e*thirteen components

Downhill Crank

The merger between The Hive and e*thirteen was big news for a number of reasons, but what punched it home for us was the simultaneous release of information about this e*thirteen AM-DH Crankarm set w/Bottom Bracket. It's based on the original Fifteen.G crank design though there are a number of important changes to differentiate them. The goal was to create a crankset that was reasonably priced, lightweight, and could handle some serious 800lb. gorilla punishment on the downhill course. Once you see these, you'll know they succeeded.

These AM-DH Crankarms are designed specifically for the most abusive riders, who dish it out on tough trails. In comparison to their lighter, cross country oriented brethren, these are stronger and more durable. For the beefiness, you pay in terms of a 180 gram weight increase. But for the security of strength, it's a small price to pay. The e*thirteenH engineers added bulk to the crankarms to increase the overall strength and resistance to bending loads that huge drops can generate on your equipment. The 7050 aluminum alloy that they use is 40% stronger than typical alloys used to produce hollow forgings. These crankarms begin life as a solid forging to produce an aligned grain structure within the 7050 aluminum alloy so that the arms will be stiff and super strong. They are then CNC machined to remove excess material and to add the characteristic styling.

To complement the burlier arms, they used heat treated chromoly steel for the spindle rather than the 7050 aluminum used on the XC cranks. This 30mm steel spindle is 200% stiffer than the 24mm spindles found on standard external bearing crank designs. It retains the tapered polygonal interface used by the XC cranks. The advantage of this joint system is that it ensures a 100% surface contact between the spindle and crankarm for reliability and peace of mind when you're dropping into a gnarly chute. The 6806 bearing, common in BB30 systems, is what is used here and makes for a super tough bottom bracket system. The bearing is larger than a Shimano Hollowtech or Truvativ GXP bearing with a 9% larger ball diameter and a 16% greater radial load capacity, therefore increasing the durability.

The e*thirteen AM-DH Crankarms w/BB are Blackout black anodized and are available in three crankarm lengths -- 165, 170, and 175mm. They fit both 68 and 73mm English threaded bottom bracket shells and have a 50mm chainline. There are laser etched torque specs at each threaded interface for easy installation and maintenance. They include the necessary e*thirteen bottom bracket and installation tool.

Please Note: e*thirteen cranks are compatible with 9- and 10-speed chains.