never flatted with it.  

That does not solve the speed advantage your wife has.  Quite the opposite. That will get you 8 to 10 watts compared to any gravel tire.  Unless you can find the older OneStar compound Schwalbe G One Speed.  That tire was super fast and also surprisingly durable.  DON'T get the knew ones with Addix or whatever they changed it to.  They sacrificed super speed for durability. Ugh.  

ccand51997 wrote:If you only need a 35mm tire then buy the GP5000 TL, put in on a 25 or 26mm internal rim and it will measure close to 35 and go.  I could not believe how durable a super fast road race tire was for gravel, but it is.  Never flatted with it.

On 25 mm (internal) rims my GP5000s measure 34 mm wide but only 30 mm high.  I'm afraid to run them under 60 psi because I don't want to hammer the rim every time I hit a rock.

FWIW I had nothing but trouble with the GK slick standard model. They tire rode wonderfully, but I punctured front and rear on several different occasions. Running tubeless, they also wouldn’t seal up using Stans. I push people far far away from that tire.

I had one with sidewalls that weeped so bad they replaced it under warranty.

I eventually put a GK+ on the rear, and while it seemed thicker I’m not sure I noticed any reduction in ride quality. And that tire never punctured. I still have the tires as backups and may purchase another + to try them again.

Spreader wrote:FWIW I had nothing but trouble with the GK slick standard model. They tire rode wonderfully, but I punctured front and rear on several different occasions. Running tubeless, they also wouldn’t seal up using Stans. I push people far far away from that tire.

I had one with sidewalls that weeped so bad they replaced it under warranty.

I eventually put a GK+ on the rear, and while it seemed thicker I’m not sure I noticed any reduction in ride quality. And that tire never punctured. I still have the tires as backups and may purchase another + to try them again.

A lot of good recommendations on here....  thanks all....  Yeah, I think I'm gonna get her the GK Slicks in the + variety....  I've read of a lot of people getting flats with the standard version, but probably because we do things with them we wouldn't ask a normal slick tire to do because it has the word "Gravel" on the side. 😆

mtbnut87 wrote:

A lot of good recommendations on here....  thanks all....  Yeah, I think I'm gonna get her the GK Slicks in the + variety....  I've read of a lot of people getting flats with the standard version, but probably because we do things with them we wouldn't ask a normal slick tire to do because it has the word "Gravel" on the side. 😆

If you get a lot of flats you might also consider the GK SS.  BRR just tested those (non-plus) and found them almost as fast as the slicks, a little heavier, and significantly harder to puncture.

BTW I don't equate "gravel" with toughness.  In the last 4 years I've ridden a wide variety of tires - I just can't stop experimenting.  I've had a lot of flats (all but one from glass) on gravel tires but zero flats on road tires.

I have good experience with WTB horizon 47mm on 650b running tubeless on 25mm internal hookless.

Yeah, I’ve also destroyed a number of the regular GK slicks prematurely and have moved over to the plus version. I don’t have enough time on them to say anything about their durability and I wasn’t able to compare these to the regular version back to back, to compare ride  characteristics. Before these, I was on the Maxxis Velocita AR (another big slick) which is quite a bit bigger than the GK 38–so more plush. Those too were a little too fragile. One was punctured by a dull stick. But, so far, the GK Slick 38 is working well for me.

This is kind of funny because...

• I can't stand the stupid tan sidewall trend. Some of us rode all the craptacular stuff of the 1970s and don't need any reminder.
• Today I ordered a second set of the RH knobby tires in spite of their look.
• My wife actually likes the look.

Truth. My local dealer asked if I knew anyone else interested before he ordered. Some associates said they can't get over the ugly look. At least dark tan is a shade away from what should be called hideous tire.

Rene Hearse, you got me. One of those purchases you can't stand to look at, somewhat can't stand to make, but they do work. What's going to happen when the boomers are dead and hipsters gone?

🙂

imwjl wrote:

• My wife actually likes the look.

Truth. My local dealer asked if I knew anyone else interested before he ordered. Some associates said they can't get over the ugly look. At least dark tan is a shade away from what should be called hideous tire.

Rene Hearse, you got me. One of those purchases you can't stand to look at, somewhat can't stand to make, but they do work. What's going to happen when the boomers are dead and hipsters gone?

🙂

Is it just me or is basing my safety on a downhill on something that sounds exactly like "hearse" more than a little disconcerting?😳 

Continental Terra Speed... they run a little undersized, 700x40s measure 38mm on my GF's 23mm internal rims.  Still tops in paved rolling resistance in most tests, good grip from soft low knobs.  The fatal flaw is lack of durability, if she rides a ton

Otherwise I agree the Spec Pathfinder Pro

kshillz101 wrote:Yea...I had the Panaracer GK Slicks in the 700x35. They were fantastic tires. Easy to setup tubeless too, and roll well!

 

Another GK Slick user, in 700 x 38mm size, and I'm also a fan of that tire.  However I've never ridden similar tires from Compass/Herse, or Soma's Supple Vitesse tires, so I can't compare them.  But I've found the 38mm GK Slicks to be very plush tires. 

True to its name, it's slick like the Bon Jon Pass, so I would not recommend it for very soft surfaces like the fine talc-like dirt in the eastern Sierra silt, where you'd want more float (as well as some knobs), or super chunky surfaces where you'd want more float, traction, and beef. 

But if you want something comparable to the Bon Jon Pass, with black sidewalls, that rolls well (good results on BRR's site), and is very comfy, I've had no problems with mine over the last 3 years.  FWIW, I'm about 160 lbs and try to "ride light".