VanSpoof v1.0

There's probably some nasty edge-case bugs to iron out, so it's maybe not 100% complete, but I'm happy to announce a combined v1.0 release of my VanSpoof hardware and firmware!

All the source files are available under Free, Libre and Open licences from my repo on Codeberg, here .

The board design and layout is released under the terms of the CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2 - Strongly Reciprocal and the firmware is free software under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 3 or later .

A fully assembled blue VanSpoof PCB sitting on a bare green PCB.

The green PCBs, as featured in my last post , are Beautiful Boards manufactured by AISLER and these blue boards were built by JLC using their PCBA service .

The new PCBs use TagConnect TC2030 footprints to save board space and remove the height of the programming headers from the final assembly. The STM32 on the board can be programmed using a TC2030-CTX-NL-STDC14 connected to an STLINK-V3MINIE .

A VanSpoof being programmed. The VanSpoof PCB is held to the base of a Framework laptop with a blob of Blu Tack. A TC2030 probe is connected to the board and to a ST-Link programmer. A USB-C cable connected the programmer to the laptop.

probe-rs supports the ST-Link V3 out-of-the-box so, as long as you've followed either their instructions or my earlier blog post on ensuring your udev rules are set up correctly, you'll be fine. I've configured cargo to use probe-rs as its runner , so cargo run is all you need in order to flash the firmware on to the microcontroller. Our logger library, defmt supports multiple logging levels , so choose how verbose you want the firmware to be with the appropriate environment variable.

A screenshot of cargo and probe-rs flashing the firmware to the microcontroller.

With the board programmed, it's just a matter of "borrowing" the cable from an old e-shifter, connecting it to the bike, powering everything up and crossing our fingers.

A VanSpoof PCB connected to a VanMoof X3 e-bike. The status display on a VanMoof X3, connected to a VanSpoof. No errors are visible.

On 12th April 2025 at 14:30 my VanMoof X3 started up, without an e-shifter connected, and did not show an Error 44 status! That thick, faint, circle is where "44 Err" would appear if the bike thought it's e-shifter was missing or damaged. Instead, we're seeing its happy, "everything's fine", pulse. The bike thinks it's connected to a working, functional, e-shifter!

All that's left is to install the VanSpoof inside the e-shifter's body, fit it to the bike and go for a ride. The VanSpoof can be installed in the old motor's space with some double-sided sticky foam tape, and another piece can be applied to the front of the board to hold the wires in place.

A VanSpoof PCB installed in a VanMoof e-shifter body. The cable from a VanMoof e-shifter snaking through its mounting hardware.

The e-shifter's body can then be reassembled and reinstalled on the bike's wheel. The routing and snaking of the cable through the shifter and into the bike needs a little attention to make sure it's not trapped or crushed, but it's not complicated.

Happy pedalling!

2025-04-17