Demo the e*Thirteen Sidekick Hub at Stash Cycles
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Time to read 4 min
Why You Should Demo Our e*thirteen Sidekick Hub
If you’ve been paying any attention to DH or Enduro racing over the last few years, you’ll know that chain growth, pedal kickback, and chainslap are all key focuses for athletes and bike designers alike. We’ve got high pivot bikes, lower chain guide pulleys, and damping devices zip-tied to chainstays and integrated into chainrings.
e*thirteen’s Sidekick hub takes a novel approach to solving the “chain yanking on the pedals while you’re descending” conundrum in a sleek, efficient package. It uses an adjustable pawl design to give you 12, 15, or 18 degrees of “deadband” before the hub picks up. This allows your suspension to cycle independently of your drivetrain to give you that magical chainless feeling. Additionally, the Sidekick is remarkably quiet, and has a very low rolling resistance.
That all sounds great on paper, but it’s hard to understand how much of a difference the Sidekick makes without actually spending time on it. Check out this episode of the Pinkbike Podcast to hear why they recommend demoing the Sidekick. We’ve got a complete 27.5” wheel, built around a Sidekick hub available for demo. We can set you up with our cassette, brake rotor, and tire, or swap yours on. Get out for a ride, and feel the difference.
What does the e*thirteen Sidekick do?
Sidekick Highlights
- Chain tension filtered by the deadband ensures suspension is unhindered by resistance from pedal kick-back
- 60T ratchet ring with innovative pusher driven pawl system
- Adjustable pawl-pusher allows tool-free tuning of deadband between 12°, 15°, and 18°
- CNC weight-optimized aluminum construction
- Weight: 450g - 148x12mm Boost, XD
- Drilling: 32H or 28H
- Spacing: 12x148mm or 12x157mm
- Hub price: $499.95
There are two primary reasons for chain feedback pulling on your feet while you’re riding your bike downhill. The first, and more complicated is chain growth from the rear suspension. When your bike goes through its travel, the distance between the cassette and the chainring changes, and that change puts forces through the chain which can pull your cranks back in compressions. The amount of pedal kickback varies for every suspension design, and can be mitigated with things like idler pulleys.
The second, simpler reason, is that your chain has some heft to it, and when the back end of your bike is charging down rough terrain, it’s waving that chain around. Imagine swinging a bike chain around like a flail - it would exert plenty of yanking force on your wrist. This yanking force bounces through the cranks into your pedals, making the rear end of your bike feel less settled and more hectic.
The Sidekick addresses both of these issues with an internal adjustable pawl design. This gives you the ability to dial in the amount of “float” that the rear hub has, before it engages and transmits any forces through the chain to your feet.
The Sidekick decouples your drivetrain from your suspension for a predetermined number of degrees of engagement. This makes for a quieter, more controlled ride.
But couldn’t I just run a low engagement rear hub?
No, not really. The Sidekick isn’t actually very similar to running a DT Swiss 18 tooth ratchet or another “slow” engaging rear hub. That’s because it has the same amount of float before it engages every time. With a low engagement hub, that number is essentially random. An 18 tooth ratchet could engage at any point between 0° and 20° and you have no idea which one it’s going to be.
In practice, lower engagement hubs actually make chain movement feel worse. That might be because they allow it to “wind up” the hub more, and then smack with more force. In contrast, the Sidekick always has exactly the same amount of free play, so you can always anticipate when it will bite and transmit your pedalling power to the rear wheel.
How does the e*thirteen Sidekick hub work?
The Sidekick is essentially a traditional spring and pawl freehub with a second ratchet wheel that controls the adjustable float or dead band. You can adjust between 12, 15, and 18° of float, depending on how you want the bike to feel.
Additionally, the second, single-pawl engagement means that when you’re coasting the Sidekick is very quiet, and very efficient. Less energy is going toward pushing through the springs of the pawls and clicking, so the wheel spins more smoothly, for longer.
What bikes and riders will work best with the Sidekick?
While the Sidekick will make any bike feel smoother and quieter to a degree, there are a few situations where it makes a really big difference. The first is on longer travel bikes. The more your rear suspension moves, the more your chain will flap around, and the more you’ll notice the Sidekick.
The second is for flat pedal riders. When your feet aren’t clipped into the pedals, you notice chain movement more, and are more likely to be frustrated by it. It’s acting more directly on your feet and can make them feel insecure. So if you’re a flat pedal DH or enduro rider, you owe it to yourself to check out the Sidekick.
However, for shorter travel bikes (sub 130 mm of rear travel), the Sidekick will make less of a difference. And usually on those shorter travel bikes, more precise hubs, with fewer degrees of engagement are prioritized over suspension performance. So if you’re focused on technical climbing challenges where you do lots of ratcheting and really benefit from a high-engagement hub, the Sidekick might not make the most sense for you.
Demo an e*thirteen Sidekick Hub at Stash Cycles
The Sidekick is a really cool product that can make a big difference for your ride. However, it’s the sort of thing that many folks need to experience themselves to understand. That’s why we’ve got a demo Sidekick wheel built up. We’ve got a 27.5” Sidekick wheel all built up, with a tire installed. So get in touch to set up a demo. We’ll get your cassette and brake rotor set up, and then you can experience what makes the Sidekick so special yourself!
