E*Thirteen TRS Race Carbon Wheels Review

While Sram and Shimano are the biggest players in the cycling components industry, E*Thirteen has continued to step up their game over the last couple of years introducing new innovative products with race proven performance. E*Thirteen is a small, rider-owned company with a a focus on improving rider experience through thoughtfully engineered components. E*Thirteen is most known for their chain retention systems and while remaining an industry leader in chainguides, E*Thirteen now offers a full lineup of wheels, tires, cranksets, bottom brackets, chainrings, cassettes, and dropper posts. Be sure to check out our full E*Thirteen collection. Here we are going to review the E*Thirteen TRSr Carbon wheelset, the same enduro wheelset ridden by Neko Mulally, Aaron Gwin, and the YT Mob!

Wheel Specifications

Wheel Size: 27.5" tested here. 27.5" and 29" available

Hubs: Carbon Shell, machined aluminum flanges

Carbon Rims: 28 hole carbon fiber rim profile designed for and Enduro racing, 31mm internal width hook-less profile

Front Axle Configuration: Boost 15x110mm tested here. 20mm,15mm, and Boost 15x110mm available

Rear Axle Configuration: 12x148 Boost tested here. 12x135, 12x142 and 12x148 Boost available

Spokes/Nipples: The Hive Triple-butted custom/Black alloy X 28

Color: Black

Weight: 650b wheelset: 1800g,  29" wheelset: 1890g

These are the same wheels you will find pro riders Neko Mulally, Mick Hannah, and Aaron Gwin all riding on their trail bikes. All of those riders each have quite the resume and speaks volumes to the quality of products E*Thirteen makes. 

E*Thirteen provides a 5 year warranty after the original purchase that guarantees the wheels free from any defects in materials or workmanship. They also offer a 1 year warranty on all of the bearings found inside of the hub. For a wheelset you definitely have to shell out some money for, this is a great warranty to have in your back pocket in case there is a problem. 

Riding and Performance

These E*Thirteen TRSr carbon wheels were mounted and ridden on a 2017 YT Jeffsy 27.5 in Brevard, North Carolina. The trails in western North Carolina can be anything from fast and flowing in the Dupont State Forest to rough, rugged, and technical in Pisgah National Forest. This is the perfect place to push a set of wheels to the limit and see how they will hold up to some of the most demanding trails. After riding these wheels for a couple of months now, here are our thoughts.

Pros

• If there was one trail in Pisgah Forest that would be a true test on these high end carbon wheels, it is the Bennet Gap trail. With a mixture of high speed impacts, rooty and rocky sections, a few awkward technical pieces, and overall very rough terrain, this trail has it all. The E*Thirteen TRSr wheels passed the Bennet Gap test with flying colors.

• On the fast and flowing trails, you could feel these TRSr wheels accelerating out of the turns. The ride characteristics of the carbon rims were excellent. The middle ground between too rigid or stiff and not strong enough or brittle can be a hard thing to find. E*Thirteen has done just that! Here is a wheel that is planted on the trial and will keep your wheels rolling straight after some big impacts. While some of the other carbon wheels we have ridden will have your front wheel pinging off of rocks left and right if they are too stiff or they will just crack. 

• We found the TRSr wheels to be very durable. After some serious square edge impacts, the TRSr wheels held up like they as advertised. We couldn't find any structural damage done to the rim at all, just some minor cosmetic scratches. 

• The carbon rims ridden here have a 31mm internal width. Most would consider a rim this wide to be on the wider side of things. With that being said, we found this rim width to give these Onza Aquilla tires a nice profile and shape keeping the tire upright in the turns. For those who like the new Maxxis Wide Trail design, this rim is right in the ballpark for what those tires are designed around with a 31mm internal width. The TRSr wheels are offered in both a 31mm and 36mm internal width. 

Cons

• The wheels tested here were paired up with some Onza Aquilla Aaron Gwin signature tires. After mounting and removing the tires, we noticed the rim tape had turned over at a few small places at the edge of the rim. This is certainly a small detail but a different style of rim tape may be better. 

• These wheels are expensive and that's just how it is. While they are certainly both cheaper and more expensive offerings out there, with the E*Thirteen TRSr wheels, you get what you pay for - top notch quality.

What's In The Box? 

When you purchase your own E*Thirteen wheels, this is what you will get! 

TRSr front/rear wheel, tubeless tape, tubeless valve, spoke x3, nipple x3, nipple washer x3, 12x142, 12x148 Boost, QR endcap plugs (142 wheels only)

What's The Bottom Line? 

E*Thirteen has come up with a real contender in the growing market of carbon mountain bike wheels. With brands like Industry Nine, Raceface, Enve, and Derby all making some very nice carbon wheels of their own, E*Thirteen has stepped up and delivered. The hardest thing we have found with carbon mountain bike wheels is that they are either way too stiff, or they are not strong enough or durable enough to make it through the roughest sections of trail. The middle ground can be hard to find but E*Thirteen has done just that. The TRS Race carbon wheels are compliant enough that your front wheel stays planted to the trail but also durable enough to stand up to some hard direct impacts. We would highly recommend these wheels for your next aggressive trail or enduro bike.