End of March Madness, new motors, batteries, connectors...

First off we want to apologize for the longer than normal response time and email backlog as much of our team was busy both in the preparation and attendance at the Taipei Cycle Show this past week. We'll be working hard to catch up on that in the coming days and thank your patience and understanding. To all the dealers, vendors, manufacturers, component partners, and general industry friends we met at the show, what a great time and we look forward to exciting pursuits ahead. 

GMAC Motors

One of the items we demonstrated at the show is the new GMAC motor series. This is a powerful clutchless geared hub motor developed over the past 2 years in partnership with MAC motors, using a custom axle with an integrated splined torque arm. Imagine a MAC motor with perfect frame fit for modern bicycles, zero torque transmission on the dropouts, and phenomenal regenerative braking control.

You can learn more about the development and axle testing process on this endless-sphere thread. Our ambition is to make this splined axle design into a new standard that we deploy across our entire higher power motor lines to replace axle flats. If you're as excited as us and want to jump right into ordering, we have the first production shipment on hand available in bare motors and complete kits.

L10 Connector

One thing you'll notice about this GMAC motor is that we are using the 10 pin waterproof locking motor plug. Over the course of the year we will be switching to this connector standard for all of our medium and high power hub motors, replacing the Anderson and JST-SM's that we had standardized on previously.

Our hope is that this plug will become to motors in the 500-1500 watt power range what the 9pin Z910 became for the low power geared motors, with all motor manufacturers agreeing to the same pinout standard for easy swapping and interchangeability . We have an L10 version of the Phaserunner motor controller available now and will soon be expanding this to a Grinfineon offering as well.

More L10 Motors

There are two additional motors in our lineup already using this locking connector. The first is a new rear cassette motor from Nine Continent, which has better disk rotor clearance and axle alignment than the MXUS hubs. Our first batch of these has sold out but the larger sea order is expected later in April.

The second is an updated variant of our Grin All Axle motor where we've got the cable exiting on the disk side of the motor for single side applications. If you've got a catrike and are looking for powerful dual motor drive like the one here, please give us a shout.

72V Batteries and 21700 Cells

We've also released our first native 72V battery pack in a conventional downtube battery casing, assembled using the high power Samsung 27100 40T cells so that even with the small 8Ah capacity it is able to deliver 40-50A continuous currents. This is an ideal battery for fast and sporty offroad ebike builds, allowing powerful performance without the weight or complexity of most 72V setups (either two 36V packs in series or a large triangle frame battery).

At the moment this battery is in stock but for local pickup orders only as we are going through the certification testing required for shipping. We've been keeping the 21700 cell offerings on our radar as they start to catch up with the performance specs of the more mature 18650 series and this year it looks like they are finally making the grade. Expect more from us as the year goes on. 

Inbound Shipments

Our multiple-delayed Crystalyte sea shipment has also arrived this last week after being held up by customs inspections, and all the Crystalte 'H'motors are back in stock again. A lot of you have been waiting for some time for these and the wait is finally over. 

General Kits Intro

Here is the other presentation from the BC Bike Show earlier this month. It was a basic primer for people to learn about ebike conversion options before we went on to do a live install of a conversion kit.