Blog

What do you want? A superharness! When do you want it? Now! 

After a lengthy development effort we're launching a product that ties together all the great features of a Grin kit together with the standard modern ebike displays that everyone keeps asking us about. 

This Superharness is more than just a main cable harness, it's a bit like having a mini Cycle Analyst hidden inside your wiring to implement some key features. This includes:

• Supporting Digital Ebrake Cutoffs that let you modulate and increase the regen brake force with the throttle.
• Supporting Analog Ebrake Levers that generate a proportional braking signal as the lever is pulled.
• Supporting Bidirectional Throttles, which twist forwards for power and backwards for regen control.

In addition to that, the harness also includes convenient DC power taps for hooking up both front and rear lights, with various options in how the lights are controlled.  For full details on this and other functionality, have a look at the hot-off-the-press Superharness User Manual. 

We decided to go with the popular waterproof Higo signal plugs for the throttle and ebrake connection, and over the coming months you will see more and more throttle and ebrake options listed with the Higo termination. 

There is currently a SuperH Kit Option for all of our motors that terminate with the L1019 cable, which you can find on the SuperH Kits Page. We've also wrote a Kit Types getting started page which explains the differences between these new kits and our traditional Cycle Analyst based system. We are working hard to get the V6 Baserunner_Z9 controllers out so that we can do the same with the lower power kits as well and expand this to our complete catalogue of motors. 

We've been receiving tons of interest in the 45mm fatbike All-Axle motors and are glad to say that our testing and development is going well, with an April release being quite realistic.  We're developing a front 45mm option for 135mm quick release and 150mm thru axle forks, and rear options for 170/190 quick release and 177/197 thru-axle frames. 

If you're keen on these more powerful 45mm fatbike All-Axle motors, we've opened the door to a $500 USD ($650 CAD) deposit option to be first in the line! Those who put in a deposit will not only get 10% off their motor or kit purchase, they'll also have options to get pilot release motors earlier in the test process.   

The busy bees have been at it this winter and have got the V3 release of both our front and rear All-Axle motors in full swing.

What's New?

This includes support for more dropout standards, more drivetrain options, better cable clearance, and most critically it adds integrated torque sensing to the rear hubs. That gives both full backpedal regen capabilities and torque sensing control without any need to install a bottom bracket sensor making installation a real breeze. You can read about the details here or just let the video do the talking!

We've also completed the full owner manual and have made 3D CAD model exports with all the different adapter configurations for people who like to do full modeling of their project build and motor integration.

The V3 hubs are listed on our store page by themselves or as components of full conversion kits. Our manufacturing team is having a hard time keeping them on the shelf so if the store page says "back-ordered" just place the order anyways to get in the queue as they come off the line.  

In addition to the current special on the torque sensing TSM-A5 Motors, we've also got a 25% off clearance underway on our remaining stock of prelaced eZee kits, either as a barebones system or a complete CA3 setup. 

The eZee motors set the stage for powerful geared hub motor design, and have been a reliable standby of Grin's kit offerings for many years. For the most part we've moved to a business model of only stocking unlaced motors and doing custom wheelbuilds into rims, and need to clear more shelf space for unlaced hubs.

The result is a great deal for you, we've got both 24" and 26" wheels left and they come with a tube and tire already installed for an extra straightforward installation process. 

Hey there, last week we published the first episode in a 3 part series we're doing all about power (watts) and how it relates to electric bicycles. 

For parts 2 and 3, we're hoping to fully instrument some Shimano and Bosch mid-drive ebikes to do proper performance analysis and power metering. Of course, none of our staff ride any of these proprietary factory ebikes for the reasons here, so we're reaching out to our fans and customers.

Do you happen to have a Bosch/Shimano ebike and wish you had gotten a DIY hub motor bike instead with an open and customizable platform, a powerful hub motor, and regenerative braking? If so we're offering a direct upgrade/exchange of your used Shimano/Bosch ebike for one of our front or rear All-Axle hub motor kits that you can install on any bike frame of your choice.

Please reach out should that tickle your fancy. Ideally, we're looking for people in the broader Vancouver area who can do the exchange in person. Your trade-in will help provide valuable info, comparison metrics, and hacking potential that we will share liberally with the ebike community at large!
 

Delayed Shipments

Wheelbarrow kits and Saw20 Brompton bike kits are back in stock! These two motor shipments both got held up for numerous unforeseen reasons and were supposed to arrive in early summer, but better late than never.  

Barebones Kits

The wheelbarrow kits are also available in our new Barebones kit systems that we introduced a few months ago. These setups were introduced to simplify the wiring hookup for minimal EV project that just have a throttle control. The all-in-one throttle that has a simple on/off switch and battery voltage indicator,  plugging straight into the 9-pin Mains hookup of a Baserunner.  

Thanks to all those who visited us at the Fully Charged booth last month. We all had a great time and enjoyed the chance to showcase the important world of DIY ebike builds at these more formal events, and to highlight the importance to end-users of open standards and non-proprietary hardware. 

We were also glad to share our booth space with two guys we met this summer at Eurobike who had a dazzling idea for doing regen that we showcased in public for the first time. You'll see this discussed in the first half of the video below, and we'll have much more on that later!

The second half starting at 8:29 goes over stuff in our little e-museum and perspectives of the micromobity movement. 

Discounted Satiators

We did some fall cleaning and realized there was quite a pile of 48V and 72V Satiators around that didn't quite pass the full QC. This includes units that are cosmetically perfect but failed an air-leakage test on the gasket, and others that have been scratched or dinged in the course of handling here at Grin. We're not giving them away but we are offering a nice savings for those who can use a break from the full price. 

48V Units Here and 72V Units Here. 

Our booth is setup at Fully Charged and we're looking forwards to discussing all the things that a DIY builder can do, along with the great technologies that we offer.  

We're also happy to be showcasing for the first time a rather brilliant project by two inventor/entrepreneurs we met at Eurobike this summer, a hub motor system that both freewheels and does regen braking! The technology behind it is ingenious, and we can't wait to show this off to all who visit our booth. 

And finally, the group Our Greenway is hosting a Cargo Bike conference on Saturday, Sept 9th, that is open to everyone either wanting to learn more about how these utility vehicles can impact their lives. You can get free tickets here. 

This September 8th-10th Vancouver is going to be hosting the Fully Charged LIVE show, a traveling exhibit from the UK that covers everything from micromobility to electric cars and alternative power. Fortunately, ebikes, cargo bikes, and personal EV's are a huge part of the floor space and Grin is excited to participate.

Ebike History

One of our contributions to the show will be an exhibit dedicated to the recent history of the ebike movement in Canada, and for that we're hoping to solicit your help. Do you by chance have an old ebike, escooter, or eskateboard from the 1990's or early 2000's still around in your garage, which you'd be willing to donate to the cause? We're interested in both DIY builds and turn-key bikes from that era to shed light on the timeline of this movement.

If so, please email us some pictures and details and we will see if it's a good fit. Ebikes are relatively new to many people but the seeds have been around for a few decades, and we'd love to tell the story of how they've evolved to the current state. 

The results our in for our 2nd round of prizes on the project gallery. The three winners of our weekly draw are:

Tim Yzerman from Vancouver, who built up an ebike as part of the UBC electric bike club over 18 years ago and has been riding and upgrading ever since.	Adam from Quebec who built a GMAC powered touring catrike with an Bob trailer on the back, sporting both a solar roof and solar trailer.	And Finally, Gary from Orgeon with who built a side-by-side tandem Date Trike, powered with an FH212 motor and stunning wooden framework.

Congratulations each of you.

We planned to have our first staff pick prize, but found it impossible to settle on just one with so many stunning submissions. The following 3 projects were all at the top of the list after a few rounds of voting, and we decided what the heck, let's give all three of them a prize too. 

First was the the local scavanger coffee trailer that has been serving beverages all around Vancouver from their delighfully crafted mobile brew machine.  We promise that their winning ticket has nothing to do with showing up at Grin several years ago and treating our whole staff to drinks.	Next was a lovely study in custom frame design from Adrien in France. This curves on this front loading cargo bike are stunning, and the electric integration is a clean as can be. Powered by a front FH212 motor with cable actuated steering and a gas sprung centerstand. Beauty.	And finally for something way out of left field, we've got loads of Solar bikes but these WindWheeler quads from the Netherlands are harvesting wind power isntead. The CA3 + Baserunner allows them to auto regen above a given speed limit to recoup sailing energy to use later.

If you submitted a project and didn't win yet, fret not. We'll be keeping all projects in the running both for the weekly draws and the montly staff pick awards and your chance may come yet.