Whether you're running a 1x9 setup, or you've committed to one gear all the time, the e.thirteen XC Single-Speed Crank will help keep your drivetrain spinning fast.
I recently bought these and they have worked great. I originally just bought the cranks without the bottom bracket. My plan was to upgrade to the Kris King Cermaic BB. Come to find out e13 is propriteray and at this time KK does't make one. Overall good crankset for the money
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Submitted by
Glen Abraham
a Cross Country Rider
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2012
Strengths: This carnk is stiff. Went together smoothly. No probs. Bearings excellent. Chainline as Specified.
Weaknesses: It may be i'm lighter then others who bagged on this cranks integrity. Used over a year & a half & have never had the (left) arm come loose. Every ride has a hill climb. Maybe it's because i use w/ a Rohloff.
Bottom Line:
Other than that nearly unavoidable creak when i stand-up (only), this is a viable product. It is recommended based on those experiences.
I was looking to try something other than the Stylo 1.1 I've used a few times on my last couple bikes, my requirements were lightweight, rigid, and reasonably priced. I had considered modifying one of the new XT cranksets but after doing some research on the e.thirteen I really wanted to give it a shot. The larger spindle with its polygon interface and the beefy BB should be bullet proof for a larger rider like myself.
When it showed up at the LBS I went through it when I dropped the bike off, it is a very nicely packaged kit with the BB tool, nice instructions, and everything you need for an easy install. The guys at my shop hadn't installed an e.thirteen crank in a couple years and they remarked at how much better the new crank set is right out of the box compared to the older kits. Handling the BB and crankset in your hands its appearant that these are very nicely made. The machining is nicely executed, nothing garish or over the top, just appears to be done only where it needs to maximize weight loss.
The first ride on the new set and the bearings seem a little stiff, after about 30 minutes of constant pedalling and they really opened up and spin freely now. Based on comments from other users this seems to be the norm for these particular bearings. The most noticable thing when you start hammering on them is that the crank arms are stiff. Granted these replaced a modified stock OE Shimano set but there was a huge difference in arm stiffness and power transfer.
The icing on the machined aluminum cake is the weight loss when replacing stock cranksets when running a 1x9 or 1x10 set-up. On my bike I run the e.thirteen with an MRP BB mounted 1.x chain guide and a RaceFace single speed 34t chain ring so the weight savings are huge over the stock 3 ring crank and front der. The new crankset weighs in at a very svelte 575g, compared to the 800-850g boat anchors on most $2k or less bikes thats a huge drop. Sure you could pony up another $400 for an XTR and save another 50 paper clips in weight but seriously, is it really worth the upcharge?
For $250 or less you really can't beat the e.thirteen XC/SS crankset, show up with something different than everyone running XT or Stylo's on your next group ride.
Similar Products Used: Shimano SLX, XT, Truvativ Stylo 1.1, stock Suntour cranks, etc.
Bike Setup: 2011 Camber Expert, X7 set up 1x10, plenty of upgrades.
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Submitted by
14Stone
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, Ontario
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2011
Strengths: They look slick.
Weaknesses: Crank falls off. Bottom Bracket explodes if you're a masher, bottom bracket destruction scores your crank, and its all proprietary.
Bottom Line:
I went with EThirteens on my bike on recommendation. The price was right as well.
After about 4 rides they started to creak. The creaking was fine for a long while and the cranks never gave me any problems.
When they do fail, they fail big time. Crank arms that fall off without loctite, damage to your crank shaft. If you don't have specific ethirteen parts, your day is over.
Just spend the money and buy tested and true equipment. Rare equipment is loaded with cool factor, but if you're racing, go with something that's easily serviceable with parts that are readily available.
Strengths: Super stout, looks cool, dedicated SS crankset (they also offer a triple), outboard bearings
Weaknesses: not super light, Left crank arm comes off unless you loctite it and torque it down (don't use grease as the directions tell you to!)
Bottom Line:
Super stout crankset (with BB), from a smaller brand with, NO FLEX! A great value when compared to XTR and other top end cranks with the same strong, light characteristics. The installation instructions say to grease the threads for some reason, but if you do the L crankarm will loosen after a few hard miles, which happened to me on the first ride. I got home and cleaned the grease away and used blue loctite instead and really torqued in on there and have had no issues since the first ride. Solid setup at a great price (if you don't over grease it ;)
Submitted by
hardmtnbiker
a Cross Country Rider
from pasadena,ca
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2011
Strengths: Solid machined build with outboard bearings
Weaknesses: sharp edges on crank arm
Bottom Line:
This crankset feels as solid as it looks. The oversize outboard BB bearings and axle make for a clean set-up. They feel directly engaged with each turn of the cranks and much stiffer than any other cranks I've used. I will be trying them on my geared bikes next.
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT, RF Dues and Turbines
Bike Setup: Titus 11,Single speed.Fox F100,Easton EC70 Bars,Thompson stem and seatpost.WTB RocketV saddle. Mavic 717 with Hadley hubs. Rennen chainring and cog. Hayes 9 brakes
