Xshifter Elink User manual

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Before You Begin

Please read instructions completely before you start.

XShifter Box Contents

Instructions

1) XShifter Mounting Instructions

a) Smart Phone APP (iPhone is released. Android APP not released, Beta review only)

b) ELink Hardware Mounting

c) Cable Connect ELink to Derailleur

d) Button Pod Mounting

2) ELink Set Up and Calibration

a) Auto Mode

b) Manual Mode

3) Button Pod Re-Pairing

4) XShifter App misc. functions and screen pics

5) FAQ / Installation Tips

6) Handcycle Button Pod installation (handcycle option only)

Box Contents

1) Button Pod mounting kit and Instructions for Handcycle Top End Hand Grips

a) Note this is handcycle option only

2) Foam Layer 1 XShifter ELink Paired Kit

3) Foam Layer 2 XShifter ELink Paired Kit

4) Layer 3 White Box: Bagged Hardware Installation Kits

a) Kits are in the white box under the 2nd foam E-Link Kit

An IPod Smart phone is required for the XShifter App. The XShifter App for Android smart phones is currently not released.

For proper derailleur setting and celebration, the wheel and chain MUST be moving at all times during

the setup/celebration. The ELink may be damaged if there is not chain movement and or the cable may

be stretched.Chain and wheel movement can be done while on the SportCrafter trainer for the Bike or Handcycle. There is an

optional handcycle adjustment fixture and direction on how to make this stand.

TRY TO NOT MIX UP ELink LAYER 1 PARTS AND LAYER 2 PARTS.

NOTE

Each Pod is already paired to the ELink packed on the same layer in the 2X COMBO KIT. If for any reason these get mixed up, you

can do a simple test to determine which Button Pod corresponds to the ELink or simply re-pair the desired Pod to the desired ELink

using the instructions below.

XShifter ELink Box Contents

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Hand Cycle Hand Grip Kit Foam Layer 1 XShifter ELink Paired Kit

Optional KIT FOR HANDCYCLES ONLY

Foam Layer 2 XShifter ELink Paired Kit Layer 3 White Box: Bagged Hardware Installation Kits

White box under second foam layer

Hardware Kits (White box Contents)

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XShifter Hardware Mounting Instructions

NOTE: DO NOT OPERATE THE ELINK EXCESSIVELY WITHOUT CONNECTING TO A DERAILLEUR. THIS MAY

DAMAGE THE MOTOR!

NOTE

Each Pod is already paired to the ELink packed on the same layer in the 2X COMBO KIT. If for any reason these get

mixed up, you can do a simple test to determine which Button Pod corresponds to the ELink or simply re-pair the

desired Pod to the desired ELink using the instructions below.

Install the XShifter APP

You will need to install the XShifter app on your mobile device. Simply find it in your APP store and install. Your mobile device will automatically

pair to the ELink that has a battery installed. If you have two ELinks both with batteries installed, your mobile device will randomly choose one of

them. To have your device select the other ELink, remove the battery from the one you don’t want your device to talk to.

Mount ELinks

1. Remove existing shift cable and shifters.

2. Choose best mounting location for ELink, assuring plenty of clearance to moving parts (including legs and feet of the rider). Keep ELink as

close as possible to derailleur, but out of the way of impact from road and trail debris.

3. Avoid installing ELink on tapered tubes as the ELink may migrate over time.

4. There are four mounting brackets supplied to determine your best fit. You will only need one of them. Dry fit the ELink with the mounting

brackets bolted together on the bike to determine the best mounting bracket to be used.

5. Insert shift cable into ELink through the oval port.

6. If the carriage is covering the port, install the battery, open the XShifter APP and shift the ELink so the port is uncovered and the motor is

fully extended. Remove the battery.

7. Once the cable is installed and pulled down snugly into the carriage, install the rubber cap over the port.

8. Take the best mounting bracket for the installation, with the best curvature to conform to the tube you will use, or use bottle cage bracket.

9. Install the ELink to the mounting bracket using the longer M4x12mm screws so that the bracket is mostly underneath the ELink and protects

the cap from falling off. Do not overtighten! Max torque ½ N-m (0.5 N-m). You can use non-permanent lock tight on the threads.

10. Mount ELink to frame using cable ties or bottle cage screws.

Connect ELink to Derailleur

1. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU BACK OUT ALL OF THE LIMIT SCREWS OF YOUR DERAILLEURS AT LEAST ONE FULL TURN.

THE ELINK CANNOT FIGHT WITH THE LIMIT SCREWS OR IT MAY BE DAMAGED AND/OR BATTERY LIFE WILL BE

SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED.

2. Ensure derailleur is on the smallest cog (front or back)

3. Adjust small cog setting out 1-2 turns, using the adjustment screw on the shifter. You can adjust it back later after calibration, but this will

allow you to adjust for the “Cable Slack” feature of the XShifter.

4. Cut new shift outer housing to length. Try to keep original cable routing allowing for gentle radiuses.

5. Slide cable housing over the cable. DO NOT use a ferrule on the ELink side of the housing. Place waterproof cable end over the

derailleur side of the housing.

6. Route the metal cable and housing from the ELink to the derailleur. Mount the cable housing to the bike using zip ties or as mounted on

the bike originally.

7. Attach cable to derailleur with slight tension on the cable, following recommendations for attaching cable according to the derailleur

manufacturer’s instructions

8. You can cut the cable at this point to facilitate calibration of the XShifter, but leave some extra in case you need to need to use it later.

9. AFTER the ELink is calibrated and functioning properly, trim the cable to length leaving a little extra for adjustments and cap the cable end

to prevent unraveling.

Mount Button Pods

1. For first time setup, it may be easier to install the Button Pods to the bike AFTER the initial final calibration. Having the Button Pods free to

move with you, will allow you to spin the cranks moving the chain and adjust the ELink through the smart phone APP very easily.

2. Find the best mounting position for the shift pods.

3. Mark the best fit location for final attachment to the bike.

4. Permanently install the Button Pods using the screws supplied. Lock-Tight may be used on the machine screws.

HANDCYCLE OPTION:

1. For first time setup, it may be easier to install the Button Pods to the bike AFTER the initial final calibration. Having the Button Pods free to

move with you, will allow you to spin the cranks moving the chain and adjust the ELink through the smart phone APP very easily.

2. Handcycle Pod location, use 90 degrees as a starting point. You may want to have a smaller angle; the Pods are turned. A slight turn may

feel better for your thumb or finger movement. Locate the Pod so they feel natural and easy to shift. Custom fit to each individual user.

3. Find the best mounting position for the shift pods.

4. Mark the best fit location for final attachment to the bike.

5. Permanently install the Button Pods using the Handcycle pod mounting kit and the handcycle instructions. Lock-Tight may be used on the

machine screws.

6. If you are mounting to handcycle grips, SportCrafters (www.sportcrafters.com) can provide some assistance with the installation kit.

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ELink Setup and Calibration Instructions

Setup your ELink

Install the battery on the ELink you want to setup. Your mobile device will pair to the ELink with the battery installed. If both batteries are

installed, you may need to remove the battery from the ELink you are not setting up.

I have a suggestion for your instructions.

Setup your ELink

Install the battery on the ELink you want to setup. Your mobile device will pair to the ELink with the battery installed. If both batteries are

installed, you may need to remove the battery from the ELink you are not setting up.

This is where I had a problem with the setup. My phone (mobile device) did not initially pair to the ELink). Once they paired it was smooth sailing.

I would suggest adding something like this to the above statement.

It is imperative that the ELink and your mobile device are paired before proceeding. If they are paired you will see the battery condition

indicators. (Maybe even show a picture of a phone paired). If they are not paired you may have to reboot your mobile device.

There are 2 setup modes. Auto and Manual. Auto mode has some of the more common derailleurs pre-programmed. Manual allows you to

custom configure the XShifter for any derailleur

ATTENTION: Each derailleur has to be programed and calibrated. You will perform these instructions twice, once for the front derailleur and

once for the rear derailleur.

Auto Mode:

1. Open the APP and select ELINK SETUP

2. Select Auto

3. Select the correct derailleur. (If your derailleur is not in the list, then you need to use manual setup mode)

4. Press Finish

5. You will need to wait a few seconds for the data to be uploaded and saved to the ELink. You should hear the ELink recalibrate.

6. The Auto mode only sets the correct gear spacing. It does not know how much cable slack exists. Therefore, after Auto setup, you will need

to go to the Cable pull screen to tighten the cable to the correct position. This is similar to the cable adjuster on a manual shifter.

7. You may, however, need to manually adjust each cog later in the TUNE mode if shifting is not perfectly satisfactory. There are always

variables in every application where a slight tweak here and there makes for a cleaner shift.

8. See APP screen shots in the Manual Mode setup below for detailed instructions and comments.

Setting page / calibrate button. This locks in the settings and the system resets.

Manual Mode:

Detailed steps and APP screen shots below

1. ELink setup basic gear settings and number of rings on the derailleur

a. Initial setup can be done using the job functionality or

b. Initial setup can be done by entering cable pull numbers and the slack number

2. Tune page to adjust and fine tune the cable pull setting for EACH gear.

3. Setting page / calibrate button. This locks in the settings and the system resets.

Note:

Currently it is not possible to set less than 3 gears. So, if you are using XShifter on a front 2X system, the best way is to set 4 gears. This allows

you to set 2 positions for each chain ring, thus having a trim function. This is great for eliminating chain rub when moving from between largest

and smallest rear cogs.

If you have a 3x ring gear set on the front you may want to set up that XShifter to 6 positions. Each ring would have two positions or “Pod”

clicks. The extra position would be used for chain rub or small adjustments after the rear derailleur moves.

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Re-Pairing Pod to ELink

If for any reason you want to change which Pod talks to which ELink, or if you purchase a new Pod, it is simple to re-pair the Pod to the ELink.

1. Remove the battery on the ELink that is NOT being Re-Paired,

2. Press the red RESET button on the ELink,

3. then press and hold the center button on the Pod for 2 seconds and release.

If re-pairing is not successful you may need to try again. It is best to do this away from other Bluetooth or wireless devices as this sometimes

affects the pairing signal.

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APP

Main Page

ELink Setup

Starting point to set up the

XShifter in Auto Setup or

Manual Setup

POD Setup

Customization of the push

button Pods (not activated as

of 10/01/2018)

Cable Length

Adjusts the pull length of the

cable overall. This function

allows the cable to be tighted.

Tune

Customizes the exact

movement of the derailleur

through numeric adjustments

to the cable.

Voice

Voice control of the XShifter

functions

Settings

Final calibration of the units

Link to software updates

Step 1. choose mode

1.ELink Setup page

2.Click Auto or Manual Setup

3.Cancel to back out

Step 2 Manual Mode

Using the jog functions

1.Select the number of gears on

your cassette.

2.You need to find the position of

the smallest and largest gear.

You can either input this data

directly with the keypad (If you

know the correct number), or

you can manually jog the

derailleur to find.

3.Using the jog buttons, move the

derailleur until it is precisely

centered on the smallest gear.

You must turn the pedals while

jogging derailleur!

4.Press “Load from current” to

load that position into the small

cog box. (If you already know

this number, then simply input

with the keypad).

5.Now jog the derailleur to the

largest gear until it is perfectly

centered on the cog.

6.Press “Load from current to load

that position into the large cog

box.

7.Note: There is 2 radio buttons

on the bottom, natural and

linear. Linear will divide the

spacing exactly even. Natural

will attempt to simulate typical

gear spacing, the larger cogs

will have slightly larger spacing

than the smaller cogs.

Generally, Natural is better.

8.Press Finish and wait a few

seconds for the data to be

loaded and saved on the ELink.

You should hear the ELink re-

calibrate.

Step 2a

This is what the app looks like

after you are done Step 2.

In most cases, the gear shifting

should be nearly perfect. But

you may need to go to the

TUNE screen to fine tune the

gear positions.

After the initial setup and tuning,

you should not need to re-tune.

But occasionally you may need

to compensate for cable stretch

and wear, so you should use

cable length to adjust the gears.

See below steps in the Tune

section for fine adjustments to

the shifting.

The next section shows how the

system looks for a 10 gear

cassette.

NOTE: Once you set the ELink

with the Auto or Manual setup

process. You will have to make

future adjustment to the ELinks

using the Manual setup and or the

tune calibration pages.

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Step 2b Manual configuration

Manually entering values

You can set the ELink manually in

the main page and then easily

adjust the ELink in the Tune page.

1.Choose the number of gears

2.You must load a value, choose 1

for the load setting for the

smallest ring. Ring 10 (smallest)

gear will transfer and re-set to a

zero setting as it is the first

location.

3.Enter a high number,42 is the

maximum, for the largest ring.

This value can be changed in

the Tune page. By starting at

the max you will not have to

adjust the middle settings while

fine tuning the ELink. The large

value must be greater than 5

4.Cable pull will become the

“Cable Slack” setting. A general

rule is to set cable slack at 2 to

allow for fine adjustments in the

future.

AFTER YOU CLICK FINISH THE

APP GOES BACK TO THE MAIN

PAGE

BE SURE TO BE SPINNING THE

CRANKS WHILE THE ELINK IS

RESETTING AND MOVING TO

THE SMALLEST RING.

NOTE: The cable pull limit is 42

including the slack amount.

Step 3 ELink gear adjustments

CLICK TUNE on Main Page

When you touch the Tune button

on the main page you are taken

directly to the gear cable pull page.

The detailed cable settings based

on your choice of natural or Linear

will be filled in.

You may need to scroll through the

screen top to bottom to adjust

each gear

The derailleur should have been in

the smallest gear setting when you

tightened up the cable after the

hardware installation.

You are now ready to fine tune

the ELink for easy shifting.

There are 2 methods to move the

ELink push the Pod button or click

on the gear number on the app.

While spinning the cranks tap the

app to gear 9 the shifter should

move to the next larger gear. If

the derailleur did not move tap the

>> or > arrows to move the cable

up or down

>> > arrows move the derailleur

towards the largest gear direction

<< < arrows move the derailleur

toward the smallest gear direction

Adjust the cable pull number until

the derailleur is properly positioned

on that ring. Repeat this process

for ALL gear rings

Step 3 Continued

Bottom half of the Tune page

shown

To verify that the settings are

correct you should be spinning the

cranks and be able to hit the

button Pod easily shifting the

gears back and forth.

NOTE:

<< & >> arrows move the cable

pull in Large increments of 1.0

< & > arrows move the cable pull

in very fine small increments of

0.1.

This fine adjustment is great for

eliminating chain rub and centering

the derailleur.

Gray screen after click finish

This gray screen will show after

the finish button is clicked. When

the screen returns to the normal

colors the App is ready.

This The ELink will click and reset

itself. Shifter will go to ring

position 10 smallest.

It is suggested to be spinning

the cranks while the ELink is re-

setting the gear positions.

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Screen capture of the Initial set up

using the Linear method

2nd half of the Linear method

The spacing is even between the

cable pull settings. The range is

based on the number of gears and

the limits that were entered in step

Screen capture of the initial set up

using the Natural method

2nd half of the Natural method

The cable spacing is based on the

outer diameter sizes of the gears.

This setting tries to accommodate

for the increasing sizes of the

rings.

The range is based on the number

of gears and the limits that were

entered in step 2.

Step 4 Calibration

After you have set each ring and

you are able to crank and shift the

gears in step 3 you need to

calibrate the ELink.

Simply click on the calibrate button

to lock in the settings.

Be sure to be spinning the crank

while doing this function as the

derailleur will move to the smallest

ring.

The App will gray out and go back

to a ready state after the function

is finished.

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Example of the settings when Auto

method in Step 1 is chosen

This is the initial blank screen

before you choose an option that

is pre-loaded.

Screen of the cable pulls filled in

after the selection.

After the initial Auto settings, you

may need to fine tune the ELink

using the steps 2, 3 and 4 in the

manual section.

SETTINGS

Main page

Click Update button to get the

latest firmware and software

downloads

Note this screen shows that no

updates are available.

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Pod Set up

Customizing the Button Pods is

Not Released.

Pod Configuration

This configuration is valid for both

the front and rear derailleurs.

Cable Length main page

Use this to adjust the cable

tension.

Note that this will adjust the

individual gear settings

automatically.

Voice Main Page

Use your smart phone voice

recognition to adjust the ELink

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App is open while you are biking

and shifting. The App shows what

position the shifter is in. As You

move the derailleurs the “gear

number” will change.

Battery life is shown at the top of

the app main page. This is one

ELink battery installed.

Battery life is shown at the top of

the app main page. This shows

both ELink batteries installed.

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FAQ / Setup and Instruction Tips

Tire and chain must be moving during all of the calibration and tuning of the ELinks.

The Sportcrafter trainers can be used for this setup.

If there is no SportCrafter training rollers you can build a simple fixture out of one wood 2x4x8' long. See the attached blue print.

Fully charged battery has a green light. A red light appears while charging

If the LED does not illuminate, try a different USB outlet and a different cable. The miniature USB port is a standard configuration common

with most rechargeable lights.

How to get from one ELink to another if both batteries are in the XShifter

Click on the finish button and the system will reset itself. Remember to be spinning the cranks. Now hit the tune or appropriate button and

the second ELink and gear settings should come up on the smartphone App. If not, you may need to remove the battery from the ELink you

DO NOT want the app to talk to.

Arrows: single arrows are for fine small .1 increments. double arrows are large 1.0 increments

ELink has to modes Active and sleep:

Active is fully communicating between Button Pod and ELink and a smart phone.

Sleep mode has minor communications between the Button Pod and ELink but NO shifting. It will fall asleep in about 5 minutes

To Wake each ELink press one of the active buttons on the Pod. This will wake up the ELink to shift. This takes around 2-4 seconds.

The next time you press a button to shift gears the ELink will move the derailleur.

if shifting gears is not working or smooth after you ride the bike the ELink settings may need to be slightly adjusted for "actual riding" cable

tension.

To avoid communication errors between a 2 ELink system, simply take out the battery of the shifter that does not need adjusting.

Open the tune section on the app and adjust the settings as needed. Complete the steps per the manual setup

Be sure to save and install the red plastic battery caps. These caps should be installed on the battery while the batteries are on the bike. The

caps will keep rain, dust and road grime from getting int the charging port and damaging the battery.

Replacement parts can be ordered directly from Sportcrafters.

Battery life: if the smart phone App is turned while in range of the ELinks, the battery charge will show up at the top of the screen one icon for

each battery.

Battery life is very long and they can be left on the bike for several days at a time.

IT IS HIGHLY SUGGESTED TO FULLY CHARGE THE BATTERIES SHORTLY BEFORE EACH RACE.

When the battery is installed the system resets itself and moves the shifters to the smallest gear.

You will need to manually push the buttons on the Pod to move the shifter back to the last position that the bike gears were in

A future enhancement should eliminate this issue

Going from Sleep to Active mode does NOT move the shifters.

ELinks go to "Sleep" mode around 5 minutes of non-activity

To make it work with a "trim shift" (like so many Road Triples were made when they still made Road Triples) you can tell the XShifter that your

3-speed is a 4-speed. If, for example, the derailleur tends to rub on the big ring (most cases) Shift# 1 and 2 (if they settle well enough on the

small and middle rings), you leave alone. Gear #3 you set up to position the derailleur directly over the middle of the big ring. Gear #4, then,

is the "over shift". So, on the big ring shift, you push the buttons thru the 4th gear to get it to shift up, then the "3rd" gear is a "trim shift" back