Hetres vs. Pari-Moto, your thoughts?

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Jim Bronson

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Nov 19, 2013, 1:37:49 AM11/19/13
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Any thoughts?  I ended up with Pari Motos pretty much because I wanted some other parts from Rivendell and they have free shipping on orders over $150.  Rivendell carries the Pari Motos but not the Hetres.  So that settled it.

Plus I hate to say it but the Hetres seem heavy to me for what they are supposed to be...a light yet fat supple tire with low rolling resistance. 

Meanwhile the Compass site derides the Pari Motos as "event tires".  Well I do plan on using them for brevets so I guess that counts :)

Anyone tried them both?  Opinions on one versus the other? 

Or just unsubstantiated opinions?  Like those too :)

Tony DeFilippo

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Nov 19, 2013, 8:02:48 AM11/19/13
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I'll bite... Haven't tried the pari-moto of course. I'm running on about 1000 miles or so with my 'extra Leger' 42mm here's. The only other 650b tire i can compare it to is the col la vie and I'm running the 45mm nomads on my 700c.

If you don't mind paying as much per tire as a nice low profile car tire then I'd say the hetre is worth a try. It's a super comfy tire, plenty fast and at least for me not a problem for flats. The side walls are delicate though, I've got some fraying going on the front tire.

I think I'll try out a different tire when these wear out just to get better familiarized with the options out there. The cost is awfully hi for the EL versions. Then again whenever I ride the bike I find myself wondering 'why would I ride any other tires than these...?'

Steve Palincsar

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Nov 19, 2013, 8:16:17 AM11/19/13
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On 11/19/2013 08:02 AM, Tony DeFilippo wrote:
> I'll bite... Haven't tried the pari-moto of course. I'm running on about 1000 miles or so with my 'extra Leger' 42mm here's. The only other 650b tire i can compare it to is the col la vie and I'm running the 45mm nomads on my 700c.
>
> If you don't mind paying as much per tire as a nice low profile car tire then I'd say the hetre is worth a try. It's a super comfy tire, plenty fast and at least for me not a problem for flats. The side walls are delicate though, I've got some fraying going on the front tire.

As bicycle tires go, Hetres aren't all that expensive. They cost no
more than a typical 23mm race tire, and they last a lot longer. And
since the comparison is between Hetres and Pari Motos, both of which
cost about the same, on a per mile basis the Hetres are 1/2 to 1/3 as
expensive since they last easily twice to three times as long.


Tony DeFilippo

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Nov 19, 2013, 8:43:35 AM11/19/13
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http://www.compasscycle.com/tires_gb_x_leger.html

The EL's are $88... a bit lighter weight and 'more supple' qualities.

Matthew J

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Nov 19, 2013, 8:58:11 AM11/19/13
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I had both when I had 650B.

Hetres roll well and easy, last long, and are surprisingly flat resistance.

Pari Motos roll well, don't last long, and were flat prone on Midwest roads and trails where I otherwise have experienced few flats.

I hardly think Compass is deriding Pari Motos when it calls them event tires.  Rather it is accurately stating their intended purpose.  Mike Kone at the Rene Herse / Boulder site sells both Hetres and Pari Motos and likewise cautions Pari Motos are not meant for everyday use.  Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

RonaTD

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Nov 19, 2013, 9:38:38 AM11/19/13
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I did two seasons on Pari Motos. The first year I did a solo 600 km ride that involved a large amount of gravel. I commuted regularly on them into the winter. The second year I did a super rando series on them. This year I have done 8 200km rides on Hetre extra legers. So, I think I have enough experience to qualify as a good data point.

I had only a couple of flats on the Pari Motos at the end of their life, which probably totaled a few thousand kilometers of urban and rural
Wisconsin and Minnesota roads and trails. Performance wise, they are the fastest feeling tires I have ever ridden.

The Hetre ELs are so far flat free on mostly suburb and and rural Wisconsin roads. They feel almost as nice as the Pari Motos but the difference is noticeable. I will probably go back to Paris Motos for my rando bike.

Can't go wrong with either.

Tony DeFilippo

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Nov 19, 2013, 9:50:22 AM11/19/13
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Ted based on that review the pari-motos may be the next tire I rotate in to service... Thanks!

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Jim Bronson

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Nov 19, 2013, 10:28:21 AM11/19/13
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Thanks.  Fast is what I want.  However I am pretty heavy at 6'7" and 265ish so we'll see how well they work out in practice, starting Saturday morning at O'dark thirty.  There is a 70% chance of thunderstorms on Friday so there should be lots of loose rocks and so forth on the roads.  Good test of the Pari-Motos.  Pretty raw day by Austin standards at 54/37 hi/lo.

There was also some mention of the Extra Leger Hetres.  I didn't bring them up because they are in a whole other price category at $88.  The Pari-Motos are $60, and those were a stretch considering the tires on the Riv currently cost $26.  Tires costing $88 would threaten marital harmony.

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Michael Hechmer

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Nov 19, 2013, 1:30:37 PM11/19/13
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I'll pretty much second this review of the Paris Moto.  I have ridden them for about 1000 miles with one (fortunately slow) puncture. I am retired and so rarely ride into a city with broken glass, debris, or goat heads! but I do ride a lot of dirt and gravel roads. They feel very quick and fast, even compared to the Grand Bois Cerf Green on my Ram. I now have two 650b bikes but only one set of tires and am strongly leaning toward Heters for one of them.  Eventually I will convert my wife's bike to 650b and lean toward Rivs fatty bumpkins (name??) for her.  Looking back, I wish I had designed the tandem around 650b instead of 26".

Michael

Toshi Takeuchi

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Nov 19, 2013, 1:43:27 PM11/19/13
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The Pari-Motos are fine tires and I rode a 600k brevet on them with no
flats, while there were other riders with 3-4 flats, so I would say
that with reasonable riding they are not flat prone.

My only beef against them is that I am 150 lbs or so and after 600
miles the very fine tread was worn away (but not worn down) in the
middle for the rear tire (the front tire still looked new).

I've used Hetres on another bike and they are great, stable and fast
feeling tires, but can't compare both experiences since they are on
different bikes. I don't think you can go wrong with either, as long
as you don't mind the thin tread on the Pari-Moto. The Lierre might be
an alternative to the Pari-Moto with more tread life, but I don't have
experience with those.

Good luck!
Toshi

RonaTD

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Nov 19, 2013, 2:30:13 PM11/19/13
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Well, for full disclosure, I'm 5'6" and 125lbs, so your mileage may vary!

Bill Lindsay

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Nov 19, 2013, 2:32:56 PM11/19/13
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I think any rider who owns a bike that fits Hetres should have both a set of Pari Motos and a set of Hetres on-hand.  Swap them around as the mood strikes

Allingham II, Thomas J

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Nov 19, 2013, 3:04:28 PM11/19/13
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Wait – you can change tires whenever you want?

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Hoffsta

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Nov 19, 2013, 7:51:55 PM11/19/13
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I have both Pari Motos and Hetres and have ridden a good amount of miles on each. As far as speed goes, I can't feel too much difference between the to two- both are very fast. The difference between either of these tires to a stepped down like Col de la Vie is much more noticeable than the difference between them. I can attest to the fragility of the Pari Moto as I've had a couple of slashes from road debris while I've had none on the Hetre. As for comfort, the Hetre is better. Bumps are better neutralized and cornering is slightly more confident. If I had to pick one to ride with for the rest of my days, it would be the Hetre. Fast and comfortable. I will likely try Hetre EL, tubeless next time.

Since you just bought Motos, I recommend wearing them out and then trying some Hetres when they need replacing.

Cheers,
Sean
Eugene OR

Rick

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Nov 20, 2013, 3:50:24 PM11/20/13
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I rode pari motos and had multiple flat issues on a longish trip in the mountains.  In fairness, it's possible that I had some residual unlocatable metal filing in there that kept re-inserting itself at inopportune times.  Used my last patch at the top of a steep long climb having located the leak in the only source of water for miles around, a rain puddle left in the track of an abandoned tractor trailer.  
 
Made it home under my own power, but the confidence I had left in those most smooth rolling pari motos was diminished significantly a month later when I had a not-particularly sharp stick penetrate straight through -- not the sidewall, but center tread.  I've got a picture somewhere.  That was that. 
 
Went back to the col de la vie's, then fatty rumpkins, then hetres.  Hetres have given me the best ride after the pari motos, but w/o the flats -- one over the last two years.  My hetre experience is with the regular kind, not the ELs, which I'll probably buy in the near future for the saluki. 
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