E*Thirteen LG1 Race Carbon Wheelset Review

While Sram and Shimano pretty much own 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, E*Thirteen now offers 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 LG1 Race Carbon wheelset, the same wheels raced on by Neko Mulally, Aaron Gwin, and the YT Mob!

Wheel Specifications

• Wheel Size: 27.5"
• Internal Rim Width: 31mm
• Rim Material: Unidirectional carbon layup
• 12 x 150mm hub width ridden here. 157mm endcaps available as well
• 6 degree hub engagement
• The wheelset tested here features the 7 speed hub with a 9-21 tooth cassette
• Tires Used: Onza Aquilla

The E*Thirteen LG1r Carbon wheels are race proven by both the YT Mob and United Ride Polygon world cup downhill teams. So now it's time for us to give them a try and see what all the hype is about. 

Riding and Performance

Pros

• Rim Durability - When we set out to ride these wheels, we wanted to really push the limits of the product so that we didn't come back here to just say "yeah the wheels are good." For most customers looking to purchase a carbon wheelset, durability is usually at the front of their minds. After thrashing on these for a while now, I would say that durability is their strong suit. After riding through rough terrain where aluminum rims certainly would have dented or failed, the LG1r carbon wheels seemed to hold up! After talking with world cup downhill racer Neko Mulally, who is certainly pushing the limits of what your bicycle wheels can withstand, he felt good about the fact that when the LG1r rims did crack, he never even noticed and could continue on down the trail. He said he never experienced any major failures and was always able to keep air in the tires. Keep in mind, most of us can't ride as hard as Neko himself.

• Strength and Stiffness - The 31mm internal width of the rim gives the tire a nice shape that also protects the rim. Both the design/shape and carbon construction of the rim adds to the overall strength, stiffness, and in the end, the ride quality of the wheels. With all carbon products, there is a fine line between improving ride quality and just being overbuilt. The last thing you want is for your carbon wheels to break, but at the same time, if they are overbuilt you will feel like you are riding a bucking bronco down the trail as your wheels are pinging off of the terrain. The LG1r wheels are somewhere in the middle. That's what you want! While maintaining a damped feel, these wheels accelerate out of corners with some attitude!

• Spoke Flange Hub Spacing - Because the rear wheel uses an integrated 7 speed cassette, the spoke flange on the drive side of the wheel can be moved out away from the center of the hub. This gives the spoke more triangulation between the spoke nipples at the rim and at the j bend on each side of the hub. This gives you a true 7 speed wheel that is designed with more lateral stiffness in mind. Pretty clever actually!

• 7 Speed Cassette - The integrated 7 speed cassette uses a 9-21 spread with 2 tooth jumps through the middle of the gears. Because the bottom cog is a 9 tooth, in theory you are able to run a smaller chainring up front without topping out when pedaling. For reference, Aaron Gwin uses a 32 tooth chainring with this cassette out back. Teeth: 9-10-12-14-16-18-21

Cons

• Expensive - Carbon wheels are more expensive than their aluminum counterparts. That's just how it is. That being said, you get what you pay for with the E*Thirteen LG1r carbon wheels. 

• More Drag - I found there to be a little bit more drag in the 9 tooth bottom cog. Just being a smaller gear, there is inherently more drag compared to running the chain in a larger cog. For me, I would end up riding with a 34 tooth chainring and stay out of the bottom gear more. 

What's The Bottom Line?

The E*Thirteen LG1r carbon wheels are the real deal. You can see the level of dedication towards perfection in the product and is something here at the shop we associate with E*Thirteen. The shape, design, and construction make these wheels very durable without sacrificing compliancy on the trail. The true 7 speed hub design creates more lateral stiffness built in to the lacing of the wheel. On the flip side, carbon wheels are expensive even though there are certainly more expensive offerings on the market. 

What's In The Box? 

When you purchase your own E*Thirteen wheels, this is what you will get! 

LG1r rear/front wheel, tubeless tape, tubeless valve, spoke x3, nipple x3, nipple washer x3, 150mm and 157mm endcaps, 7sp version includes integrated 9-21 cassette.

Neko Mulally's race mechanic, Ben Arnot, getting his E*Thirteen LG1r wheels ready for practice