As you might imagine, I receive quite a few emails from companies trying to persuade me of the virtues of their latest cycling product. E-Bikes, cycling helmets, innovative bicycle lights and cycling gloves from China seem to be the most popular topics of the emails I read and then delete. Or often, just the latter. Occasionally I am offered a product to try out. I don’t usually take companies up on their kind offers as this isn’t really a review site and I wouldn’t want the good readers of CyclingEurope.org to think I hold any special wisdom into purchasing said helmets, lights or gloves (from China…). That said, Aldi did once send me a box of their stuff – read more about it here – and, over four years later, I am still wearing the cycling trousers. Highly recommended. They are wearing a bit thin, so if anyone from Aldi is reading this… I digress. Back to the point.
An email has arrived this week from Trollรฅsen in Norway. I’ve just looked up Trollรฅsen and it’s a southern suburb of Oslo and I reckon I must have cycled through said suburb back in 2015 as I made my way from Tarifa to Nordkapp. Indeed it looks as though the campsite where I stayed in Oslo in just a stone’s throw from Trollรฅsen. Aside from that great accolade, the town is home to a company called reTyre. with a name like that, you’d think they’d be a pension fund for people who have worked in the Norwegian cycling industry but no, it’s a bit more prosaic than that; they make (you guessed it) tyres. But rather innovative ones. Watch this:
No, that isn’t a sneak preview from a new Harry Potter movie, it is a man zipping a tyre skin onto his bicycle. Here’s how the company describes the product on its website
reTyre is a modular tire system with integrated zip-on technology, allowing you to adapt your tyre tread in seconds.
reTyre.co
The email gives a few more details:
[The] Modular System means that our tyres consist of 2 modules:
– reTyre Oneโข, base tire, fast and slick road tire with integrated zip-on technology
– reTyre Skinsโข, attachable tire treads, designed for different road conditionsย
*Patented zip-on technology comes on both modulesย reTyre performs just like any other conventional tyre, while the integrated zippers offer additional functionality.ย With reTyre system, users can change/adapt the tyre tread in less than 30 seconds due to the patented zip-on technology. It is easy, it is fast and it is safe! With our tyres, cyclists always have the best possible grip, because Skins are light and foldable and easily brought with, in the backpack!
Whom is reTyre for? Readย here.ย ย reTyre is not a concept, it has been tested by users for the past 3 years on the Norwegian market and recently we have gone internationally. We can be found in some of the biggest chains such as XXL, Intersport, Stadion and Sport1 and a few international distributors. We have finished a successful KickStarter campaign last year and have also launched our own online store this summer.ย ย We now have the 3rd generation of products,ย which includes perfected zip-on technology with one of a kind stainless steel zippers; new skin technology for ultra-thin and durable skins; improved rubber compounds that have gone through extensive user testing in different harsh environments.
reTyre
So what do you think? Should I take them up on their offer of some free samples of this tyre-based witchcraft? Thoughts welcome…
Here are a few memories from Oslo by the way…
Some of us don’t have great manual dexterity and my close-up vision isn’t too hot nowadays so replacing inner tubes is a real pain – I can easily take a couple of hours over the front one and three hours for the back. I rarely have to because I use self-sealing tubes but every once in a while I’ll find the sharpest shards of wood when a hedge has been flail-cut and the debris left on the road. This seems to me like a real innovation at a time when the word is bandied about far too much.
I’d be interested to see your experiences of using the Re-Tyre skins, particularly in the long-term. Magazine and website reviewers rarely have time to review beyond a quick once-out-the-box, which isn’t what long-term users need to know. (Tom Allen at tomsbiketrip.com is an honourable exception.) Knowing how grippy these skins are, and how easy to get on and off, is one thing, but their durability and reliability on a long haul is another. That said, I don’t feel I have a problem with tyre technology: with modern puncture protection, I get less than a flat a year (in >5000 miles/yr) and select the bike I need for the conditions (town, tourer, trekker) rather than change wheelset or tyres. So yes, I’d be interested in your reviews, but I suspect your time might be more precious!
Hi Rob,
We, ourselves, have received a lot of reviews from our users. One of them used our reTyre for his South African tour in summer “In June, I was riding with my MTB from Harare to Moshi with http://www.oldlegstour.co.zw and used reTyre products. I was the only one riding tubeless – without any punchers over the whole ca. 3’000 K’s. on various and very harsh African roads. If a product can cope with those conditions it is for sure a very good one.”
You might want to read more about our testimonials at: https://www.retyre.co/company/testimonials/. And thank you for your recommendation of Tom Allen. We would reach out to him someday for a product testing since we always would love to know about feedback from users as well as reviewers so we can improve our products to the best!