Originally Posted by
kingston
Steamer , Have you ridden the RH tires? I've ridden a lot of tires, and there's just something about those EL casings that feels different that I don't think shows up in the BRR tests. Could be the marketing hype, placebo effect or whatever, but I normally don't consider myself susceptible to such things. That said, I agree with you that for anything under 35mm they aren't worth the premium, would have said down to 32mm just a few years ago when they were the only game in town.
No, not recently. I have a pair of the Compass 26" tires that had the same tread design as the Pasela, but JH repeatedly would point out that the casings on his tires were totally different than the Pasela, and his tires were significantly better as a result. I swapped them out for a set of identically sized Paselas (really putting his exact claim to a direct comparison) and I could not tell a difference in how they rode, even though I was pre-disposed / expecting there would be a difference. I should point out those tires have very light casings (in a general sense) but they are not the EL casings.
I can admit there is a chance there is something real about what you sense that is not captured in a test, but I think you also recognize it might just be placebo too. Hard to know for sure.
That all said, if I was looking for road tires fatter than 32mm, I'd still have to give RH tires serious consideration.