The E-Thirteen TRSR 11-speed cassette delivers what many cross-country, trail, enduro or simply touring cyclists want from a single-chainring drivetrain: a wide gear range. After all, anyone riding with a single chainring up front has to put up with a reduced gear range compared to a 2- or even 3-speed drivetrain and make compromises at least at one end of the gear spectrum: either walking up very steep hills or pedalling like a hummingbird at high speeds.
And because the big drivetrain giants, SRAM and Shimano, were reluctant to commit to specific sprocket sizes, the time was ripe for resourceful companies such as E-Thirteen, which supplied the market with large aftermarket sprockets and cassettes. For example, the TRS+ cassette, launched in 2015 with 9–44 teeth, had more to offer than SRAM’s 11-speed cassettes (10–42 teeth).
The Americans are now responding to the launch of the SRAM 1x12 Eagle (10–50 teeth, 500 per cent gear ratio range) by releasing the TRSR cassette with 9–46 teeth. It offers a 511 per cent gear range, saves on weight and costs significantly less than SRAM’s complete 12-speed drivetrain. However, this wide gear range comes at the cost of large gear steps, which may not be to everyone’s taste but are simply unavoidable with a single-chainring drivetrain of this kind.
Construction and specifications: the E-Thirteen TRSR 9-46 cassette at a glance
The cassette consists of three parts in total. The three largest sprockets are machined from a single aluminium block and are bolted to an XD freehub body using a lock nut. The special tool required for this is included in the scope of delivery. The remaining eight sprockets, made from high-strength steel, are then snapped into the aluminium body using a chain whip. All parts of the cassette will be available individually as spare parts.
Sebastian Brust
Editor
