e*thirteen's Sidekick Hub: Impressions & Discussion

Cool option to have besides an ochain. Higher degree band from competitors like Tairin which could be good depending on your bike. That being said Tairin hubs are cheaper and a touch lighter. 

so this week i had the chance to put the rear wheel that jason used in the test on my 130mm trail bike (dual 27.5 vitus...basic 4-bar carbon bike). i normally run an onyx out back, so from instant engagement, to 18 degrees of slack. tires were exactly the same, rims both carbon (diff  brand), but my normal cassette is 10-50t X vs the gx DH cassette on the test wheel. i weighed the wheels and the weights were within an ounce of each other (e13 hub weight made up for lack of cassette weight, i guess).

i did back-to-back tests and completely agree with the calming nature of the hub on the bike through rough sections. on trails down the street with fake rock gardens full of square edges, i rode in my regular vans shoes that are pretty beat, and my feet have always bounce around. with the sidekick and same shoes, they  didn't move on the pedals. on traversy, pedaling sections, it was an adjustment not having engagement i was used to. gearing of the DH cassette was too high to try any technical climbing, but lack of engagement would assumably be problematic there.

i took the trail bike to the lifts with fox shoes and noticed a calmer more composed bike with the sidekick vs onyx on back-to-back runs in the faster, rougher environment, too.

i'm not a musician, but the thought that came to mind was a snare drum vs a bass drum thinking about the vibrations or frequencies or however it'd technically be described. you're still getting beat on, but it's a different intensity or tightness or snappiness.

in the kickback graphics e13 uses, they emphasize a rider's front foot and the crank/pedal going up into the foot. if i lost pedal grip with the onyx, i noticed it in my rear foot, as if the pedal was dropping away more than front foot getting bounced up.

the onyx is still completely rideable, and in a short-travel, trail bike scenario, i don't know if it's worth the the weight penalty or engagement drop, but there is definitely something to be felt, and it was cool to experience.

Chain looks even more composed than o chain.  I wonder if it’s the extra 6-9 degrees of “float” or if the overall system.  

Would be cool if team robot back to backed an o chain at 12 degrees and the sidekick at 12 degrees and if he can even tell a difference.

O chain set at 4 or 6 degrees plus your onyx may be best of both worlds.

Even after watching that brief "how it works" video five times, I still have no idea how it works. Probably going to need to see it taken apart before I get it.

I'm super excited to test it. My first stop is at Sun Peaks this weekend, trying to keep up with my friends on their DH bikes with my Megatower, AKA perfect test conditions. Sounds like Jason and Spomer both felt the magic in their time on the hub. I'm curious about pedaling feel and engagement, especially because I don't get how it works. Is it a consistent feel and engagement, or variable? Will it feel different in different gear ratios? Don't know. 

This product is also ideal for back to back tests, because swapping wheels is dead simple if you've got tires mounted. I'm excited to compare and contrast it with Ochain. The obvious test that no one needs but everyone wants to know is... what if you run them both at the same time? Double the lag, half the feedback? Or is there an absolute maximum amount of float needed, and beyond that it's superfluous. Let's find out.

Super curious about durability. They're making some big claims by saying "best durability on the market," and there seems to be a lot going on in a very small space. I am certifiably horrible to rear hub axles, freehubs, and cassettes, so I'm excited to punish this hub and see how it holds up. I'm glad to see they started with a steel axle, especially because it seems like there's only one point of engagement on the red pusher, which is asking a lot when paired with the torque of a 51 tooth cassette.

We're excited to hear what the Robot overlords think. Back to back testing with wheel swaps is certainly the way to go. 

To comment on the single pawl on the pusher and concerns with torque/loading: that pawl never actually carries any drivetrain loads, it only acts to engage the 3 traditional pawls on the freehub, so those are actually the items carrying the drive loads. 

Noted!

This is rad... I notice kickback on braking bumps and I've been looking at the Ochain for some time but waiting to get a new bike.   This is a good option.  

you have to test it with and without an o-chain.  you know, for science. 

There's pretty obviously no point to running this and an O-chain simultaneously... Two ways to skin the same cat.

Cool tech and a creative solution. I can't help but feel that an O-chain is still easier to add to an existing bike, but if I was already looking for new wheels for a descent focused bike, or perhaps building something frame up, this would be a good solution. It's worth mentioning that O-chain is horrifically overpriced for what it is (I assume because the volume remains very low) so perhaps competition will help drive prices downwards?