e*thirteen TRS+ 12-Speed Upgrade kit: Rider Review

e*thirteen has come out with some innovative products but most recently, and possibly most notably, they put out a 12-Speed Upgrade Kit that will turn your 11-speed Sram drivetrain into a 12-speed drivetrain.  Friend of the shop, Jimmi grabbed himself an upgrade kit and wrote a cool review on how it went. Check it out!

Why e*13?

Besides having perhaps the longest product name in the WC catalog, this may also be the best purchase I've made to date. I love and hate the cycling industry for its constant innovation and "new standards" - many of which are stronger, better, faster, lighter, etc. but also render your quiver of bikes and/or spare parts you proudly stocked up on USELESS. So when I saw this e*thirteen kit, I couldn't help but investigate. "Wait, what? I don't have to replace yet another derailleur and shifter to get to 12 speed Eagle?" Cool.

I did some internet searching, which humorously landed me BACK at Worldwide Cyclery to watch a video review of the product, which gave a nice summary of e*13's reputability and their regular industry innovations. I have owned a few of their chainrings which were not infamous for any early demise or chain-suck, so that's good. While I don't own a DH-specific bike (just lost some eyes) I'm aware of the popularity and quality of their drivetrain chain guides. After looking at the price of just an eagle cassette, I thought, what the hell, I need a new chain anyway, so might as well do it.

First Impression

The kit is surprising, I mean who includes ALL the tools you need to basically do a drivetrain replacement? e*thirteen does, that's who. Okay, they didn't include a chain tool, but there is a quick link and maybe the length is perfect so you don't need it...

In Minnesota's colder/snowier months, lots of us tend to go off trail and roll lots of down trees in open woods, so the bonus of dropping a few chainring teeth given the lower 9-46t cassette range to keep my gear ratios straight was the icing on the cake. I pulled the trigger on Black Friday and shaved even more off the price tag.

Install

Install of the cassette was "unique." I'm not used to a multi-piece setup with a retaining bolt, but there are plenty of other mod kits out there too. I haven't seen any negative feedback on the 2 piece setup, and the bolt is well coated with a locking compound. The shifter is a bit more involved, but take their advice and remove it along with the derailleur from your bike, get them on a well-lit table and tap into e*13 written and/or video instructions, it's no biggie. Slap on the included YBN 12-speed chain, adjust cable tension and shift detents and you're rollin'.

On Trail

Only been on one ride with it so far, but shifting is as good as stock SRAM and losing 2 chainring teeth gave some appreciated clearance up front for rolling stupidly oversized stuff in the woods!

In the era of constant bike industry change, rendering your still-working-just-fine gear obsolete, it's nice to see a company take note of our existing parts inventories and provide workable solutions that send less stuff to the landfill.

Jimmi Flynn