The Hive/e*thirteen 2013

Like David Carradine in Kung Fu, Singletrack has been on a constant journey this summer (admittedly it was mostly Matt, mostly in France, and specifically the Porte Du Soleil region) finding out what’s new –

Today it’s the turn of The Hive and e*thirteen

The Hive TRS + Crankset

First up E13 TRS+ cranks which have had some major changes over previous cranks,especially in terms of ease of fitting.

 

 

 

e*thirteen has its own patented fixing system. “P3Connect™” which basically consists of a axle with a polygon (like a rounded off triangle) attached to the drive side crank with a step down which the non driveside crank attaches to. This is snugged down and then adjusted with their new collar (see images above) that adjusts preload – replacing the previous system of preload washers – it’s now a doddle to adjust.

e*thirteen claims the advantages over the Polygon method of fitting are:
• P3 Connect takes tremendous torque loads
• No splines to deform
• 100% contact between spindle and crankarm = Great power transfer.

Clearly it also stops some unwanted patent issues as well, but there’s plenty of people out there that are still wondering what was so bad about square taper systems, and while this way of attaching arms to cranks is far from that, it would seem to offer a simpler way of making sure that you’re connected securely.

The rest of the cranks have some other small attention to detail features that are worth mentioning: all of the TRS + Cranks are swappable from triple to double or single ring  – With the use of the clever little metal widgets behind the chain ring bolts ( See pic below )

or  vice versa if you order a single ring option and e*thirteen claims  a weight in the XT ballpark as well. All in all very versatile cranks that sit bang in the middle of what a lot of people ride; neither XC race or full-on downhill, but a bit of everything.

Bearings for their BBs are angular contact, made  to their own specifications and are Ti Nitride coated .

Special note must go to the centrally threaded BB30 BB that means you don’t have to bash in incredibly expensive bearings with a hammer!

 

Chain Devices

Lots of tweaks this year and a Dualie available as well, and of course a Peaty special!

 

Your Classic TRS+  which is actually all the chain guide you’ll ever need – it’s a complete modular system

 

You can either run it as complete stripped down 1×9 or 1×10 chain device or as seen here as a dual chain system  with  or without the lower plastic bash guard or go the whole hog and add a bash ring if you mostly bend your chain rings on the crux bit of moon river™ (cough). The shark fin at the top also helps the chain from coming as well.

The guides are almost infinitely adjustable to accommodate different chain ring sizes and BB patterns  – All ISCG mounts are 05 and 03 compatible .

Finally  A Steve Peat (Or “Stevie Peaty!” as Enrico from Finale calls him). Special, limited numbers and guaranteed to make you go faster !

Normally when you get an Alpine press release you’re guaranteed at least some good weather, which is nice to ride in but perhaps not the best way of testing chain devices and cranks in UK conditions. However, for two days we  rode a combination of a TRS+ Double chainset and chain devices in some of the worst weather I’ve ever had the pleasure  to ride in. I rode through thick gloop, crashed (repeatedly) down rocks and roots and generally got a winter’s worth of grit jet washed in to the components for two days – not once did I throw a chain, no chain suck back pedaling  and the cranks happily shifted up from one chain ring to the other. It’s not quite as crisp as Shimano but unless you’re constantly flipping up and down the front chain rings, it’s nothing that will bother you.

For more info USA site here

Or in the UK you can contact Silverfish

Tune in soon for our next e*thirteen/The Hive update on wheels.

 

 

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