Rene Herse (Compass)

Lets have some real World reviews. Do you want to try a pair? Have you got them? What did you think ? Has anyone moved away to a different pair after trying?

Ta

I've been riding various Compass/RH tire models for a few years now. They feel great, last about as long as other tires with a similar styling, but can be a headache to run tubeless due to how thin the sidewalls are.

I know you're asking about the tires, but worth bringing up the the cranks which are very VERY pretty, but the larger rings have noticeable flex and they suffer from chronic creaking even if you grease literally every contacting face on them. Not really worth the money IMHO.

Yes, I ran some Steilacoom Pass Extralight tyres for a while. The ride quality is phenomenal (or maybe it was just placebo since I had spent so much money on them?) Tubeless was indeed a headache to setup, but with the right sealant (Orange Endurance) they stayed inflated. No slow leaks. I had only one puncture in about 8 months running them. This was plugged on the ride and then repaired properly (vulcanized rubber) once I got home. In the end I switched to 650b and heavier duty tyres since my rides were getting longer and I didn't want to take the risk.

Reckon I might sell them on (worn, but cheap) so someone can try them out before dropping an ungodly amount of money on a fresh pair.

Wow! Just checked and they have gone up in price since I got them! Crazy money now...

Tyres - Had some 700x32s many years ago (5?) and they were dogshit in the wet, like riding on ice cubes, and punctured the whole time.

These days they seem to be better, but not sure how much better. Based mainly on @Tijs love of them. I don’t know how they would compare to the glorious Voyager Hyper 700x35, my favourite tyre ever, particularly in ride quality/puncture risk trade off.

Also the fact they bought out a proper crafty French atelier with loads of history to make themselves seem important and ancient rather than Seattle bros is crap

I no longer endorse RH now they have stated they're dropping support for black walled tyres.

Voyager Hyper 700x35

Absolutely, which tyres now?

Voyager Hyper 700x35

weird way to spell Marathon Supreme

Voyager Hypers, Marathon Supreme, and City Jets. The holy trinity of affordable quality tyres in every size you might care for.

Big if true

Just fitted one at the back of the Omnium, it pairs really well with the Big Apple up front. I think the Marathon moniker doesn't help, it's so much nicer than the regular ones let alone the Plusses.

Also the fact they bought out a proper crafty French atelier with loads of history to make themselves seem important and ancient rather than Seattle bros is crap

I can't speak to Jan's personal reasoning behind picking up the name Rene Herse, but he had their blessing to do so, and had to specifically drop the name Compass due to a dispute with another tire company by the same name.

i've run the barlow pass and the switchback hill both tubeless. hard to setup tubeless like everyone says. after setup they were fine. they feel very smooth to ride but i don't think they are insanely fast rolling. i didn't have any trouble with punctures but think that is very weight, pressure, terrain specific. i do agree that they are moderately less grippy than other tires i've tried. i personally don't think they are worth the money unless you are after aesthetics. fwiw some rolling resistance tests rate them highly (tom anhalt) whilst others do not (brr). i've met jan twice riding in the area and he is nice if a bit weird. i find his marketing obnoxious though.

I'm on my second set of Compass Barlow Pass since changing the last set after 5000km.
Zero punctures, a few nicks in the rear tyre and keeping the old ones for a commuter project. Really like the ride, and used on mixed terrain: tarmac, gravel and single-track, though they don't offer the most confidence on wet descents.

I rode a couple of Bon Jon pass (35mm) standard casing, last year. found a set of NOS on sale, from the Compass days, before they switched names. I was curious on them so i couldnt resist buying them. Even on sale they were very expensive. Needless to say, i was very disappointed, since i had some hype built up around them.

They are great rolling tyres, but are slippery as f*** as soon as you hit wet conditions. Forget about gravel too. I punctured after the first 500 meters on light gravel. After some weeks of struggling i caved and bought myself a pair of GP5000's 32mm.

With that said this is just my 5 cent. i know some people who ride the endurance casings and have a good time.

I live in Seattle and commuted on a Babyshoes for a couple years and I'm surprised to hear how many of you have issues with traction in the wet. Maybe a PSI problem?

Seattle rain has additives that help the traction with these tyres.

Bah
I got some 650B x 42 with knobbles. Standard casing. Was expecting them to be about 5mm smaller than some slick WTB 47s I been rocking i.e. 47-42=5, you know. Nooooo. Fucking tiny. Weirdly small. I mean, I get it that tyres vary esp from company to company, i wanted a bit more room under my mudguards, not a sodding crevasse.

I am now wondering if I've been had, reading all that^ up there. Have mounted with tubes (they were incredibly tight, took ages and a couple of pinchflats on my tubes before i switched to a narrower one)....

Will ride in anger at the weekend, we'll see. Expensive mistake to buy these by the sounds of it, Emperor's new clothes. Ah well.

We need a comparative picture with vernier calipers. Not a digital one, since it's you.

I nerd out on that kinda shit, in the hope it helps someone else make a decision on tyres.

https://twitter.com/firsthippy/status/1438540184967077889

I've never bought Compass tyres though. Maybe if I was on Insta more..

Hah! I already took the Byways off, there's no fucking way I'm switching back... before a little jaunt on Sunday. But yeah i should probably measure the Compass and see what they actually are.

Of course, it may be that the knobbles are the reason they seem SO much smaller - i.e. the casing is way narrower, the knobbles take it out to 42.

I found this confusing with my Asda Tractor bike, took some fairly balloony 26x2.1 gravel/dry tread tyres off in cold weather to try some 26x 2.1 snow tyres, assuming they wouldn't fit nicely, but the casing was actually way smaller to account for the knobbles and spikes, the overall tyre was a good bit smaller. Again, what manufacturers say and what the tyre actually comes up at is completely rando.

what manufacturers say and what the tyre actually comes up at is completely rando

Yeah, this is why I started taking calipers to anything new I fitted and then posting about it so I'd be able to go back and check and work out if something might fit on a new bike or if I swapped wheels or whatever. Plus I figured it couldn't hurt to put actual measurements out there - more useful than claimed widths given the rim can influence final size.

OK I'll do it, even without the Byway comparison measurement. Esp for a pricey / rip off like these, would be good to put the actual size up for others with the rim internal too.

nice tyres, shit company to deal with. Jan spends too much time smelling his own farts.

would never buy rene herse again. leaked sealant and wouldn't stay on the rim. Panaracer are cheaper, more consistent and only a little bit heavier.