Videos

Youtube Channel

At the moment most new Grin videos will be hosted on our youtube channel, which you can access directly here:

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Product Releases

Belle Amie Part 2, New Propeller, Solar Panels, 20kWhr Battery on 32 Foot Electric Sailboat

This is a 5 month follow up on Grin's 2nd electric sailboat conversion, the 32 foot Belle Ami we introduced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPMxY4LinKA We installed one of the larger Grin motor drives with a 48V battery bank and since then she's done many long and short boating trips without even a hiccup. But it was topping out at around 4 knots, a result of poor propeller pitch for this particular motor and several years of marine growth on the hull. And at full power there was a lot of vibration that was a bit disconcerting. So once Toni mentioned that she had the boat on an improvised tidal lift to repaint the bottom, we took that opportunity to come visit and install a more suitable 3 blade propeller. This video shows that process and gives an overview of the battery bank and solar array that have also been installed. In our next Part3 video we promise some actual sailing footage! and data collection! UPDATE: Part3 is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbVXhBRx-Oo


New Cycle Analyst 3.2 Beta, Firmware Features (updated regen controls and more)

This video covers some of the new features and additions that are in upcoming in the 3.2 firmware update for the Cycle Analyst device. There is a heavy focus expanding the regenerative braking capabilities with some of the activation modes described in our regen video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v-_HECwBAQ). It also expands the torque sensor behavior to support torque only sensors with no cadence signal, along with some bug fixes and other niceties that are covered in the release notes. The firmware update is available to beta testers via the CA setup utility application and we look forward to hearing additional feedback before making this into a full release later this month.


Regen Braking and Electric Bicycles, Justin's Presentation from 2022 BC Bike Show

On March 5th 2022, Justin gave a talk at the BC bike show about regenerative braking as it pertains to the world of electric bicycles. Regen is an important topic that's been largely misrepresented by the ebike industry due to the focus on mid-drive and freewheeling hub motors, so we wanted to set the record straight on many areas. This follows some of our original research on regen which we posted on this Endless-Sphere thread many years ago: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7891 0:00- Intro 0:33 - What is Regen? 1:53 - Electrical Principles 4:40 - Problem with Freewheels 7:15 - Negative Marketing 8:11 - Is it Worth It? 10:04 - Motor Drag 12:27 - % Recaptured 16:10 - Saved Brake Wear 17:45 - Cost Savings 20:04 - Regen Motors 23:00 - Activating Regen 26:00 - Variable Regen Brakes 27:40 - Alternative Regen Controls 30:29 - Backpedal Regen 35:22 - Speed limit regen 37:45 - Regen Efficiency 38:20 - Comparison with Mid-Drive 40:18 - Motor Heating 40:45 - Axle Wiggle 42:05 - The Future 42:45 - Q&A


Production of the Grin All Axle Hub Motor, with Cargo Wheel Preview

We applied for the ARC grant in 2021, a program directed for companies in BC in the zero emission vehicle space who were in a position to scale up production: https://arcbc.ca/ Much to our surprise and delight, we made the cut! And since then have been hard at work setting up new streamlined manufacturing benches and QC stations to meet expected motor demand. This video shows a peak behind the scenes of the motor assembly process as well as a new partnership project we've been working on with Alligt cargo wheels from the Netherlands to make a custom e-cargo wheel: http://www.alligt.nl/ Alligt has been producing specially molded wheels for use on single side mounted cargo bikes, and have tooled up a version that can fit right over our hub motors. If this works out, it will be a great way to bring both power and regenerative braking to fleets of cargo delivery vehicles all over the world.


Intro to Belle Amie, 32 foot Electric Sailboat Conversion, Part1

Toni from Victoria reached out to us after seeing our conversion series about Shamrock, the 25 foot sailboat that we electrified with an adapted ebike hub motor. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuIG5Uqk4_c&list=PLH8T1SX8ZJv-cP7opmQiJs0DYDIGi5Ps7) She has a 32 foot live-aboard sailboat and has long dreamed of shedding the troublesome diesel engine in favor of an all electric drive. Meanwhile, we were looking for a platform to field test the higher power version of this motor in a larger vessel than Shamrock, and thus the stars aligned for our second foray into an eboat conversion! This is the first part of a series that will document our experiences with electrifying Belle Amie. We hope you enjoy what it with lots more to come as the spring and summer unfold. UPDATE: Part 2 is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Uh4onqTAU Part 3 is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbVXhBRx-Oo


Fixing up an old ebike hub motor with water damage, shot bearings, and a broken hall sensor

This video goes over the process of overhauling a customer's ~10 year old generic 9 Continent hub motor that has suffered from exposure. These direct drive motors are quite resilient, so even with water and rust inside, broken hall leads, and partly disintegrated ball bearings, it was still actually in running condition. But it sure didn't sound very healthy and inspire confidence, and we decided to document the repair process for others. 0:00 - Intro 1:49 - Opening the side plates to see inside 3:05 - Bearing removal 4:14 - Scrubbing stator clean 6:30 - Cleaning the rotor 7:26 - How water gets in 10:53 - Vent hole option 11:27 - Ball bearing insertion 12:00 - Testing and replacing hall sensors 15:25 - Reassembly Old direct drive motors like this can be found in discard piles and scrap metal yards on a regular basis, and with a little mechanical effort most of them can brought back into fine running condition again as we've shown here.


Showcasing the Satiator, Grin's Programmable Battery Charger for Ebikes

The Satiator has been one of Grin's flagship products, developed to suite the needs of ebike enthusiasts and average riders alike. It's one unit that can be configured to charge a wide range of battery types and does so at 2-3 times the rate of a typical bike charger. This video is just a short preview of the features. For a more details, see the Satiator product info page: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/cycle-satiator.html And our basic usage video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY7xUlSiUnU It's available on Grin's online store: https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/chargers.html As well as directly from amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VB2BXGG for 48V model, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LWT3UH0 for 72V model)


Why Direct Drive motors use Statorade, Motor Cooling that Works

It's been over 7 years since we stumbled on the phenomenal cooling ability of certain ferrofluids while searching for solutions to hub motor heating. But most of our content explaining this has been analytic and technical so we tried here to summarize it all in a nice short clip here. Enjoy! The syringes are available by themselves from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Statorade-Electric-Motor-Cooling-Ferrofluid/dp/B01M29CEDU/ And more detailed background and test results are on our Statorade info page: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/statorade.html


The Double Bob and Triple Bob, Grin's Ebike Battery Mounts

Our Double Bobs and Triple Bobs simplify the installation of a downtube battery. Every bike frame is different, and the stock mount doesn't always put the battery where you want it. Bob's give freedom to mount your downtube battery almost anywhere, without being limited by the strength and location of your waterbottle eyelets. More information at our mount hardware info page: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/battery-anchors.html And in they can be purchased either directly from Grin's online shop: https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/battery-accessories.html Or from Amazon if you are in the USA: https://www.amazon.com/Grin-Technologies-Mounting-Downtube-Batteries/dp/B09BH3ZJJK/ https://www.amazon.com/Grin-Technologies-Mounting-Downtube-Batteries/dp/B09BHFH9HB/


Small Geared Hub Motor Showdown, Bafang G311/G310 vs Shengyi SX1/SX2

In this clip we compare our two favorite small geared hub motor systems; the G311/G310 series from Bafang and the DGWX1/DGWX2 motors from Shengyi (which we've abbreviated at Grin to SX1/SX1). Both are well engineered geared hubs with helical cut gears, good serviceability, and punchy enough performance for pedal assist ebikes. But they differ in their power and torque capabilities. If you have lots of hills or you transport things with your bike, then the smaller G31 will likely be underwhelming and we would recommend the SX motor system. We have seen many people overheat and damage their G31 motors by pushing them beyond their capabilities. For commuters who pedal a lot and just like a boost, the smaller/lighter G31's are pretty much perfect. More detailed info is available here: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-kits/bafang-g310-g311.html https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-kits/shengyi-sx-geared-hubs.html Pricing is on the store page at the end of the links above. We don't post prices in our videos since that changes over time and we want the content to stay relevant. In general the Shengyi motor is a bit less expensive in spite of also being more powerful. Video Content: 0:00 - Intro 0:54 - Similarities (Freewheeling, helical gears, disk) 1:24 - Serviceability 2:01 - Bike Compatibility 2:24 - Combined Speed/Temp Sensor 2:35 - Size and Weight 3:02 - Internal Construction 3:47 - Noise Levels 4:12 - G31 Limitations 4:54 - Power 5:35 - Axle Design and Torque Arms 7:33 - Summary


First Cut of Grin's Electric Wheelbarrow Kit

This video shows some examples of how a converted wheelbarrow can look using the kit bundles with the Bafang wheelbarrow hub and our Baserunner_Z9 motor controller and LiGo batteries. This is a product package still in an early release cycle stage using ebike hardware and is intended for people who are already familiar with Grin's ebike gear. Over time we expect to further customize the hardware parts to this wheelbarrow application for more mainstream users. The advanced system with a CA3 display and MFSwitch is available here: https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-kits/advanced-electric-wheelbarrow-conversion-kit.html And the parts for a more barebones throttle-only setup are here https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-kits/basic-electric-wheelbarrow-conversion-kit.html


Intro to the Bafang Electric Wheelbarrow Motor

This video goes over the wheelbarrow from Bafang that we've been offering at Grin Tech. Our recent 2021 shipment of these motors has been updated to include a combined speed/temperature signal in the Z910 plug and can be used for lots of neat low speed but high torque drive applications. We've had this hub up on our motor simulator for a while now: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=100461&start=25#p1470618 But interest in this hub keeps gaining more and more traction and we'll be making it a staple part of our hub motor and kit offerings. https://ebikes.ca/basic-electric-wheelbarrow-conversion-kit.html https://ebikes.ca/geared-wheelbarrow-motor-with-tire.html


Introduction to the RH212 and FH212 direct drive motors

This video introduces the 212 motor series from Nine Continent. These have become our preferred direct drive hub motor option for ebike conversions since they check off all the right boxes: 1) Paired spoke holes (allows radial lacing) 2) Side cable exit 3) 0.35mm laminations 4) Statorade injection port 5) Cassette freehub on rear 6) Correct disk rotor alignment and caliper clearance 7) L10 connector with temperature sensor 8) Proper 100mm / 135mm axle OLD's 9) Entry level price point There are other direct drive motors we carry for more specialized needs, like the Grin All Axle motor for single side / thru axle systems or lightweight builds. But for regular ebikes and cargo bikes where weight is not a deciding factor, the FH212 / RH212 is our go-to recommendation these days. They are both powerful and reliable. They are available as raw motors here: https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/motors.html?motor_manufacturer=74 and as part of a complete kit system here: https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-kits.html?motor_manufacturer=74


How the Grin All Axle Motor fits All Bicycle Forks

In our previous videos on the All Axle hub motor we didn't properly demonstrate how the various axle adapters work for all the front fork styles and decided to do a video on this topic. We now have a 6 insert sets available for this motor to make it the most versatile front hub drive on the market: QR9 (regular quick release) QR12 (new standard for thru-axle road bikes) QR15 (modern mountain bikes) QR15 Boost (wider standard for slightly stronger wheels) QR15x150 (very popular these days for fatbike front forks) QR20 (downhill mountain bikes) For a look at the actual full installation process have a look at this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti7xvsjbNYI For more information on the All Axle hub motors, see the main info page here: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/all-axle-hub-motor.html


Introducing the Android Mobile Version of our Phaserunner Suite

Cyrus give a quick overview of the first Android app release from Grin that he and the software team put together last year. The functionality mirrors what is available in our desktop software for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, but has been updated for a mobile interface and touch screen display. This application should work with any android phone that supports USB On-The-Go (USB-OTG). The standard USB-TTL cable from grin plugs into the Phaserunner or Baserunner motor controller, while a USB-OTG adapter cable converts the USB-A into either USB-C or Micro-USB to mate with your phone plug. The motors controllers don't currently have Bluetooth built into them, but we are working on creating a Bluetooth dongle that plugs into the TRRS port of the controller to provide wireless connection options too. More information on these controllers is available here: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/phaserunner.html https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/baserunner.html


Secure Battery Mounting, Grin's Double and Triple Bob Anchors

This video explains how our Double/Triple Bob Battery Anchors are used to provide a more secure attachment for mounting downtube battery packs to the frame tubing of a bicycle. They provide flexibility for your battery fitment regardless of your eyelet locations, and they secure the pack with much less wobble than having the cradle bolted directly to the raised eyelets. The Double Bob fits Hailong-03 battery enclosures https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/battery-accessories/double-bob.html While the Triple Bob was designed to work equally well with Hailong-01, Reention, and 21700 downtube pack casings: https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/battery-accessories/triple-bob.html


Phaserunner Controller Family Quick Intro

This video gives a quick summary of our two flagship motor controller models, the Phaserunner and the Baserunner, and how they differ from common generic ebike motor controllers. https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/baserunner.html https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/phaserunner.html


Introducing the V3 Phaserunner Motor Controller

In this video we do a brief summary of the V3 Phaserunner controllers. These are tight after-market motor controllers designed to pack a high power in a small package. The V3 release splits the product into two models: 1) Phaserunner_MT version that is connectorized at the back and uses a separate cable harness between the motor and controller 2) Phaserunner_L10 that has a 52cm long motor cable terminated with the Higo L1019 connector standard for motors already using this plug type Unfortunately this video was filmed before we had finalized the transition to the new WP8 Cycle Analyst plug and all units for sale now have this plug type. Here is a full explanation of the updates between the V3 and previous V2 Phaserunners: https://www.ebikes.ca/documents/Phaserunner_V3_Updates.pdf Additional information, specifications, manuals, and software downloads are all available on our product page: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/phaserunner.html


Intro to the Grinspector Battery Station, Designed for Cycle Testing Ebike Battery Packs

This is a quick overview of our battery testing and QC solution currently in practice at Grin Tech. After DIY'ing quite a few battery QC devices over the years we've now settled on a system using 5 of our Grinspector stations all running off a single computer. With this setup we can process 10 batteries each day to be fully charged, fully discharged, and then brought to a 30% charge level for shipping. Each pack then receives a printout of the battery test report and discharge curve that is included for the customer so that they can be confident in the exact specs of the pack they have received. . More information on the Grinspector test station and capabilities is on the product info page here: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/grinspector.html


Grin's Baserunner Motor Controller - Product Intro

This video introduces the Baserunner motor controller series designed to fit inside the controller cavity of Reention and Hailong downtube battery packs. This device has all the features of the popular Phaserunner controller series but with a new layout for very slick installation. For more details see our Baserunner controller info page: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/baserunner.html


Introducing Grin's Lineup of Ready-To-Roll Conversion Kits

In this video we explain our new RTR ebike conversion systems that are centered around a downtube battery pack with an integrated Baserunner motor controller. The Baserunner can fit inside the battery cradle on both Hailong and Reention battery casings and with our new higher power Baserunner_L10 we've been able to extend the range of these kits to encompass higher power motors like the GMAC and RH212. For more details on the pros and cons of the different hub motor systems have a read here: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-kits.html And for the list of RTR systems currently available have a look at this link: https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-kits/ready-to-roll-kits.html


Introducing the GMAC Clutchless Geared Hub Motor from Grin Tech

We're now in full scale launch mode for the new GMAC hub motor, the result of a collaboration between Grin and MAC motors to produce a powerful but light hub motor capable of regenerative braking and optimized (via a splined torque arm and round axles) for installation compatibility. In this video we go over each of these design details in a side-by-side comparison with the normal MAC motor and illustrate why the GMAC stands apart among all the others hub motors on the market right now. For more details and link to purchasing and pricing info, see the GMAC product info page here: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/gmac.html We have additional videos coming soon covering both the installation sequence and also tuning the GMAC to a Phaserunner for virtual electronic freewheeling, so stay tuned for more youtube videos if this subject interests you!


Introducing the Grin All-Axle Hub Motor, with Updates for Single Side Applications

In this video Justin discusses key features of the Grin All Axle motor, including a demonstration of an updated 2019 model which has the following changes: 1) Cable exiting on the disk side of the motor 2) New single side adapters for trike applications 3) Thicker / stronger 35mm ID ball bearing (vs 45mm thin section bearing in original model) 4) Waterproof L10 high current locking connector plug We've now expanded the range of single side adapter options to cover a number of tadpole trike models beyond just the Catrike shown in the video. Additional details are here https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/all-axle-hub-motor.html


Intro to the Small G310 / G311 Silent Geared Hub Motors

This video describes some of the key features of the Bafang G310 (rear) and G311 (front) hub motors that have been flying off our shelves this summer. The combination of light weight, small diameter, excellent bicycle fitment, and silent drive make them one of our favorite motors at the moment for ebike applications where only moderate power levels are needed. For additional information on this motor series, see http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/geared.html We have them for purchase as part of a kit package here http://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-kits/bafang-mini.html


The Magic of Statorade Motor Coolant, Test Ride with Small Brompton Kit

What happens when you sustain high power levels in a hub motor? The motor gets hotter and hotter, and becomes at risk of overheating. Watch this video to see the amazing effect that just a few mL of Statorade can have on keeping the motor cool. In the test, Justin is riding a small SAW20 Crystalyte hub on a Brompton bike with a 72V battery pack up and down the hill in Queen E park in Vancouver. With the stock SAW20 hub, the motor temperature keeps climbing right up to 115 °C when the CA's thermal rollback reduces motor power to 600 watts. After adding 3.5 mL of Statorade, the temperature falls immediately. Running the same tests up and down the hill it doesn't get beyond 83 °C. No thermal rollback and a full 800 watts available. The actual logged trip data can be examined from this link here: http://www.ebikes.ca/tools/trip-analyzer.html?trip=iAWALh Data from the Cycle Analyst was added to the video using the (now free) Dashware program: http://www.dashware.net/ And of course more information on Statorade can be found here: http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/statorade.html


Presenting the e-pakiT from Bike Friday and Grin Tech

Last winter Aaron had a trip scheduled to Costa Rica and asked if he could bring our prototype pakiT folding ebike, both to test the system out and shoot some video. Here is the result! The pakiT is Bike Friday's latest collapsible travel bike and is impressively light weight. Combined with a small hub motor and air our airline friendly LiGo lithium batteries it makes an ideal ebike for travelling. Information on the pakiT from Bike Friday https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-bikes/e-pakit/ https://www.bikefriday.com/folding-bikes/bikes/pakit/ And the LiGo batteries http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/ligo-batteries.html System Performance http://www.ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?bopen=false&motor=MG01_FST&batt=B36LiGox4&wheel=17i&frame=road


LiGo Battery, Introduction and Basic Usage Tutorial

Here we introduce the new 98Wh LiGo battery modules from Grin Technologies. These 36V portable packs are just under the 100 wh threshold to allow for transport aboard carry-on baggage in an airplane, and can be easily stacked in parallel for high capacity or in series for 72V systems. More information about the batteries is available from: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/ligo-batteries.html And they can be purchased directly from our ebike battery purchase site: https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/batteries/b362-7-ligo.html


Introduction the Digital Aux Buttons for Cycle Analyst 3.1 Firmware

Here Justin is showing how to setup and use the new dual button auxilliary input available for anyone with a V3 Cycle Analyst who wants to experiment with the 3.1 firmware releases. The 3.1B13 firmware download and other details are here: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1262509#p1262509


Introducing the Tripwire, universal ebrake cutoff solution for electric bicycles

In this video, Tim O'Brien introduces and demonstrates the Tripwire ebrake cutoff sensor he invented and then refined in partnership with Grin Technologies. Two models of this after-market sensor work with both mechanical and hydraulic brake levers, allowing you to keep your existing brake hardware while adding the benefits of regen or the safety of a motor cutoff. Additional details are visible here: http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/tripwire.html


Post Taipei Bike Show, Product Reveal

Justin and Robbie talk about 3 of the products in Grin's development portfolio that they brought with them to the 2016 Taipei Bike Show, namely a hub motor, motor controller, and battery pack.


Cycle Satiator Family of Battery Chargers 12-103VDC

Here's our announcement of the 24V 15A and 72V 5A Satiator charger devices available now as pre-production prototypes. For more details on signing on as a Test Pilot please read the following endless-sphere post: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1130707#p1130707


CA3 P13 Features

This is a short summary of some visible features that have been added to the CA3 firmware since the start of this year. This includes: *Realtime Display of Auxilliary Limit Setting, whenever the aux value is changed you can momentarily see the new setting on the display *Indication if setup parameter is global or preset-specific *Long left button press to exit setup menu or go to previous digit *Flashing display of thermometer icon if motor is system is in thermal rollback *Throttle Proportional Regen, use brake lever + throttle signal to vary regenerative braking intensity on Grinfineon and Phaserunner motor controllers. To download and install the new firmware, please see this link here: http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst-3.html#firmware-and-programming If you install the "No Eeprom" version, then none of your CA3 settings or statistics will be changed.


Cycle Satiator Programmable Battery Charger

The Cycle Satiator is an advanced ebike battery charger from Grin Technologies, the creators of the Cycle Analyst. The Satiator has a host of terrific features that change the way you think about battery charging. It is universal, programmable and packs up to 8 Amps of charging power. The Satiator Puts YOU in Control. Table of Contents: 00:19 - Satiate 00:20 - Marker 00:20 - Marker 00:35 - Marker 00:42 - Marker 00:43 - Marker 00:45 - Marker 00:51 - Marker 00:56 - Marker 01:31 - Marker 01:32 - Marker 01:33 - Marker 01:46 - Marker


Video Tutorials

Grin's Ebike Motor Simulator --PART 3-- Advanced Features (Temperature, KV, Wind Speed, Comparisons)

In Part 3 of this tutorial we go over some of the more advanced options in the simulator options: 0:00 - Intro 0:40 - Winding Temperature 1:25 - Customizing Motor KV (rpm/V) 3:15 - Seeing Effects of Wind Speed 5:00 - Comparing TWo Setups with System B 8:35 - Simulating Dual motors 10:20 - URL Encoding 11:25 - Hiding Graphs Plots https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html


Grin's Ebike Motor Simulator Tutoral: --PART 2-- Overview of System Options

The 2nd part of the motor simulator tutorial series covers in more detail each of the various dropdown options available for setting up the simulation. https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html


Grin's Ebike Motor Simulator Tutoral: --PART 1-- Basic Overview

This is the first part of what will be a very long series on how to properly use the many the features of our popular motor simulator for ebikes: https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html


Interfacing Parts on Factory Ebikes, Example Hacks to a RadRunner

Part 2 - Adding torque sensing bottom bracket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Am96zl1S4E Part 3 - Adding regen braking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f-cK8RtMf4 This video shows the process of swapping out the controller in a turn-key ebike for an aftermarket motor controller. It's not a fun process, it's definitely not "plug and play", and in can in fact be a real pain-in-the-ass job. However, there are cases where in spite of that it still makes sense: 1) The bike is broken and no warranty support is available for replacement parts from the supplier, or 2) You have a legit understanding of DIY ebike stuff and need to modify the platform to have different performances and behaviors than the stock bike. Here at Grin we're really solely focused on conversion kit retrofits and don't deal with factory ebikes at all. We have very little interest in attempting to interface to them. Never-the-less we get asked about this kind of work ALL THE TIME from people who have an ebike that doesn't live up to their expectations. So we figured it was worth at least making an educational video to show what that process entails, and really more than anything to discourage people from getting in over their heads. If you want to do this kind of stuff, you are on your own, no one will hold your hand through the process and you have to be prepared for nothing to work out.


Convertirte una bicicleta con motor de rueda Bafang

Miguel recently joined Grin as a front of house sales associate and we love his enthusiasm. Part of our training process involves having staff get their hands dirty retrofitting bikes so that they know what our customers have to deal with, and we decided to capture the process on film. It's not a detailed tutorial but we for people in a similar situation there could be some useful tips. Real world kit installations rarely go without some kind of hiccup or another and creative solutions are sometimes needed. In this case his front fork lacked the eyelet needed for a torque arm, the disk rotor was installed without first removing the plastic spacer.


Quick look at the hub motor ebike conversion process

This video is meant for to give a visual summary of what's typically involved in ordering and installing a hub motor kit from Grin. We produced it to run on a loop at the BC bike show booth and are also releasing it here for first time viewers of Grin's website (ie www.ebikes.ca ) who aren't quite sure what we're about. It's not a detailed step-by-step tutorial video that talks about all the potential nuances and complications that can be present in a DIY kit install. We have other videos of that nature and plan to produce many more too.


Fixing up an old ebike hub motor with water damage, shot bearings, and a broken hall sensor

This video goes over the process of overhauling a customer's ~10 year old generic 9 Continent hub motor that has suffered from exposure. These direct drive motors are quite resilient, so even with water and rust inside, broken hall leads, and partly disintegrated ball bearings, it was still actually in running condition. But it sure didn't sound very healthy and inspire confidence, and we decided to document the repair process for others. 0:00 - Intro 1:49 - Opening the side plates to see inside 3:05 - Bearing removal 4:14 - Scrubbing stator clean 6:30 - Cleaning the rotor 7:26 - How water gets in 10:53 - Vent hole option 11:27 - Ball bearing insertion 12:00 - Testing and replacing hall sensors 15:25 - Reassembly Old direct drive motors like this can be found in discard piles and scrap metal yards on a regular basis, and with a little mechanical effort most of them can brought back into fine running condition again as we've shown here.


How to Use the ebikes.ca Hub Motor Spoke Calculator

https://ebikes.ca/tools/spoke-calc.html This is a long overdue video explaining in detail how to use Grin's online spoke calculator. 0:00 - Intro 1:34 - Hub Settings 5:40 - Paired Spoke Holes 6:30 - Rim Settings 8:35 - Lacing Options 11:50 - Elbow Position 14:00 - Hub Shift 14:40 - Swap Spokes 17:28 - URL encoding 18:56 - Spoke Types and Gauge


How to Measure Hubs and Rims for Perfect Spoke Lengths, Ebike Hub Motor Wheelbuilding

If you are lacing a hub motor that's not in our dropdown list, you'll need to input things like the rim ERD, the hub flange diameter etc. This video shows how you can measure those values for your particular parts without using any special calipers or shop tools, just a measuring tape and some flat surfaces. See: https://ebikes.ca/tools/spoke-calc.html for our actual spoke calculator page. Robert is our resident wheelbuilding pro here at Grin, and his last video showing how to lace a hub motor without all the special lacing tools shop proved to be quite popular. We're hoping this video further helps people do their own wheelbuilds by getting their spoke lengths right the first time.


Shamrock Electric Sailboat Conversion Part 5 - Maiden Trip under Solar, Across the Georgia Straight

The 5th installment of our electric sailboat video series captures our first trip with the 1300 watt solar array, a 90km (50 nautical mile) crossing of the Georgia Straight from North Vancouver to Sidney, BC. We were busy rebuilding the side panel attachments the night before, and barely got a moment of sleep let alone a chance to test run the setup before heading out. Luckily it turned out to be a gorgeous day! Please read this forum thread for more detailed technical information on this project: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=108411#p1585329


Intro to Grin's Cycle Satiator, A Universal Battery Charger for Ebikes and Other Things

In this video Robbie does a basic walk through of the Satiator charger. This has been one of Grin's flagship products and allows for charging of almost any battery pack from 12V up to 100V depending on the model. More details are on our Cycle Satiator info page: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/cycle-satiator.html Including links to purchase either on our store page or from Amazon: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/cycle-satiator.html#WheretoOrder 0:00 - Intro 0:43 - XLR Adapter Cables 1:30 - Activating First Profile 4:00 - Charging Screens 6:35 - Force Start 7:58 - Enabling Multiple Profiles 10:57 - Computer Connection 11:29 - Creating Custom Profiles 14:00 - Screen Saver


Solar Ebike Tutorial Part2: Multi-Panel Hookups

This is the 2nd part to our little summer tutorial on solar ebike systems where we discuss how best to wire up multiple solar panels to your battery. While you can always install one MPPT charge controller for each panel, a series or parallel hookup can be more cost effective. Here we discuss when it makes sense to wire them in series, when you'd have to hook them in parallel, and when you really must wire each panel independently with its own charge controller.


Primer on Solar Ebike Systems

There is increasing interest in solar ebike systems among our customers so we hope this provides a handy starting point to see what's involved in building one. We review key components of a solar charged electric bicycle, show how to hook them up, and go over the custom Solar Cycle Analyst firmware. The parts mentioned in the video are generally available from this page here: https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/solar.html For massive inspiration on what can be done with solar ebikes take a look at the official Suntrip page and pictures / descriptions / videos of all the previous race events https://www.thesuntrip.com/en/ And read some details about our own participation in the 2018 event here: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=93482 Tilting panel footage courtesy of Mark Havran, who has written quite a comprehensive treaty on solar bike setups from his website: https://solare.bike/ 0:00 - Intro to Key Components 3:32 - Solar Cycle Analyst 4:33 - Installation 7:00 - Configuring CA for Solar Firmare 14:07 - Setting Up MPPT 15:20 - Solar Capture and Panel Angle 18:00 - Data Results from Loop Around the Block


Basic intro to the V3 Cycle Analyst (CA3) Display Screens and Operation

In this video Robbie gives an overview of the CA3 device as you would receive it as part of a ready-to-roll kit ebike kit system from Grin. We discuss the info on each of the 12 display screens and provide pointers on how to reset the trip counter and enter the setup menu to change a setting. This is not a comprehensive overview of any features or peripheral setup which would generally come already configured with your bike hardware. We have separate videos for topics like setting up a PAS or Torque sensor. More detailed information is available on the CA3 info page: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/cycle-analyst-3.html and user manual: https://www.ebikes.ca/pub/media/downloadable/documents/CycleAnalyst_V31_Web.pdf -------------------------------------------------- Pre-emptive PS: Yes we know everyone wants a small colour display! This is a product from the early 2000's meant for tech-minded users that still happens to serve its core purpose super well. There are countless other display systems on the market for those after something small, simple, and pretty.


Prelaced SX2 Rear Hub Motor, Basic Install Tutorial

Here Gordon demonstrates the basic installation process of mounting a prelaced Shengy SX2 hub motor wheel on a standard bike frame. There isn't much to the process other than paying attention to the inside tabbed washers and ensuring a nice fit in the dropout slot. These medium sized helical cut geared motors are a popular choice for ebike conversions that need more sustained power capability than the tiny Bafang G310/G311 hubs. For more detailed information on them check out the product info page here: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-kits/shengyi-sx-geared-hubs.html If you choose to get an unlaced hub motor then you would first need to build it up into a rim as we demonstrated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OialWggZJo


Phaserunner Software V1.4, Loading Default Parameters and Basic Overview

In this video tutorial Robbie goes over some updates in the latest V1.4 software suite for programing both our Phaserunner and Baserunner motor controllers. A major change is the ability to select a default parameter file that has a bunch of settings already tuned to your hub motor. This eliminate the guesswork in setting up a new motor and the need for running autotune. If you have a motor that _isn't_ in our default parameter listing, then you will typically be OK choosing a motor in a similar class from the list and running the autotune sequence described in our previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M5U0snSKvs More info on the virtual electronic freewheeling setup is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nyiDbWZuM The software suite itself for Mac, Windows, and Linux can be downloaded here https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/phaserunner.html#SoftwareSuite


Disassembly of an RH212 Direct Drive Ebike Hub Motor

This video shows the process for opening up a typical direct drive ebike hub motor for service and repair work with the use of a gear puller. The process is very similar for most of the direct drive hubs currently on the market, although a few manufacturers like BionX and TDCM tend to use a press-fit on the motor shell instead of fasteners. (see https://youtu.be/Wc8OJtFRUng?t=170 ) Without a gear puller you can usually still open the motor by using your body weight to push on the rotor while the axle is against the floor. We don't recommend using flathead screwdrivers or small crowbars to 'pry' the side covers off as it is very easy both to dent the surface of the aluminum plats and also to nick and sever copper wires in the stator.


Installation of Grin All Axle Hub Motor on a Thru Axle Fork

This video shows the basic installation of an All Axle hub on a front QR15 thru-axle bicycle fork using our frame clamp and torque arm mount. The process is the same with standard quick release QR9 adapters as for any of 12, 15, and 20mm thru axle adapter options. In the demo installation we are using the original 2019 version of the frame clamp that would often require a spacer to the torque arm for proper alignment. Our 2020 design of the clamp has left and right sliding adjustment that can fit most forks with no spacer hardware. However, it is crucial to firmly tighten the nyloc nut holding the two pieces of adjustable clamp together once they are in the right position. For more information on the All Axle hub motors, see the main info page here: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-products/all-axle-hub-motor.html


Installation of the ERider T9 Torque Sensing Bottom Bracket

This video demonstrates the installing of an ERider T9 torque sensor on a Brompton bicycle. This sensor has the benefit of a side cable exit so that no hole needs to be drilled in the bottom bracket shell, and it also measures left and right pedal torque equally well. Unlike other sensors though it cannot use your existing crankset. The chainrings install on either a 4 or 5 bolt spider mount on the right side of the spindle and a pair of low Q-factor ebike cranks are used instead. For more info on aftermarket ebike torque sensors, have a look here: https://ebikes.ca/getting-started/pas-options.html


Installation of Geared Front Hub Motor Kit on a Brompton Bicycle

In this video Robbie goes over the process of converting a Brompton bicycle into electric drive using one of our geared SOFP motor front hub kits. The Brompton bike has a special 75mm wide fork with a tiny 8mm axle and requires a specially designed hub motor and torque arm solution, and the folding nature of the frame requires care around the cable routing process. For more information on this kit see our info page here: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-kits/brompton-kit.html The use of a torque or PAS sensor on the kit is optional and the installation on that is covered in the following videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieEwzZdrR4o


Installing the 24Pole mini PAS sensor

In this video Robbie demonstrates the basic installation of the mini 24 Pole PAS sensor (see https://ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/torque-sensors/pas-24p.html ) on a bike with square taper cranks. For bikes that have a reasonably formed spindle and a 6mm gap between the crank face and the BB shell it usually fits with no issues. On bikes that have too small a gap for the sensor to fit there is always the option to remove some metal from the crank arm (as demonstrated here) or getting a longer BB. Some spindles expand in diameter too rapidly after the taper section and prevent the ID of the sensor from sliding on deep enough, and in that case a file or dremel may be needed to enlarge the opening of the rotating plastic piece inside the PAS sensor. Information on then configuring a V3 Cycle Analyst for this sensor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0xp937xS6Q


GMAC Hub Motor Disassembly Tutorial

In this video we go over the process of taking apart a GMAC motor for service or repair. The only tools required for opening the motor are a T20 torx driver and a 15mm wrench, and to further disassemble the gearing you also need snapring pliers and a gear puller. More info on the GMAC motor system is available from the product info page: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/gmac.html


How to Replace a Damaged Hall Sensor in an Ebike Hub Motor

In this video Justin demonstrates the repair an eZee hub motor that had a damaged hall sensor as a result of an axle spinout. While it is shown on an eZee hub motor that has a hall sensor PCB, the process is more or less universal. It is even easier in cases where the hall sensors are glued just into the stator and connected with wires rather than a printed circuit board. Hall sensor replacement is a fairly common repair process with ebike hub motors. The main reasons for hall chips becoming damaged include: 1) Exposure of the hall signal to high voltage (from axle spinout for instance) 2) Excessive motor stator temperature (usually evidenced by very dark copper wire too) 3) Water ingress damage (usually hall IC is OK, but the leads can be corroded) 4) Mechanical damage from a broken leg on the hall chip as a result of vibration 5) Physical scraping of the hall chip from poor mechanical tolerances or stator getting loose In general, a motor with a damaged hall sensor can still be run without replacing the halls by using a motor controller that can operate in sensorless mode. This is our recommended option for most people as no opening or service of the motor is required. The only downside is that starting off from a dead standstill can be a bit jerky.


Setup and Usage Tutorial for the Grinspector Battery Test Station

This is a video does a deep dive in showing how the Battery Grinspector is used setup and configured for testing an ebike battery pack. Unlike other all-in-one test devices, the Grinspector is not an active piece of power electronics and requires that you hook up an external load and external charger in order for it to function as we detail here. The benefit of this approach is that it allows operation at voltages and current levels that are much more representative of actual ebike systems than the self contained testers you see for R/C packs. Our 2020 Grinspector model can test batteries up to 100V and at discharge currents up to 35 amps provided that you have a suitable load resistor. We developed this device for in-house use primarily but decided to make it into a product mostly geared for ebike shops and service/repair centers. With so many more electric bicycles on the road and so many ebike batteries that are in a questionable state, we're hoping that this tool allows more people to make informed decisions about their battery situation. For more information, see the product info page here: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/grinspector.html


How to Salvage / Hack a BionX Hub Motor for External Controller and 3rd Party Batteries

In this video we demonstrate how you can remove the guts from a BionX PL350 hub hub motor and wire it up to use an external motor controller, allowing the use of any battery pack and any liberating it from the proprietary and discontinued BionX controls. As you'll see from watching this clip, it's a fairly long and complex job which is only suitable for the more hardcore DIYer. We never worked with BionX kits ourselves and were recently gifted this motor from a customer after his BionX battery wore out and he switched over to a Grin system. It was our first time working on a BionX this way and we decided to film and document the process of converting it over to open standards so that others could see what the process entails! If you are curious to see about how much power you could get from a BionX motor with an external controller and Statorade, we have the PL350 on our motor simulator https://www.ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?motor=MPL350_SA&cont=C25&batt=B5216_GA and did an early study on the thermals with and without statorade here: https://www.ebikes.ca/documents/BionX_Statorade_Study.pdf


How to replace a damaged cable harness in an ebike hub motor

In this video Pete shows us one of his favorite technique for replacing cable harnesses which go THROUGH the axle of an ebike hub motor. Without this trick it can be a real bitch of a job with lots of cussing involved, as the replacement cable often follows a path with several blind bends before it is exposed again inside the hub. The most common reason for needing a cable replacement is that the hub motor has experience an axle spinout event or improper installation which has damaged the wires right where the exit the axle slot, and that doesn't leave enough room for a standard repair with solder splicing and heat shrink. It's also necessary when motors have melted wires due to excessive phase current from being run too hard. If you are doing a cable replacement on a motor that has had an axle spinout where the phase wires severed and shorted against the hall wires, it would be smart to check the functionality of all the hall sensors while you have the motor apart and replace any halls that don't toggle. The exposure to battery voltage on the hall signals can fry them too. Good luck with your repair! https://www.ebikes.ca/learn/troubleshooting.html


Example of Ebike Battery Disassembly and Diagnosis

In this video, Peter opens up a downtube battery pack that is unresponsive to try and identify the cause and find out of it is repairable. In general, if there is no voltage on the output port of a battery pack, it means that either 1) The Battery Management System (BMS) circuitry has tripped for some reason 2) There is a break in the tab welds joining the cell groups together 3) There is a failure in the on/off switch wiring or fuse 4) The cells are fully discharged to an irrecoverable state (less than 1.5 V/cell) Items 1-3 are usually repairable, but the only way to know for sure if a battery can be repaired is to open up the battery pack and measure individual cell voltages across the BMS header, which is what Peter demonstrates in this video. If all the cell groups are balanced and over 3V each, then the issue is typically from a BMS circuit that has tripped for irrational reasons and replacing the BMS (or sometimes just unplugging and reconnecting it) will restore to an operating state. If you have one or more cell groups that is noticeably lower than all the other cell groups, then there is either a BMS circuit that is draining that cell (such as a blown bleed resistor mosfet), or there is a soft short circuit in one of the cells (rare with quality 18650's), or you have a broken tab weld on one of the parallel batteries causing the group to have lower capacity than the rest. If you have a case where the cells are all between 2V - 3V, then typically that means that the battery has been in stored in a flat state and the quiescent current draw of the BMS circuit has drained the cells below the shutdown cutoff voltage of the BMS. In this case, you can usually trickle charge the pack at a low rate (say a few hundred mA) bypassing the BMS until all the cells are over 3V each, and then after that you can reconnect the BMS and charge it normally through the battery's charge port. If you have any cell group that is less than 1.5V, then the only way to properly repair the battery is by replacing the cells, at which point it is almost always cheaper and much faster to just buy a new pack. Do not try to recover lithium cells that have been drained below to low voltages like this, it very often results in a massive inferno.


Setting up a GMAC Hub Motor for Virtual Electronic Freewheeling (with a Phaserunner)

This video shows the basic setup parameters in the Phaserunner software for a GMAC motor and also illustrates the new virtual freewheeling feature that is available in the V1.1 Phaserunner software suite. With the electronic freewheeling active, the motor controller can inject a small amount of current into the motor in order to overcome the core losses that are responsible for the small amount of motor drag present in hub motors that can do regenerative braking. The hub motor will feel exactly like a motor with an internal freewheel when you are pedaling it as a bike without assistance, but you'll still be able to benefit from regenerative braking whenever needed. This does require some power from the battery pack, and depending on the motor model and your cruising speed it can range anywhere from 10 watts to 40 watts. However, in most riding situations (especially in any stop and go traffic) you stand to gain more energy into the battery from regen than you expend in overcoming the drag. See https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7891&start=75#p962343 For a detailed discussion and much field data on this point.


GMAC Motor and Torque Arm Installation

***** Repost after original video upload accidentally got deleted from youtube***** In this video we show the process of installing the GMAC motor on a typical mountain bike frame and we detail some of the intricacies of the torque arm positioning. The torque arm itself is made up of 3 pieces: 1) A round torque plate machined from 7075 aluminum that slides over the splined axle and has a cutout slot for the motor cable. 2) A curved arm piece that encircles the the torque plate and moves the torque further down the chainstay to reduce the forces present on the frame. 3) A frame holder that secures to the chainstay with two hose clamps and provides a secure attachment point for the end of the arm. (Please do NOT use a conventional 'P' clamp for this, they are prone to fatigue failing at the torque levels of this motor). On the initial installation, it is important to choose a relative orientation between the torque plate and the torque arm such that the cable exits through the dropout slot so that it doesn't get crushed when the axle nuts are tightened. . Once everything has been installed correctly, removing and re-mounting the motor on the bike after that (to fix a flat, swap tires, upgrade sprockets etc) is fast and easy. Only the one M5 bolt between the torque arm and frame holder needs to be loosened to free the motor from the frame. You do not need to remove the torque arm itself form the wheel ever again except in the case of replacing the disk rotor. And given the amazing regen possible with the GMAC, it's unlikely you'll ever need to replacing your brake pads, let alone an actual disk rotor!


Justin's Introduction to Ebike Conversion Kits, filmed live at 2019 BC Bike Show

This is a presentation we delivered at the 2019 BC bike show in order to provide a basic primer on electric bicycle conversion kits, and how to select among the myriad of options what would be appropriate motor/battery choices for a given application. It's a long talk so here are some quick links to different sections ************************************ *Why convert a bike over turn-key ebikes? https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=55 *The 4 broad categories of retrofit kits: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=425 -Small Geared Hub Motors: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=531 -Large Geared Hub Motors: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=598 -Direct Drive Hub Motors: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=657 -Mid-drive Motors: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=852 *Front vs Rear Hub Motors: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=1032 *Caution wiht Motor Power Ratings: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=1188 *Examples of Bike Conversions: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=1346 *Common Ebike Myths: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=1679 *Understanding Battery Options: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=1789 *Additional Notes about Lithium Batteries: https://youtu.be/xnhuoUrwhIw?t=1912


Demo Installation of a Front Hub Motor Kit at the 2019 BC Bike Show

Here's a video capture of the live presentation we did at the 2019 BC Bike Show to show the basics of installing a conversion kit. The intention of the talk and demo was to give people a clear idea of what it takes to do your own kit installation and to point out the various tips, options, and pitfalls in the process. We were also hoping to encourage a few more people who'd been on the fence to say "yeah, I can do that!" For a few reasons why you might want to convert a bike instead of getting a turn-key factory ebike, have a read here: https://www.ebikes.ca/learn/kits-vs-turnkey.html


How To Lace a Hub Motor at Home Like a Pro. The Single Cross Build

In this video our resident wheel builder Robert shows how to lace a hub motor using a basic single cross lacing pattern, using the bicycle itself as a truing stand and without any dedicated wheel-building gear. We made this video since most detailed references for wheel lacing cover the more complicated triple cross builds, but that is not necessary or even desired with hub motors which have a much larger flange diameter. A single cross lacing is much easier to wrap your head around on a first time build. For more info on calculating spoke lengths and wheel lacing tips, have a look at our online spoke calculator designed specifically for hub motors. https://www.ebikes.ca/tools/spoke-calc.html


How to Setup a Basic PAS Sensor with a V3.1 Cycle Analyst

In this video we're showing how basic PAS sensors are configured on the latest V3.1 Cycle Analyst firmware. We've got a 24 pole mini PAS sensor on an ebike build and are adjusting the bike for automatic PAS power levels from 0-800 watts of assist. This process is somewhat different from the earlier V3.0 firmware setup. Apologies in advanced for the inconsistent audio, we will one of these days get a lapel microphone. For more detailed information, have a look at the CA3 info page and user manuals. https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst-3.html#user-manuals


Prelaced SX2 Rear Hub Motor, Basic Install Tutorial

Here Gordon demonstrates the basic installation process of mounting a prelaced Shengy SX2 hub motor wheel on a standard bike frame. There isn't much to the process other than paying attention to the inside tabbed washers and ensuring a nice fit in the dropout slot. These medium sized helical cut geared motors are a popular choice for ebike conversions that need more sustained power capability than the tiny Bafang G310/G311 hubs. For more detailed information on them check out the product info page here: https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-kits/shengyi-sx-geared-hubs.html If you choose to get an unlaced hub motor then you would first need to build it up into a rim as we demonstrated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OialWggZJo


How to Setup a Torque Sensor with a V3.1 Cycle Analyst

In this video Justin illustrates how torque sensing devices are configured on the latest V3.1 Cycle Analyst firmware. Here we've got a Sempu torque sensing bottom bracket on an ebike build and are adjusting the bike for digi-aux control for 9 levels of assistance from 0 to 4 times the human power input. This process has been streamlined substantially since the V3.0 release. For more detailed information, have a look at the CA3 info page and user manuals. https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/cycle-analyst-3.html#user-manuals


Phaserunner Basic Autotune Procedure

In this video tutorial Robbie shows the basic set of steps for tuning the Phaserunner controller to match your hub motor. This is the same information that is outlined in the Phaserunner user manual. https://www.ebikes.ca/documents/Phaserunner_Manual_Rev2.0.pdf Most of the time the process is as smooth and simple as demonstrated in this video, and the default settings for all other parameters will work well to get you moving. For more advanced tuning and troubleshooting, we recommend reading the tooltips that show up over each parameter when you hover your mouse over in the software. Or, you can can got to Help-help in the software suite to read them all in one place. Phaserunner Info Page: https://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/phaserunner.html Phaserunner Store page: https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/controllers/c-phaserunner.html


Satiator Charger OLED Screen Replacement Tutorial

In this video Aiden demonstrates how to replace the OLED display screen in the Cycle Satiator charger. In general the OLED screens hold up just fine and are not a frequent source of failure, but there have been cases where screens have shattered from hard impact, and other situations (as shown here) where a single column of pixels has gone blank. The satiator will continue to function fine in either case, but it's nice to have a fully functional display. We offer an OLED screen repair kit on our website for people who are comfortable doing this repair at home as shown in this tutorial. Otherwise, it's no problem to ship the charger back to Grin and have us do that at our end. https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/charger-accessories/satiator-oled-repair-kit.html


Cycle Analyst Orange/Red Backlight Option

Did you know that all the large screen Cycle Analysts have a secret red/orange backlight option? We included this extra feature when we had the large display LCD tooled up to provide a nightime riding mode that wouldn't affect night vision quite as much, but then forgot to mention it anywhere on the website or user manual. In this video, Bella shows us how the modify your CA to use the red/orange backlight LED, by opening it up and by bridging a solder jumper to the pad labelled "R" for red. For people who ride regularly at night and find the standard white backlight a little too bright, this mod is for you.


eZee Hub Motor Disassembly

In this short tutorial Robbie shows how the geared eZee hub motors are opened up for service using basic tools. These motors do not have any required scheduled maintenance, but would typically be opened up when there is a more serious failure. That could include: a) Stripped gears from excessive torque (Loud grinding noise when motor is run) b) Worn out or corroded ball bearings (Looseness and play in the hub) c) Freewheel clutch that has seized and no longer freewheels (works fine, but some drag when motor turns without assistance) d) Sheared keystock on clutch (motor spins internally but doesn't turn shell)


Bafang G310 Motor Disassembly Video

In this video Peter shows the entire process for completely disassembling the silent G310 hub motor from Bafang. This hub motor is eminently serviceable and uses bevel cut gears on the first stage of the planet reduction for extra smooth and silent torque delivery. Why would you need to open up a motor? There have been instances of people stripping the gears when using them at well beyond Bafang's 30Nm torque rating. Our own experience is that gear failure is possible above 50 Nm. As well, we had an entire batch from Bafang that came with insufficient magnet adhesives, allowing the magnets to spin loose at high RPMs. Ther serviceability allowed us to open up and repair these units. The front G311 motors have a nearly identical internal construction and follow a similar disassembly process. For more details on these small silent geared motors, have a look at our product info page here http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/geared.html and store page here http://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-kits/bafang-mini.html


Finding and Replacing Blown Motor Controller Mosfets

In this video Phil illustrates the process he uses at Grin for identifying and replacing shorted mosfets in an ebike motor controller. Mosfet usually fail when they have to deal with sustained high amperage that generates more heat than they can dissipate. They can also fail from exposure to excessive voltages on the wrong pins or electrostatic discharge. A well engineered controller will use temperature sensors to limit the current through a mosfet if as it overheats to prevent a catastrophic failure in use, but many systems don't have this intrinsic protection and instead on the motor and bike parameters to generally not overstress the component in normal use. As a result, it's not uncommon for people who push their ebike systems to the limit to find themselves dealing with mosfet repairs in the process. When they fail it is almost always in a short circuit. On a bike with a direct drive hub motor this results in a heavy cogging and chugging whenever the wheel is turned. Fortunately a repair is often possible as Phil shows. If it is only one mosfet that is blown, the odds are good that a mosfet replacement alone will fix things. But if both the high and low side mosfets of a motor phase our blown, then that usually indicates damage that has also propagated down to the mosfet drivers and other components, and the odds are lower that a mosfet replacement alone will fix the controller. There is more ebike troubleshooting information available here http://www.ebikes.ca/learn/troubleshooting.html


How to Install the Sempu Torque Sensing Bottom Bracket

Here is an installation video for any customers who have purchased a Sempu torque sensing bottom bracket from ebikes.ca or one of our dealers. Robbie elaborates on the installation procedure where a few key steps are different from installing a regular bottom bracket. The torque sensors are available from here: http://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/torque-sensors.html


Statorade Injection Tutorial

This video shows how you can insert statorade ferrofluid into a 3rd party direct drive hub motor without necessarily opening it up. Instead, a small hole is drilled in the side of the assembled motor to act as an injection port and sealant is put around the seam to ensure no leaking when the motor is at a high RPM. For additional details on Statorade, see our product info page here: http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/statorade.html


CA3.1 Tutorial, Main Screen Custom Views

In this tutorial we demonstrate another new feature in the V3.1 Cycle Analyst firmware, the ability to customize which item(s) you have showing up in the top right corner of main screen. Previously, this would toggle between distance and amp-hours (and possibly temperature if that was activated). In the CA3.1 firmware, you can display any number of variables here, including things like wh/km, pedal RPM, throttle output voltage etc. You can also choose to have only one item displayed if you prefer not to have any fields on the main screen that toggle.


CA3.1 Tutorial, Showing and Hiding Display Screens

In this video, Justin demonstrates how to show or hide the various display screens in the V3.1 Cycle Analyst firmware. This customization was possible with the V3.0 code the process has been but updated to be much simpler in the 3.1 release as you will see.


CA3.1 Tutorial, Factory Reset

NOTICE! In the formally released 3.1 Firwmare the factory reset is located in the miscellaneous setup menu, not the calibration setup menu as shown in this video. In this clip we demonstrate a completely new feature in the V3.1 Cycle Analyst firmware, and that's the ability to restore all the setting parameters to factory defaults. You can also save you current setup configuration to be the new factory reset state.


CA3.1 Tutorial, Ebrakes / Regen

In this tutorial we show the new setup menu dedicated just to the ebrake configuration that is present in the CA 3.1 Firmware. This includes the ability to set the signal polarity, enable/disable proportional throttle regen, and add a time delay so that you can use a tap on the ebrakes to trigger motor cutoff during gear shifting with mid-drive systems.


Tripwire Installation Part2, Attachment and Adjustments

In this video, Tim O'Brien explains the various techniques for attaching the tripwire ebrake sensor to your lever and how to adjust the and fine tune the trip point for ebrake activation. More details at: http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/tripwire.html


Tripwire Installation Video, Part1

In this video, Tim shows you how the pull or push cable of a tripwire is attached to your brake lever handle; either with zip ties, a self tapping screw, or a glued on button head. http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/tripwire.html


Tripwire Installation Part3, Tips and Tricks

Here, Tim reveals several tips and tricks for getting the most of his tripwire ebrake sensors. More details at: http://www.ebikes.ca/product-info/tripwire.html


PAS Sensor Setup with V3.0 Cycle Analyst Firmware

This video summarizes all of the settings on a Cycle Analyst V3.0 that pertain to setting it up to run in AutoPAS mode with a magnet ring PAS sensor. Notice that this setup process is different from the current V3.1 firmware.


48 V Cycle Satiator Initial Setup Video

Here is a video showing the basic initial setup for the 48V Cycle Satiator from Grin Technologies. This programmable battery charger can be configured to charge any battery pack from 24-63 VDC. Watch this video to learn how easy it is to setup your initial battery profile and start charging your batteries.


Customer Profiles

Stéphane Bertrand, Another Solar Ebiker Visits Grin!

This summer we had no less than three people on super long distance solar ebike tours drop by Grin's facilities as part of their journey. In this video we profile Stéphane Bertrand who completed in both the 2015 and 2018 suntrip rides and is now on an adventure of his own choosing across the Americas. He started in Montreal, Canada and made it to Vancouver in just 4 weeks where he got to hang out with the Grin team for a few days. He is now headed south to San Francisco, then Mexico, and with a final destination in Ushuaia. He's like us and not super big on social media but there is a facebook page here with occasional updates: https://www.facebook.com/people/Stephane-Bertrand-avec-D%C3%A9clic-%C3%A9co-viva-las-americas/100064158363502/ The bike build was done with Declic-eco, (https://www.declic-eco.fr/), a small french company that has been at the forefront of custom solar ebike builds.


David Elderton's Cirkit Ebike - Customer Profile

For 14 years David Elderton has been an exemplary dealer of Grin Tech's catalogue. From upgrading factory ebikes with Grin hardware to offering our standard retrofits, Hilleater's new 3500 Watt dual motor Cirkit E-bike demonstrates David's acquired mastery after many years in the ebike business. Aaron travelled to Salt Spring Island to pay David a visit and uncover what's going on in David's shop. #ebike #conversionkit #caferacer #hilleater


Mark Havran Solar Bike Part 3, a sojourn at Grin en route to Alaska

Mark Havran's epic round the world solar ebike journey is in full swing. He's been solar cruising up the west coast of North America and once again stopped over for few days with us here at Grin. He was staying at Justin's place helping with some home renovations and they decided to head out on the electric sailboat to join the eSk8 group EV ride, and on the way catchup on his trip experience so far. You can see the part 2 video when he visited Grin last year as part of an 8000 km shake-down test ride which goes into a lot of the technical detail and refinement of the build: https://youtu.be/a-4JPYHcfxQ And our original custom profile on Mark from 2018 when we met up with him at the Bay Area maker faire where he told us of his original ambitions: https://youtu.be/7RGBBNctWNA Mark's website is: https://solare.bike/author/markhavran/


Grin Profile, Aaron Brown

In this video profile we have a look at Aaron Brown, one of the main engineers at the iconic Vancouver-base longboard company Landyachtz. When Aaron first came to visit us many years ago we were excited because we thought he wanted to talk electric skateboards, but it turns out he was after an ebike kit like everyone else! Aaron has gone through a few builds since then, often testing out the latest Grin components in the process. His most recent conversion was built to enable daily commuting from the suburbs to Vancouver without going crazy. Rather than converting a conventional road bike and navigating through traffic, Aaron assembled a full suspension offroading machine and found a pathway to work that includes trails, bikelanes, swamps, roads, and everything in between. This is hardcore ebike commuting at its best, and it shows how DIY electric bicycles can help creative millennials (like ourselves) cope with being driven completely out of Vancouver's real estate market. http://landyachtz.com/ Landyachtz is an awesome business here in Strathcona that has expanded from making longboards into other products like snowskates and even their own line of bicycles now. ***** For those asking about components used in the build, this using almost entire made-in-Canada components: https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/controllers/c-phaserunner.html Phaserunner motor controller https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/motors/grinhub-std.html All-Axle Hub Motor https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/batteries/ligo-bulk-order.html 6x LiGo Battery Modules https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-parts/dc-dc-converters/dc-usb-dual.html Dual Output USB Charger


Customer Profile, Tig Cross

Our next Grin customer profile takes a close look at Tig Cross, that's the son of the recently featured Leigh Cross. Tig's current project of passion is a series hybrid drive electric bicycle that stretches our understanding of what a practical transport mode of the future could look like. The Electrom as it's called is in a category of its own; not quite a velomobile, not quite a bicycle, not quite a scooter, but sharing some of the best traits of each. We've been lucky to see this project evolve over the years as Tig has frequently ridden prototypes to our shop (aboard the ferry from Vancouver Island) and exhibited it at various electric vehicle shows in the area. There are many things that make it stand out but one of the neatest for us is the use of a pedal generator for the human input with a backup chain. At low speeds, your pedaling turns the rear wheel directly for efficient propulsion even in the absence of any electricty, while at higher speeds the pedaling turns a generator which charges the batteries, and all propulsion is through the motor. This enables the rider to choose their preferred pedal resistance and cadence electronically regardless of the terrain and speed of travel, and it eliminates the complexity of multi-speeed transmission and gear shifting in a fast pedal vehicle like this. Have a look at this endless-sphere thread for more technical details and build pictures. https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=88612


Customer Profile, Leigh Cross

Our 3rd Customer Profile features the 89 year old Leigh Cross. Leigh is one of our all time favorite customers and first visited our shop on Main Street over 10 years ago with an ebike powered by an early ecospeed mid-drive system. He was a charming and wise old man back then and has only grown more so with each successive build. His latest setup is a Hase trike with a fairing running a front hub direct drive hub motor. This hooks up to a custom made wooden electric trailer for cargo, and that trailer has it's own motor drive (a geared eZee hub motor) that kicks in automatically when a higher torque is needed but otherwise just freewheels. It's become a perfectly dialed in vehicle that meets all his transport needs. In the video you get to see Leigh's house and workshop and learn a bit more about his colourful life. In addition to being a musician, composer, veteran, master carpenter, farmer, sailor, and all that he's even penned a book of fiction too: https://www.amazon.ca/Crooked-Albatross-Sweet-Fanny-Adams/dp/1634133463 Some people never slow down in life and Leigh is sure one of them. Photo credit: B/W's of Hornby Island taken by Bob Cain ****************************************** Note, Leigh Cross sadly passed away in early 2022 after a long, colourful, and productive life. He left an amazing legacy and will be missed.


Customer Profile, Mark Havran and the SolarEbike

For our June 2018 Profile we are featuring Mark Havran. He's been a Grin customer since 2008 back when he was building one of his first solar bike projects, and was needing a Cycle Analyst to measure solar charge performance. Since then he's slowly been improving and refining the design through multiple iterations. Then earlier this year he decided to switch his power train to a direct drive Grin All-Axle Hub motor, Phaserunner controller, and LiGo batteries. When he mentioned his goal of circling the globe with this solar ebike and exhibiting at the Bay area Maker Faire, with little hesitation we got a train ticket and traveled down to meet this guy in person. This video profile shows his setup in some detail and hopefully helps inspire others to explore the viability of solar assisted ebike touring. You can follow Mark from his original blogsite http://solar-bike.blogspot.com/ Current wesbsite https://solare.bike/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/solarebike/ and endless-sphere https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=94721 and Some of this footage was borrowed without explicit permission from the official maker livestream broadcast that we wound up on while walking through the fair, the original for that is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR80QjH6rxg#t=4h28m47s


Grin Profile, Keith Forbes

This is the first of a video profile series where we showcase someone doing interesting or innovative work with custom ebikes. In this video, we look at Keith Forbes who has been working at Grin since 2015, mostly with our LiGo battery production. Keith is from Trinidad and has built dune buggies and other vehicle projects in the past. He's recently taken an interest in building a super high range electric bicycle that could be useful on the island and easy to assemble with aluminum paneling.


2018 Sun Trip VLog

3 Wheels Under the Sun - Justin and Anne-Sophie's 2018 Solar Ebike Suntrip Ride from France to Iran

This is a short documentary of our adventure preparing for and riding in the 2018 suntrip solar bike race. It's was the longest ever solar bike challenge spanning some 12,000 km from Lyon France to Guanghzhou in China with every participant able to choose their own route. This movie was first featured at the 2020 Vancouver Mountain Film Festival and is being made available online. Special thanks to Aaron Enevoldson as video producer, and to BLVD NOIR for the amazing soundtrack from their EP "Mes Amis." https://blvdnoir.bandcamp.com/ We've also uploaded the presentation about solar ebike touring along with the follow-up Q&A session from the 2020 BC Bike Show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15HHLY4BfA4&feature=youtu.be More details about the entire trip itself are shown on our Suntrip info page: https://www.ebikes.ca/suntrip.html


2018 Sun Trip Tandem Solar Trike Build. Video #1, the bike platform

This is the first in a series of videos documenting the build of a back to back tandem trike that Justin is building for the 2018 Sun Trip solar ebike race. We scored a perfect platform terratrike on Craigslist, and now all the build fun begins! To follow the build process in detail, have a look at the endless-sphere thread: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1367675#p1367675 And for more information on the Suntrip race itself, have a look at the participants: https://www.thesuntrip.com/sun-trip-2018/participants/ their vehicles: https://www.thesuntrip.com/sun-trip-2018-the-solar-bikes/ And the trip summary https://www.thesuntrip.com/sun-trip-2018/lyon-canton-en/


2018 Suntrip Solar Trike Build. Video #2, Hub Axle Customizations

With just 5 weeks before flying to France, there's still a lot left to do getting the trike built! Here we are looking at what needs to be done for fitting two All Axle hub motors to drive the front wheels of the tandem trike. There isn't much of a standard for single side wheel mounts on tricycles, but this Terratrike uses a 20mm hollow spindle which is about as ideal as we could hope for. With a few custom machining operations on the axle we should be able to fabricate some custom hubs that will slide right on with the electrical cable passing through the hollow axle. Both the modified axle and the anti-rotation tube are currently out for anodizing and should be at Grin next week to complete the motor builds.


2018 Suntrip Solar Trike Build. Video #2b First Prototype Rowing Rig

This video shows the design process and first run build of a prototype rowing rig. It uses a carriage that slides back and forth on rails with a string that loops around a pair of pulleys and is wrapped around a drum that has replaced the left side tandem crankset. The design rational is outlined in this thread here https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1375812#p1375812 Initially our intent was to have the rowing link spin a generator at something like 200-400 rpm, and so maximizing the string travel made sense. However, with it turning the crank directly, the optimum RPM is much slower and quite a large drum was required. This demonstrated the rowing concept quite well, providing a full rowing motion like on a real rowboat, with independent arm and leg action. But the production of a reliable slide system that would hole up for thousands of km could be fairly involved. We're considering our next prototype having the motion pivot from a roof linkage instead.


2018 Suntrip Solar Trike Build. Video #3, Swinging rowing rig

Here we have the 2nd mock-up of the rowing station built up to use a swinging rather than a sliding rig system for the legs. The result is a more efficient and simpler mechanism with lower losses and that plays well with our final vehicle that will include a solar roof structure. The design rational is outlined in this thread here https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1375812#p1375812


Suntrip Solar Trike Build. Video #4, Rectangular Tube Bending

At this point with 3 weeks to go we settled on a happy geometry and design for the pendulum style rowing rig and were ready to move from steel mockups to the real thing. However, the design requires a smoothly curved roof surface for the panel tilt mechanism, and getting that nice bend turned into much more of a shop saga than intended. To follow this project on endless-sphere, see the thread here: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1375812#p1375812


Suntrip Solar Trike Build. Video #5, Test Ride with Sarah Outen

With the curved aluminum roof piece finished, we were able to weld together the 3rd and final rowing rig frame assembly. This is the one that we will take on the trip and which will accomodate the tilting solar roof. Our friend Sarah Outen was passing through Vancouver so we scrambled a bit to complete the new frame in time for her to give it a test ride. Sarah has travelled the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans in actual rowboats and we thought if anyone might have an idea for what we might face on this kind of trip with rowing motion, she'd have something to say! To follow this project on endless-sphere, see the thread here: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=93482&start=75 And to learn more about the travels of Sarah have a look at her website http://www.sarahouten.com/


Suntrip Solar Trike Build. Video #6, All Axle Motor Assembly

With customized motor axles finally back from the anodizing shop we're ready to install motors and actually get going on the electrification process. This is a follow up to the 2nd video blog where we first started making the customized motor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjjFAsnrkZU We decided to make the two motors black and green to match the trike frame, but the green paint caused some mishaps during the first attempt at motor assembly. In the end it worked out and we have powerful dual front All Axle hub motors, which should be able to pull this trike up a mountain without overheating. To follow this project on endless-sphere, see the thread here: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1375812#p1375812


Suntrip Solar Trike Build. Video #7, All Together for Ferry Rush

This video covers the 24 hours before our first truly serious shakedown test ride of the Suntrip vehicle. Justin had made arrangements to visit his family in Sooke for the weekend and decided to make the ~130km trek out there by Solar Trike. Our plan was to catch a 9am ferry which would require leaving Grin very early in the morning. We get the rolling roof mechanism linked up for the first time, the dual hub motors installed and tuned with Phasrunner controllers, welded mounts for LiGo batteries, and an updated drivertrain with a Rohlhoff hub and 96 engagement freewheel. We totally missed our ferry target but still set off in the afternoon for the first full long distance test ride; powered by rowing, pedaling, and solar motor assist. For more info and context on this project, see our endless-sphere thread for this 2018 Suntrip project https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1375812#p1375812


A Solar Powered Machine that Rows on Land

After countless build hours and 400 km of test riding in the last few weeks, we're ready to roll and row on our back to back tandem solar electric row-trike. We'll be participating in the epic 2018 Suntrip Race which starts on June 15th: https://www.thesuntrip.com/justin-lemire-elmore-anne-sophie-rodet/ The full race goes 12,000 km from Lyon to Guangzhou in China, but we've only got time for half that distance and are shooting for Tehran as our end point. Perhaps another pair of riders will pick it up for the rest of the Journey and complete the trip? For more background information on this trike build, see our endless-sphere thread https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=93482 and Video Log build series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWE4XqAO0BM&list=PLH8T1SX8ZJv_-5jh18xosYCH08jmdL_-T


Justin and AnSo's Suntrip CBC Interview - June 8th 2018

A CBC video crew came to visit us just as we were finishing the last details on the trike the day before departure. This interview then made it on and early morning news segment as we were flying to France. Unfortunately we couldn't find any official links via CBC's own website to share with people so we have uploaded a copy here for all those who missed it. All rights are presumably owned by CBC, and CBC if you have a more official copy or requirement from us to publish this then please let us know!


Suntrip 2018 Race Departure, as seen from our Tandem Row Trike

On July 19th at 10am, the 2018 Suntrip solar ebike race officially started out of Chamonix, France. This was the last time many of the trip participants would get to see each other so we (Justin and AnSo) tried to catch up with everyone to get a glimpse of them riding on film before we all split up. Here's how that turned out! We didn't quite see everyone (like race leader Raf or the Morrocan duo Youssef and Mohamad) but caught up with enough to give a good idea on the diversity of riders and vehicles. The weather as you can see was just fantastic for a solar bike making for a great start to the race. Some interesting data analysis from this first day has been shared here: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1400867#p1400867


Suntrip 2018, Ride through Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia

This second video from the Suntrip race itself features a few of the highlights from Switzerland through to Serbia, including our visit to the Osteria Al Pipipi in Italy and a spontaneous picnic and accordion show from some locals in Slovenia. A lot of really great moments (like the Sunday night busted freewheel repair in Croatia) we didn't get on film but oh well. We hope you find this entertaining all the same. Here are a few relevant forum posts https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1393998#p1393998 https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1389683#p1389683 https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1390659#p1390659 https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1394814#p1394814 Note that some minor liberties were taken for video flow. The police escort footage is actually from Bulgaria, a the pedestrian border crossing into Croatia we didn't make it more than a few minutes in before being politely told to go back through a formal customs checkpoint by some very friendly officers. Full details on the solar back to back tandem row trike build and our participation in the 2018 Suntrip race are consolidated on this page http://www.ebikes.ca/suntrip.html


Projects

Electric Dirtsurfer Conversion, Part2. Tuning it up for the Vancouver ESK8 Summit

The 2nd video in this series covers the day before a group electric skateboard, unicycle, and scooter ride that was taking in Coquitlam, BC, on May 20th. It covers Gordon making mechanical upgrades to the leg activated throttle control and preparations to add Regen braking as well. And then off to the group ride! See part1 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZGmWAb4TTM


Electrifying a Vintage Dirtsurfer

Aaron our resident videographer also happens to be an ex-pro at riding Dirtsurfers, a snowboard like contraption with 2 bike wheels for riding downhill that had a short window of popularity some 20 years ago. What do we do with something like this? Throw on a hub motor and LiGo's of course! We gave it to some of our newer Grin staff to retrofit, with a goal of finishing before the May 20th eSk8 summit in Coquitlam: (https://www.reddit.com/r/boostedboards/comments/ubc6w2/vancouver_esk8_suburban_summit_group_ride_may_20th/) This is part 1 of the build where we first fire it up with some proof of concept hardware. In Part2 we'll make numerous refinements.


New toys to make new products

Last year we applied for and (much to our surprised) actually won a grant that was put out for BC companies manufacturing components for the zero emission vehicle sector. Historically electric bicycles have been totally overlooked in this space with all government funding squandered by silly things like fuel cells and the hydrogen highway, so it was nice to see these smaller EV's finally on the radar. This info was publicly put in the news earlier this week: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/bc-clean-technology-grants We just wanted to thank the people behind the ARC Grant for choosing us and show some of what these funds are going towards with a cheery little video. It's helped us secure the space, tools, and machinery needed to seriously ramp up our in-house motor manufacturing capabilities.


Shamrock Electric Sailboat Conversion Part 3 - BAC2000 Controller Upgrade for 5kW

This 3rd video is from Spring 2021 after we upgraded the controller from the small Phaserunner to the ASI BAC2000 device, allowing us to run at the full 5kW power levels and characterize the energy consumption curve right up to hull speed (6 knots, 11 kph). Our next focus after this will be a first-order solar installation to keep the batteries charging automatically on longer summer trips, so stay tuned for constant updates. Please read this forum thread for more detailed information and background https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=108411


Shamrock Electric Sailboat Conversion Part 2 - Sea Trials with 72V Lithium Battery Bank

This 2nd video was filmed in the early fall of 2020 after Shamrock got a complete overhaul on the dry docks and had a large 72V battery bank installed. We went for an afternoon sail to show the power vs speed relationship and demonstrate regenerative energy capture from the propeller under sail. Unfortunately the instrumented motor mount had to be temporarily scrapped since it wasn't rigid enough and allowed the motor and shaft to wobble, but we were still able to get some precise and useful data right up to 3000 watts just with the Cycle Analyst. For our next project we will be replacing the Phaserunner with a larger and much more powerful BAC8000 controller from ASI in order to run the grin motor right up 5000 watts. Stay tuned to see the maximum and continuous powers we can get from a simple hub motor in this application! Please read this forum thread for more detailed information and updates https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=108411


Intro to Shamrock, Justin's first electric sailboat conversion

Please read this forum thread for more detailed information and updates! https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=108411 (If you want to avoid the trappings of youtube's autosuggestion hole, click on Part 2 here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAsdIiD8d4 once this clip is done!) This summer Justin completed what had been a long sought dream replace the inboard diesel engine of his 25 foot sailboat with a pure electric drive. After crunching some numbers and looking at the mechanical clearances, he realized that he could pull this off using a direct drive electric bicycle hub motor attached to the prop shaft with no transmission at all. This video shows an overview of the motor installation and captures the very first sea trial as we powered the boat over to the dry docks for a needed cleaning and overhaul.


Electrification of TYHY 209 rowingbike

In this video we see up close how details of Justin's electric conversion project on a customer's THYS 209 carbon fiber rowing bike. More details are here https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=93124 Song: Amusement Park by Ryan Little


Riding an electric high-wheeler (ie penny farthing) around Vancouver

This summer we managed to acquire two replica penny farthings for to fulfill a long term dream of electrifying a high-wheeler and combining 21st century and 19th century bicycle tech. The results, minus a face plant or two, are pretty fun. And we thank the fresh staff at Grin; Aaron, Rob, and Steve for compiling this little video. More build details of the build which was made for the 2017 VEVA REV show are posted here: https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1309060#p1309060 If you're actually keen to own an electric high wheeler, or extra-ordinary, the person who we got these replica bikes from has several dozen more in storage, so we could potentially do a small run of them if the interest is there.


A Geared, Torque Sensing, Electric-Assist Unicycle Prototype

Justin Lemire-Elmore's ultimate commuter unicycle is ready for Unicon in Spain in August 2016. In this video explains all the control features on his new prototype internally geared electric unicycle. We took it to the road to try and break 40kms/hour but bailed just before that, hopefully some more skilled riders at Unicon will be able to push this device to its true limits. This project helps illustrate some of the possible applications for new innovations from Grin Technologies such as the Phaserunner Motor controller, LiGo batteries, Grin Thru-axle motor and the V3 Cycle Analyst. For full details on the internal construction have a look at the build thread on unicyclist.com http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119436


Electric Unicycle - Giraffe Style, REV2006 at Spanish Banks, Vancouver

Justin's first electric assist unicycle was a giraffe model that was built for the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association's (VEVA) REV show in 2006. This model had self balancing circuitry and used a DC ebike hub motor in a 16" rim with a chain drive to the pedals. The frame itself was braze welded by Paul Daniel, who was a UBC mechanical engineering student at the time and had a business making custom bike frames to pay for tuition. This unicycle had pedals although actually pedaling it caused a fair bit of conflict with the self balancing control. Unfortunately it was stolen later that year from a warehouse, and so we never got a chance to play with it much further. There is a bit more detail here: http://www.ebikes.ca/emanual Although a giraffe/penguin style is by far the easiest way to make an electric unicycle you can pedal, it's trickier to mount due to the height. When Justin revisited pedal assist electric unicycles in 2010 he had enough resources to build custom hub motors with pedals going through the hub. See https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18601&p=277504


Emaunal FirstTest

This is the first successful test ride of the self balancing 2-wheeled electric skateboard that Justin, Matt, and Don built for the 2004/2005 Engineering Physics Ball Model. We really had zero idea if we could pull this off or not, especially since there were no gyro's or accelerometers in the control electronics, but after just a bit of feedback tweaking we were able make it rideable the day before the show. Here we are in the hallways of the UBC engineering physics penthouse showing it off on this day of completion. More build details and pictures of this project available here: http://www.ebikes.ca/emanual


Pyro ebike display for Chinese National Day 2010

Justin was visiting the eZee factory in 2010 for an interval that spanned the Chinese national holiday. Fireworks were available every street corner and what better thing to do than combining his former hobby (pyrotechnics) with a new one (ebikes) and make a pyro ebike display! The platform was a prototype longtail cargo bike that was in the eZee warehouse.


Short Circuit Test of Fiberglass Potted 36V Lithium Battery

Here we were doing 25C discharge on a 10s x 1P pack made of Samsung 25R cells by shorting the outputs through a long length of 12g wire. Enough current to cause the cells to vent and go into thermal runaway, but not so much current as to vaporize the tabs before the experiment could start. A full 1.25 amp-hours drained from the cells before they finally went open circuit, and at the end of that one of the cells was clearly starting to go into thermal runaway. What's interesting is that over the next 15 minutes, one by one additional cells started to go thermal like dominoes, even though the current had ceased flowing for some time. In IR camera focused on the pack caught this behavior. In the end, the fiberglass enclosure was scorched but still in tact, there were no flames but plenty of smoke spewed out during the event. Unfortunately the IR camera sensor maxes out at 150oC, so we're not quite sure just how hot things got in the process.


Events

Box Concerto: Grin is Alive at Odlum Drive

After an epic amount of reno work, moving logistics, shop setup, organization, and deployment of new systems, Grin is up at full steam manufacturing and shipping ebike parts all over the world. www.ebikes.ca


Preview of Grin's New Shop Space. Move-In Time? January 2021

Last month we got the keys to a 14,000 square foot warehouse in the heart of East Vancouver which we are currently converting into our new headquarters. This video show first time we had most of our team over at the space for a physical tour and small celebration of what's in store. This will more than double the amount of space we have for our design, manufacturing, production, and warehousing needs and will be a huge boost to our capabilities.


Solar Ebike Touring, Experiences of the 2018 Suntrip Race, with Q&A Session from BC Bike Show

This is a live presentation filmed at the 2020 BC Bike Show when Justin Lemire-Elmore discussed their firsthand experiences both building and riding a solar powered ebike as part of the 2018 suntrip race. https://www.thesuntrip.com/sun-trip-2018/lyon-canton-en/ In the middle of the presentation section we also screened the "3 wheels Under the Sun" video which is cut from this upload but available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIMM25unnU8&list=PLH8T1SX8ZJv_-5jh18xosYCH08jmdL_-T


Cross Canada Ebike Trip, Interview from the Weather Network

This was a short clip produced by the Weather Network after Justin's coast to coast ebike trip in 2008. Shortly after it was broadcast across the country, we received a small flood of emails from people in Newfoundland who were keen to point out that it's not quite a cross country trip if you stop and Halifax and don't make it to St. Johns. Next time, I promise.


Vancouver kWhr Ebike Ride, Oct 2008, almost 20 people

For many years Steven Luscher organized and diligently attended a monthly ebike ride in Vancouver called the Kilowatt Hour. This is a timelapse of the ride from Oct 2008, shortly after Justin had returned from the cross canada ebike ride when he still had the handlebar mounted camera taking pictures every second. At the time it was the largest group ebike ride that the streets of Vancouver had ever seen. The Kilowatt Hour meetup kept running every month until 2013 or so.


Grin Technologies Celebrates 10 Years of Ebike Innovation

On Nov 30, 2015, Grin Technologies celebrated our 10 year anniversary. Originally registered as the Renaissance Bicycle Company Ltd, we have been a part of the ebike revolution since the beginning. http://www.ebikes.ca/news/grin-tech-10-years/


 

About Grin Videos

Ken Interview of Justin and Renaissance Bicycle Co. Part 1

Ken from Power-In-Motion visited Grin (then Renaissance Bicycle Co.) in the spring of 2010 under the pretense of making a video documentary of various players in the ebike industry at the time. We're not sure if anything happened there, but this video gives a nice glimpse of the ebikes.ca operation at the time with Justin's garage workshop, and shows the early stage prototyping of our Thru Axle hub motor. Yeah, 6 years on and we're still working on it...


Ken Interview of Justin and Renaissance Bicycle Co. Part 2

Ken from Power-In-Motion visited Grin (then Renaissance Bicycle Co.) in the spring of 2010 under the pretense of making a video documentary of various players in the ebike industry at the time. We're not sure if anything happened there, but this video gives a nice glimpse of the ebikes.ca operation at the time with Justin's garage workshop, and shows the early stage prototyping of our Thru Axle hub motor. Yeah, 6 years on and we're still working on it...


Old Presentations (not edited, low production quality)