Review: the TRS Race & TRS Plus tyres by e*thirteen
A new tyre from a company that is known for their chain guides, wheels, cassettes, cranks and other components. Find out about the e*thirteen TRS tyres.
In 2016, e*thirteen launched a new product that came as bit of a surprise: the TRS Race / TRS Plus tyres. I say surprise because e*thirteen is most known for their chain guides, wheels, cassettes, cranks and other components. However, it does make sense for them to develop a tyre that meshes perfectly with their proprietary wheels. I set out to put these tyres to the test and see how they performed in regards to traction, cornering, comfort and puncture protection.
The TRS Race / TRS Plus 27.5” folding tyre set specifications
| Technical Information | |
|---|---|
| Application | Enduro |
| Ground Conditions (TRS Race Sticky) | rocky, roots, loose, soft, wet to dry, slippery |
| Ground Conditions (TRS+) | rocky, roots, loose, soft, wet to dry |
| Type | folding tyre |
| Tubeless System | Tubeless Ready |
| Rubber Compound (TRS Race Sticky) | Sticky Triple Compound (40A side, 42A centre, 72A carcass) |
| Rubber Compound (TRS+) | Durable Dual Compound (50A, 61A centre) |
| Carcass | 60 tpi |
| Sidewalls | reinforced |
| Size | 27.5 x 2.35" |
| Air Pressure | max. 3.5 bar |
| TRS Race Triple Compound Weight | 933 g |
| TRS Plus Dual Compound Weight | 910 g |
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The idea behind the TRS Race & TRS Plus Enduro tyres
When developing the tyres, e*thirteen had two things in mind: maximal traction at a race ready weight.
The lugs and tread
What e*thirteen ‘Attack the Trail’ calls, refers to the tyres aggressive tread and reinforced side lugs that provide the perfect amount of grip while cornering. The sipes in each lug help to make the transition from flat ground to raised corners smooth without losing any traction. This prevents the tyre from sliding out from underneath you.
Tall side lugs for conering grip
The ramped mid lugs alternate the horizontal and vertical direction and are also siped. This allows the tyre to match up better with the ground conditions and it increases performance while braking, pedalling and rolling.
Horizontal, vertical and diagonal sipes provide extra traction
Five rubber compounds
The tread patterns is not the only deciding factor when it comes to grip and traction. The rubber compound is just as important and this tyre set has five different types. The TRS Race & TRS Plus are made for front and rear use respectively. The side lugs of the TRS Race tyre are made of a 40A compound and the mid lugs have a harder 42A compound. The softer side lugs help provide more gip while cornering. The carcass is very durable with its 72A compound. The rear specific TRS Plus was developed for increased mileage. Here, the side lugs use a 50A compound and the mid lugs a 61A. The reason for this lies in the fact that the rear tyre requires less grip than the front. The focus is on braking power and traction. It also keeps the tyre from being pulverised after a few days of hardcore shredding.
The reinforced casing (carcass)
Often, when people talk about tyres, they focus on tread and weight. The carcass only becomes a topic of discussion when it comes to punctures, snake bites and cornering characteristics. At this point, most tyre manufactures run into a dilemma. Enduro tyres need to be light, under 1000 g, but they need to perform like a 1200 g wired tyre. And don’t forget they need to be easy to mount tubeless as well. e*thirteen has found a great way to meet all these demands with their ‘Reinforced Casing’ and ‘Engineered to Work Together’ technologies. The just under 900 g tyres have a solid carcass and are super easy to mount tubeless with a floor pump which only requires 2-2.5 bar before they pop into the rim lip.
To see how quickly and easily the TRS tyres can be mounted, I challenged my co-worker Christoph to a contest against clock.
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On the trail
After easily mounting the tyres it was time to ride.
Christoph and I both tested the tyre at the same time. He rode them a little longer than I did and spent some time with them in La Palma, one of the volcanic Canary Islands. After testing, he was pumped about how they rode. Running the rear tyre at 2.1 bar and front tyre at 1.8 bar they give you great control and oodles of grip. Note that they are definitely made for wet to dry conditions, but not for mud. When everything was dry, the tyres preformed perfectly, but as soon as it gets wet, they start to lose grip. When cornering, they will not let you down and they keep you planted. With the correct air pressure neither the TRS Race nor the TRS Plus carcass will fold over under heavy loads. That means that the lugs remain upright and dig into the ground every time. Burping should also never be an issue.
I ended up spending time with the tyre in mud and snow, unlike Christoph who rode mostly dry trials. I found the tyres’ handling took getting used to. This doesn’t mean that they are bad for such situations, they still have huge lugs, but they are definitely better in dry conditions. Overall, both Christoph and I found the tyres to be super and a great recommendation for the Enduro rider who likes it dry.
