Customer Review: E*Thirteen TRS Race 11 Speed 9-46T Cassette

Here one of our customers Ryan Weiss talks about his experiences installing and running the E*Thirteen TRS Race 11 Speed 9-46T Cassette. The new drivetrain products from E*Thirteen provide a great range for climbing, descending, and everything in between. Check it out!

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Prior to installing the e*Thirteen TRSr, I was running a SRAM XX1 11-speed with a 32t chainring. In most areas, this was fine for me but, very steep, technical, tight switch backs like you find in some areas around Palm Desert were a bit problematic with having to mash the pedals. I decided I needed to be able to spin more in these situations to help maintain balance. I also came to the realization that even though I could power through it, maybe I shouldn’t as my age climbs. I have a desire to keep riding as long as I can, so I need to watch out for my joints long term.

It was hard to justify the current expense to go SRAM Eagle when the TRSr has a 511% range and Eagle is 500%. The ability to replace part of the cassette instead of the whole unit is a nice extra for the TRSr that made it more appealing.

I decided to drop my front ring from a 32 to a 30 to make the TRSr’s 39 cog’s ratio .80 to keep it close to my old 32x42 ratio of .79. The 46 cog ends up at .68 with the 30 ring. The TRSr’s 9 tooth cog is what makes dropping to a 30 work for me and made the TRSr so attractive. If the gear calculator is correct top end speed is increased.

Installation was straight forward following the instructions. It comes with a tool that will work with a bottom bracket tool, but unless your BB tool is deep enough to clear the hub you will need to use a crescent or open end wrench. I put the new ring and chain on, adjusted the ‘b’ screw to clear the 46 cog, aligned the rear derailleur, and hit the trails. After a bit of break-in and some more adjustment I find the shifts are pretty close to the XX1 cassette.

Because of the rain, I only have about 5k of climbing on it. So far, the shifts are comparable to the XX1 cassette. A couple of times it was a tad slow to go into the 46 cog. Since it was only slow a couple of times, I am sure this can be dialed out as the components break in and I adjust the alignment of the pulleys more.

I have been considering a new bike and I thought for sure I will just get an Eagle setup for it, but if the TRSr keeps going well, I will just get another 11 speed and the TRSr and save some money. After the great customer service I have received from Worldwide I will be a repeat customer.