e*thirteen XC crankset review

First launched under the Hive brand, e*thirteen’s crank is a tough mid-weight unit with some unique features if you fancy a change from the ‘big 4’ brands. Its relatively narrow machined arms make it look slightly old school, but the big gold 30mm diameter axle adds core strength. Unique shallow bearings mean it fits in a standard bottom bracket shell too.

Deep machined chainring webs mean pedalling torque is cleanly transferred and we’ve taken some big drops on sets with no wobble or bending. The first set we had worked loose repeatedly on the polygonal axle face, but we’ve had no issues with other sets. Chainring and bottom bracket life is good and we’ve also been impressed with the single/double version (£199) on complete bikes.