would you ride this tire?

[Paul Richardson]

it's a 32mm rene herse extra light casing with three small slashes in the sidewall.  i'm on the fence as to if it's safe or not and curious what others might do.

the picture looks weird because i combined two into one, so that anyone generous enough to respond to this post only has to click once.

thanks for any input!

paul

tkpk

[Josiah Anderson]

I would probably ride that, although only as a rear tire and only after booting it with some Tyvek or casing from an old tire. If I can get a tire not to bulge very much with a boot in there I'm pretty comfortable with it. That usually involves gluing the boot in securely.

Josiah Anderson 

Tacoma WA 

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[Michael Kashuba]

Wouldn’t risk riding on that…inconvenient possibly potentially very dangerous in another situation 

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 16, 2025, at 8:10 AM, Josiah Anderson <anderso...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Steve]

Sure, I'd ride it; straight back to the house - versus pushing the bike - and then I'd purchase a new one.  

However, I do think Josiah's suggestion of gluing a boot over the tear (I'm assuming from the inside) is a reasonable option. 

Steve in AVL

[Garth]

With a boot I'd at least inflate it really good and let it sit overnight. As long as the boot is done right, on the inside of course, it should be alright. Just check it daily. If I'm seeing the tire photo correctly it looks like it needs replaced soon anyways though. 

[J J]

I wouldn’t risk riding this tire again. I did take a chance once and learned my lesson—this was with a Rene Herse Antelope Hill (55 mm) endurance casing. In the attached photo, you can see what happened. Apologies for the blown-out areas, but the main slash—the largest one near the top, where the tan sidewall meets the black tread—is clearly visible. It started small but then the tire’s structure basically gave out entirely. You can also see the tread. This tire hadn’t been ridden much at all.

Not to derail the original question, but this experience—and other experiences I’ve had with Rene Herse tires—taught me that I cannot trust their tires. I place a high value on safety, reliability, and confidence in my tires, none of which I’ve gotten from these. I say this with full respect for the company and for the many who love RH tires, but they’re simply not for me, ever again.

Jim

On Tuesday, September 16, 2025 at 11:53:52 AM UTC-4 wn6...@aol.com wrote:

[Brian Forsee]

I'd ride it with a boot on a rear wheel, wouldn't risk it up front. You can prob get many miles out of it yet

[Paul Richardson]

thanks for all the responses here, and for helping keep me safe!

the tire is off to the landfill.  it's not worth the risk.

paul

[PDXJohnny]

Just bring lots of extra tubes and patch kits. That tire will get you some great practice changing flats. 

[Jason Fuller]

Agree with your decision. If the rubber splits, it is not generally a concern, as this is a wear layer applied over the structural casing. But if the cut is through a bunch of casing threads, as the sidewall cut you showed, this is a structural problem. As previously noted, a good rule is if it bulges out when at full pressure, it's definitely a goner. If it doesn't, it's more of a risk tolerance thing, but I definitely agree with moving a possibly compromised tire to the rear if you're going to keep running it. Usually a rear blowout won't result in a crash, but a front often will. 

As for the durability of RH tires - I've had issues with both EL and standard casing, actually moreso the standard casing, but the Endurance casing really is a whole different level of durable. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to run RH tires after a bad experience or two though; they are very premium price, and unless you're dead set on the tan sidewall there are tires that are much cheaper that are light, durable, fast, and easier to set up tubeless.  

[Will Boericke]

I have glued a tube patch on the inside of the tire over cuts like these and ridden successfully.  Obviously will not last the full life of the original tire but has worked in multiple cases for me.

[Peter Bridge]

I tried to boot a similar cut on a Grand Bois 32, using a Park boot. The tube bulged out. I wanted to save the tire. I think I could have made quite a few miles but I consider it to be only as necessary. 

~pb

[ascpgh]

I'm voting not safe. 

I've ridden Stampede Pass EL tires since their introduction, both on and off-road, without suffering a sidewall cut or tear. The intact casing is integrity of a tire. My regular casing experience with RH tires began with the tubeless set-up of the Babyshoe Pass on my Coast rando, which I've ridden for six years (several sets). Here's a close-up of the current rear after 170 miles off-road last Monday-Tuesday (the rest of the sidewalls look just like that, too):

A friend of my wife's husband stumbled and fell down stairs in their house last week, breaking C-6, C-7 vertebrae. He is out of the ICU and has been transferred to a special neck and spinal cord injury rehab unit in Atlanta, hoping to regain enough sensation and movement of his arms and hands to operate a chair and a modified vehicle. There is no thankfulness for their financial situation to be more than adequate; theirs is now a no-win situation. 

My own concerns for events on the bike (or having just dismounted it) have been verbalized to a whole new magnitude by my wife following this news, and I am happy that I have never been bashful about taking gear out of service if it remotely appears beyond safe use. The extra warnings are a reminder to override any penny-pinching thoughts as foolishness, given the costs of care and the equipment necessary if something does go wrong. I am also sharing live tracking from my Wahoo with my wife after this news. It gave her peace of mind while I was riding last Monday -Tuesday, as well as on the group ride I rode last night. 

I don't want to be taken out by a fall on a staircase, but I also won't let a damaged tire have the opportunity to wreak its havoc either. There's a world of things that can get you; I don't need to allow one under my control to be the one. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Paul Richardson]

andy, it was your posts on the board that inspired me to shoe my rambouillet with these tires in the first place!  and i appreciate your perspective.  why risk it!l  the price to pay for a blowout would be far higher than the cost of a new tire.

paul

tkpk