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At last Xtracycle has released the long awaited follow up of their FreeRadical bolt on cargo extenion kit, now called the Xtracycle Leap. It's a full redesign that is cleaner, more rugged, and more versatile than the original, with accomdation for 24" - 29" wheel sizes and a greatly improved frame attachment system.

We've got them in stock both stand alone and as part of a full electric package with a rear geared or direct drive hub motor. And to celebrate their arrival, and cargo ebikes in general, we're having a month long sales event on most of our cargo packages to kick start the season!  This includes:

	25% discount on the great value eZee Expedir bikes	(no coupon needed)
	20% discount on the Yuba Cycle Stoker system	(coupon StokeRight)
	15% discount on the classic Stokemonkey kit	(coupon StokeLeft)
	10% discount on the new Leap + Motor kits	(coupon LeapHigh)
	A free Satiator upgrade wih the Juiced Bikes ODK	(coupon FastCharge)

To use the coupon codes, you'll need to be logged into our website with an account and then you will have the opportunity to put in the code during checkout. This sale will last until April 15th. 

Plus, for local Vancouver customers are selling our floor model Yuba Mundo and 2014 Edgerunner ebikes, both with Cycle Stoker drive systems installed. So if you've been mulling over a cargo ebike purchase for a while but have been a bit leary of the prices, now is the time to drop by our shop for a visit.

We're used to travelling all around to various trade shows and events but it's been a while since we've had one in our own backyard. This coming weekend Grin will have a booth in the Vancouver Bike Show at the Vancouver Convention Center downtown.

Not only will we be showing off some of the great new Grin products like the LiGo batteries, All Axle hub motor, Tripwire brake cutoffs, Satiators and Phaserunners, and all that, but we're also running a sale on cargo ebikes, including 25% off on brand new eZee Expedirs. There will be floor models to try and both Bike Friday and Brompton folding bike kits built up as well.

If you are into the Bike and/or Outdoor scene in Vancouver, there is a lot going on at the Convention center this weekend so we recommend you register and come for a visit. Our booth is B300 near the Bike Trials Show.

UPDATE:  Our first day at the VBS has been really great and we look forwards to meeting many more local Vancouverites on Sunday. There is lots to see and we have some show specials to offer those who visit so it.our little booth.

Last week was a momentous occasion for Grin Technologies, as our innovative LiGo battery modules got ready for primetime. I'll let the video do the talking!

Our product update and video for this week relates to something close to our hearts, the seemingly timeless Cycle Analyst. While the Version 3.0 CA firmware has been stabilized for some time, our partner Teklektik has been quietly working very hard towards a 3.1 release that fully realizes all of the features we had originally envisioned for this device. One of the best of these is a dual button control input, making on the fly adjustments easier than ever before. Have a look:

Using this requires first updating your Cycle Analyst firmware. The V3.1 beta releases have been published on endless-sphere since last spring, but the latest CA3.1B13 code is getting very close to the final release, and we think it's time fo a wider swath of users to check check it out. You can download it from ES or our CA3 info page, just keep in mind that an upgrade from a 3.0 device will overwrite all of your settings and statistics, so make sure to record those first before reflashing.

We have the inexpensive dual buttons in stock to ship to anyone wanting to get a head start on this upgrade path for their CA devices. Then in March/April we expect to make the 3.1 firmware our new standard that is preloaded on all the CA3 devices, and we will have a number of video tutorials covering the many other new features.

We quietly started carrying Hailong downtube mount battery packs last fall, but didn't announce anything as they lacked UN38.3 certification and so were available for local pickup only. Well, that's all changed and we now have a 52V 13Ah downtube battery with UN38.3 documents that we can ship over the world. These battery packs are using the Panasonic GA cells, nominally 3.5Ah each but we'll rate them more conservatively at 3.3Ah.

 
These are great low center of gravity batteries for ebikes running 20-25A motor controllers. The BMS circuit is capable of 40A continuous but usage at these levels isn't recommended for cell longevity. For bikes that don't have suitable waterbottle eyelets on the downtube, we also have sourced a nice Banjo Brothers frame bag that holds them neatly from the toptube, and helps your conversion look less like an ebike with the obvious battery exposed.

Not sure how to pick a battery?

We've also recently rewritten our battery kits info page, updating it to reflect our 2017 battery options with summary explanation on choosing the best pack for your setup. 

This updated page also includes tips on parallel or series wiring for connecting batteries and other tidbits that you may find useful when considering a new battery purchase. 

This time last year we were deep in the throes of converting and renovating a giant warehouse go become a new home for Grin, in preparation for a lengthy business move we didn't really ask for. And now that we're settled in, it's payoff time and are ready to rock like never before. For the foreseeable future we'll have a new product and/or video announcement to share with you every single week.

We'll start things off by announcing the TripWire, a new product for those looking for an ebrake cutoff solution that tacks onto existing brake levers rather than replacing them. We had tried developing devices based on magnets and reed switches, touch sensitive pads, and other technologies over the years, never quite coming up with a scheme we were happy with. Then out of the blue, one of our customers Tim O'Brien approached us with a solution that was truly great. I'll let Tim explain it himself here:

We've been working with Tim to iron out design details and hare happy to have received his first production batch over the holidays. They're available both with a short cable for plugging into a V3 Cycle Analyst device to enable proportional regen, and with a long cable length to go directly to the controller ebrake input if you don't have a CA3 in your setup.

We wish everyone a splendid holiday season and we'll be busy as usual fulfilling orders and answering questions during the next few weeks, being closed just for the statutory holidays on Christmas and New Years. 

Plus for any real last minute shoppers we've decided to open our doors on Saturday Dec 24th from 11am to 4pm. We just received a fresh stock of beginner unicycles and have tons of Grin goodies to stuff under the tree. 

The 72V Satiators have now passed UL and CSA regulatory testing and are in full production in time for every ebike enthusiast's Christmas wish list. Thank you to all those who participated in the beta/pilot run earlier this year while we sorted out details. We've got them listed not only on our store site but also stocked at amazon.com so that our American friends can get free domestic shipping.

As well, we've greatly increased the number of adapter cables available for making the Satiator more plug and play compatible with 3rd party batteries and ebikes. This includes XT60 connectors used RC batteries, 5.5 x 2.5mm DC Barrel connectors used in most frame batteries, Rosenberger plugs on high-end European setups, and 4-pin XLR plugs for the Juiced bikes, along with our previous Anderson and RCA adapters.

All of these cables are available from the drop-down selector on the Satiator store pages and they all include the TRS jack for computer communications with the USB->TTL cable.

In April we had changes with the Stokemonkey kit including clampset options and a new SAW motor from Crystalyte. Well now we've got two more great updates. The first is a an option now to use a geared rather than direct drive motor. After a lot of testing we settled on the G02 Bafang hub as the perfect candidate, being 33% lighter and yet having 10-15% more torque with the same controller. With these motors, we use a simple fixed cog bolted on the disk mount and take advantage of the motor's intrinsic freewheel rather than using an external freewheel.

That said the geared motor can make a small audible buzz when running, so for those who prefer the silence and intrinsic rugged simplicity of the heavier direct drive motor we continue to offer both choices.

The second update is that we're offering the gearsensor.com shift cutoffs as an option with both the classic Stokemonkey and Cycle Stoker kits. This Czech made device goes inline with your shift cable and senses when you are changing gears to automatically cut motor power for a moment so that you have a smooth transition. We've had them in stock for a while, but only recently have had all of our CA3 devices updated to provide 5V power on the ebrake connector allowing for plug and play compatibility. These make the mid-drive motor operation seamless. 

We're calling our Statorade ferrofluid experiment that started last year a wild success. We've had fleet cargo ebike users (like Shift Delivery) see their average motor temperature drop from in the ~100-110°C range to ~70 degrees. It's enabled people to push the continuous power limits of their direct drive motors up a significant margin, and there's been no evidence at all of compatibility problems with glues, varnishes, and enamels inside the motors. Our recently updated Statorade product info page has the details. 

In order to make the Statorade easier to inject, we've updated the standard package to a Luer Lock style syringe with both a twist lock cap and a small diameter plastic needle. This allows you to drill just a tiny 2mm hole for precise injection with less risk of mess. And, as a plus for people in the US, we've got it stocked on Amazon for cheap shipping. Have a look.

Finally for those with lots of ebike motors in their garage, we've also started offering larger 50mL and 100mL bulk bottles of Statorade. They are on special price now until mid-December.  Our goal was to make all of our direct drive hub motors (Crystalyte, Nine Continent, TDCM, and Grin) statorade compatible in 2016 and we are happy to have succeeded in that.