e*thirteen TRS+ Direct Mount Bash Guard: Rider Review

 Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

Even though bash guards are a relatively old bike technology it's pretty vital when it comes to protecting your chainrings. A bent chainring will stop a fun ride dead in its tracks. Our friend Thomas gives us his take on the e*thirteen TRS+ 28-34t Direct Mount Bash Guard. Check it out!

Overview

I just recently purchased an Evil Offering that incorporates a chain guide but does not have any protection for the chainring/bb area of the frame. I’ve always run a chain guide/bash guard combo on my bikes and this situation required myself to look for something to provide the bash guard only protection. So, particularly for those of you who are running frames that already have an upper chain guide, this puppy might be perfect for you.

My requirements were pretty straightforward…

1. Adjustable depending on what size chainring I’m using
2. Mounts via lower ISCG05 tabs
3. High build quality – able to take a solid knock and keep me rolling. I’m 6’3” 225lbs, so I can generate some force moving down the mountain using the help of physics.

Installation

The e*thirteen TRS+ Direct Mount Bash Guard was crazy easy to install, two bolts and you’re good to go. I use a Wolf Tooth chainring on my RaceFace SixC crankset and didn’t need to remove the cranks to do it. There was plenty of room through the cutouts in the chainring. Make sure to throw some grease on the mounting bolt threads per usual good bike wrenching techniques. It comes with two different options for the plastic bash piece that fits the bottom of the guard frame. I chose the larger one simply because I liked the amount it extended beyond the end of the chainring itself. Choosing which piece to use depends entirely on your chainring size, but I’m guessing most of us will use the larger piece unless you’re running a 28T ring.

Since installing and getting my ride on, I’ve had the chance to bump the e*thirteen against rocks a few times with the best possible result. Nothing more than the awareness I just hit it against a rock rather than taco’ing my chainring with the bash guard itself remaining intact so far. The whole point of this guard is to protect the frame from chainring/bb area hits and it’s doing that like a champ. Works as advertised,  very happy.

Final Thoughts

As far as maintenance goes, this is basically a ‘set and forget’ part, outside of checking the bolts from time to time to make sure all is snug. Important to note that this particular bash guard isn’t only for bikes that have an integrated chain guide, modern 1x systems do a great job keeping the chain where it should be. If you’re not interested in a combo chain guide and bash guard, this can be used on any frame that has the ISCG05 tabs. Thanks for reading, hope this review helps you make your decision if this lower bash guard is right for you - it has been for me!