Dubbed wide range mountain bike 12-speed gearing for the masses, e*thirteen’s new TRS Plus 12 upgrade kit expands the range of your current SRAM 1×11 drivetrain without having to upgrade everything to Eagle. Combining a 12-speed cassette, 12 speed chain, and upgrade parts for SRAM 11 speed mountain shifters & derailleurs, it’s an easy home shop upgrade.
e*thirteen TRS Plus 12 SRAM MTB drivetrain upgrade
Looking at it the TRS Plus 12 kit is a pretty crazy good deal. While SRAM’s newest NX Eagle now gives you 1×12 on a budget of just $375 for a complete group, e*thirteen has you covered for almost half that. And they say that their 9-46t, 12-speed cassette actually delivers a wider 511% gear range, plus it is lighter overall for a few reasons – smaller top end of the cassette, shorter chain & a smaller front chainring to get the same gear ratios. That smaller ring also gives improved clearance on rough trails.
Tech Details – How does it work?
The e*thirteen cassette is simple. We’ve seen that one before. It slides onto a SRAM XD driver and was already an upgrade option for Eagle drivetrains. The 336g cassette uses separately replaceable aluminum 2 upper cogs, and 10 lower machined steel cogs. The 9-46t cassette (9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 28, 33, 39 & 46) offers 511% range and uses a new pinch clamp design for tool simplicity.
Inside the shifter, a new injection molded shifter spool and a stamped steel ratchet upgrade your 11-speed SRAM GX, X1, X01 or XX1 shifters with an extra click and the updated cable pull ratios. (There is a separate steel ratchet for XX1, but both are included in the kit.) The kit also includes the new pivot bolt, washer, and shifter assembly fixture needed for the upgrade job.
Inside the derailleur, you get two new spacers for your derailleur pulleys, plus a couple of bolts to re-attach the pulleys to the now adjusted, slightly offset cage (see the re-spaced derailleur above right). As simple as that, and it works with 11-speed NX, GX, X1, X01 & XX1 rear derailleurs (designed for 10-42 cassettes).
Then, all you need is a 12 speed chain, which e*thirteen includes in the kit with a quick link.
Pricing, Availability & Effort Involved
e*thirteen says that for $299/299€ and one hour of your time, a home mechanic can get 12-speed, more range, less weight, and more BB clearance than SRAM Eagle, all using the 11-speed SRAM groupset you already have on your bike. Their upgrade kit includes everything you need to get the job done.
Beyond the parts and the fixture to get the shifter gear & spring assembled, that also includes the 2.5, 3, 4 & 5mm hexes, a T25 torx, a square bit. They even throw in a replacement shift cable wire and a 2000mm section of shift housing, plus a small tube of grease to finish everything off.
And all of it is available now, straight from The Hive.
