e*thirteen Merges with The Hive, Introduces New Downhill MTB Crankset

The Hive, who makes cranksets, hubs, brakes and various other bits, has announced a merger with chain retention manufacturer e*thirteen.

The new company has hinted at more new products in the near future.  But today they’ve announced an all-new downhill mountain bike crankset packed with some industry-first features that should improve the DH and Freeride experience.

e*thirteen will replace The Hive’s previous Fifteen.G moniker, and as such their first product is called the e*Thirteen DH Crankset by The Hive.  It’s a forged, machined alloy crankset with heat-treated cromoly spindle and The Hive’s polygon interface.  Full tech specs are listed after the break, but a quick discussion with Chris Costello at The Hive reveals that the big news on these is:

• 7050 crankarms, much stronger (~40%) than 6000-series cranks made by others.
• 30mm spindle versus standard 24mm bearings, uses a new BB that has outboard 30mm ID bearings that fit in a standard BB shell.
• Polygon interface has 100% surface contact area, borrowed from German manufacturing standards used on high-torque applications like tank driveshafts…which means you’re never going to knock them loose.
• New chainring design mounts the inner ring (on double-ring setups) directly to the middle ring, easing installation and removal.
• New 24-38 Shift ringset option available.

More pics, pricing and full specs after the break!

The new e*thirteen DH crankset by The Hive will retail for $349 w/BB and BB install tool, and worldwide availability starts at the end of July.

Specs:

• Forged and then machined 7050 Aluminum arms.
• 7050 is 40% stronger than most common hollow forged alloys.
• 30mm heat-treated cromoly spindle.
• It is 200%+ stiffer than 24mm steel spindles commonly used in external bearing cranksets.
• German DIN 32711-P3 Polygon interface provides 100% surface contact between spindle and crankarm
• Eliminates fretting corrosion – the prime cause of dreaded crankset creaking and loosening.
• 14mm pedal thread engagement + 7050 arm construction + quality pedal washers.
• Eliminates the need for costly and unreliable pedal thread inserts.
• High quality titanium-nickel hybrid spindle coating.
• Increases durability and extends material life (to just about forever). Tell your machinist friends. They might hug you.
• Standard 104 BCD of course!

Lengths:

• 165mm, 170mm and 175mm lengths.

Bottom Bracket:

• Larger BB 6806 (7x30x42) bearings carry 20% greater static load and dramatically increase BB durability.
• 68/73mm and 83mm BB shell versions.

Weight:

• System: 870g
• Cranks: 759g (165mm x 83mm)
• BB: 111g

Ring Configurations:

• e*thirteen guiderings: 32-40T in one tooth increments. Available in black, silver, blue, red, green, and purple. 36-72 grams.
• 24-38 shiftrings: 9 & 10speed compatible. The 24T chainring bolts directly to the 38T chainring to optimize tooth location and provide the greatest amount of modularity and compatibility seen in a heavy duty All Mountain / race weight DH crankset. No grinding of granny tabs and eliminating front shifting options. 138 grams.
• 22-36 shiftrings: same as above, slightly lower gearing for our comrades in steeper locales. 130 grams.

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: Independently, both companies are dedicated to designing and manufacturing industry-shaping cycling components. Together, we’ll build on our shared philosophy of strong engineering principles and quality manufacturing to deliver even greater innovation to a discerning customer base. Neither company would exist without loyal customers and industry families, so we thank you for being an integral part of our progress and inspiration. In the near future, we’ll be revealing several new products to be released under a shared brand. In an effort to get you back on the bike instead of in front of the computer, we’ll keep this short and sweet: e*thirteen is integrating into the Hive, replacing the Fifteen.G Offroad product phylum. Current Fifteen.G cranks will be re-branded as e*thirteen and we’ll soon have additional product offerings under the e*thirteen offroad phylum–both gravity and XC. From here on, the Hive consists of e*thirteen Offroad, Chub Wheelgoods, and Revl Road. Since we all love to ride anything with two wheels, we are happy to offer groundbreaking products for all categories.

More details on the merger are here.