Product Review: E*Thirteen Direct Mount M Profile Chainring

While Sram and Shimano are the frontrunners of the cycling components industry, E*Thirteen has continued to step up their game over the last couple of years bringing new innovative products with race proven performance. E*Thirteen is a small, rider-owned company with a a focus on improving rider experience through thoughtfully engineered components. E*Thirteen is most known for their chainguides and chain retention systems however while remaining an industry leader in chainguides, they now offer a full lineup of wheels, tires, cranksets, bottom brackets, chainrings, cassettes, and dropper posts. Be sure to check out our full E*Thirteen collection. Here we are going to review the E*Thirteen Direct Mount M Profile Chainring, the same chainring raced on by Neko Mulally, Aaron Gwin, and the YT Mob!

Chainring Specifications

• Boost (-5mm) offset and non Boost offerings available

• Narrow-wide tooth profile designed for better chain retention

• E*Thirteen Direct Mount M Profile chainrings are compatible with E*Thirteen TRS and LG1 cranks only

• Ring Material: Aluminum

• Thickness: 5mm

• Drivetrain Compatibility: 8, 9, 10, and 11 speed drivetrains

• Color: Black

• Weight: 71g (32 tooth)

Riding and Performance 

Pros

• The beauty behind the Direct Mount M Profile chainring is E*Thirteen's Quick Connect system. This is E*Thirteen's take on a super simple and purpose built direct mount chainring. There is no fluff. You have what you need and nothing else. I dig that. On the backside of the chainring, there are marking that direct you where to place the chainring in relation to the direction of the crank arm. You can't really put this chainring on incorrectly.  
• With all direct mount chainrings, you are eliminating the crank spider. This means less weight. The 32 tooth version weighs in at 71 grams. That is plenty light. This direct mount chainring makes for a nice clean look, even when your bike is dirty!
• The E*Thirteen M Profile narrow wide design is a more simple one and does a great job with chain retention. You can ride it with or without a chainguide all day. I chose to still use an E*Thirteen TRSr upper guide just for a little extra security. 
• This chainring we are riding trail bikes on here, is the same you could find on Aaron Gwin downhill race bike. The triangulated design is super strong and we couldn't get this ring to bend or move at all. I think it's additional strength comes from the ridge that rides the outside of the ring, just below the teeth. 
• The E*Thirteen Direct Mount chainring is mounted here to a set of TRS+ Aluminum cranks, has 34 teeth, and is paired with E*Thirteen's TRSr 9-46 tooth cassette. This setup works perfect for me and would recommend it to anyone that is an aggressive strong pedaler. 

Cons

• The only negative I could find here is with the direct mount lock ring. Once you set the chainring in to place, there is a thin lock ring that holds everything in place. Because this lock ring is so thin, there isn't too much real estate behind the crank arm, there are only a couple of threads on that lock ring. I didn't have any problems threading the lock ring on to the crank arm, but you just have to take your time and be careful. Start by threading the lock ring on by hand so that you don't run the risk of damaging the threads. 

What's The Bottom Line?

Direct Mount chainrings are sweet. Their simplicity and styling make them perform well and look great. The E*Thirteen Direct Mount M Profile chainring is no exception to that. We did our best to beat up this chainring and it didn't budge one bit. The benefit to using a direct mount chainring is that if you do bend the chainring, you don't have to also replace the crank arm. You might say the same is true with a traditional 104 bcd chainring but the chances of also damaging the spider in that case is also high. This chainring is strong, does a great job with chain retention, it's lightweight, and is easy to install.