Alex Rudeau's Meta Power 800 with Sidekick Wheels

An E-MTB ridden like a trials bike, and our answer to the question we often get asked.

Between Laps by e*thirteen July 29, 2026 1 min read

An E-MTB ridden like a trials bike, and our answer to the question we often get asked.

The bike, and how he rides it

Alex Rudeau rides a Commencal Meta Power 800, and not the way most people ride an E-MTB. He rides it like a trials bike: hopping, pivoting, and placing the back wheel exactly where he wants it.

A full-power E-MTB is heavy, it carries speed, and it puts real torque through the back wheel. Ridden like this, the bike depends on the rear hub answering every short, sharp pedal stroke right away. That's exactly what a deadband sounds like it should get in the way of.

The build

A full-power Commencal Bosch E-MTB on Sidekick Flux carbon wheels.

Grappler Sidekick Pro Flux Carbon GR DH Rear MTB Wheel — A full-power Commencal Bosch E-MTB on Sidekick Flux carbon wheels.

Close up of the e*thirteen Sidekick rear hub, cassette and brake rotor on Alex Rudeau's Meta SX Power 800

The front wheel of Alex Rudeau's Meta SX Power 800, an orange Fox 38 fork over a Grappler Flux carbon rim

The down tube of Alex Rudeau's Commencal Meta SX Power 800, showing the Bosch display and the e*thirteen decal

Close up of a Grappler Flux carbon rim and tubeless valve on Alex Rudeau's Meta SX Power 800

Alex Rudeau riding his Commencal Meta SX Power 800 off a rock ledge above a valley

The Sidekick rear hub, the Grappler Flux rims, and Alex putting them to work.

Which raises the question we often get asked about Sidekick hubs.

Does the deadband hurt technical climbing?

It's a fair question. If the hub has a gap before it engages, then ratcheting the cranks back and forth to time a move over a rock sounds like exactly where you'd feel it.

The short answer: don't worry about it. On an E-MTB, worry about it even less.

The motor carries you through the deadband almost before you notice it's there. That's why we recommend the wider settings on E-MTBs. A heavy bike that carries speed into rough sections gets the most out of the extra suspension freedom, and when pedaling, the motor hides the gap that a wider setting opens up. You'll adjust to it quickly.

If you still want quicker engagement, the 9-degree setting is there on the new Sidekick 2.0 hubs. It feels close to a conventional fast hub, and it still removes kickback at the start of the travel, where the harshness is. Changing it takes minutes and no tools.

To illustrate the point, just watch Alex ride.