Hey All
This is a great thread, I should have read this before. I bought a TSDZ2 and the plan was also to get a Bafang for my other bike. In the end I bought 2 Tongshengs as they are so cool.
As I have 2 bikes it might help people even more (1 whyte hybrid and a Boardman 8 year old mtb) Both have 48V 500W motors
A couple of random points that echo most on here:
I got the kits from Ali Express, they were about £300 and arrived in under 2 weeks, no stress, no taxes or customs charges. All worked perfect out of the box.
The hybrid goes for miles on a 17.5Ah battery. Seriously one charge could do 100 miles if you cycle a bit.
As a normal bike I much prefer the Whyte but as an ebike I much prefer the MTB boardman.
I feel these are better on a mtb. The fatter tyres, that are annoying on a road are fairly irrelevant once converted More stable and hydraulic brakes are a must for me too.
I would love to convert a 29er. I think this would be perfect, if you can find one that fits the bill then go for it.
Installation was the same as most. Just re-route your gear cables, its just quicker and easier and actually gives you chance to sort them out if they are worn.
Get a new cassette and chain, once again they are not that expensive and just solve a tonne of hassle.
I used an old chair leg and seat post to tighten things, massive amount of torque and seems to hold things in place well.
I ditched most of the stuff, like the throttle and the lights and brake sensors. It looks like a nice clean build then.
But the biggy is the OSF (open source firmware) if you are not IT savvy or technically minded it might be a challenge. But its not total rocket science and quite good fun to do.
I have kept the display and VLC5 and just tweak the motor settings. Once you have it right then you dont really need to touch it much.
My mate has a £3000 Bosch thing. He previously had more climbing power, and accelaration on big hills, but my battery can outlast his by at least 20 miles if not more. That is on stock
Put the OSF on and get it right. See you later mate on the Bosch!
The cool thing is that you can switch between legal and not legal. I am not a speed freak and am careful where I set what.
But our rides are usually in the middle of nowhere, so just putting the motor assist speed to 20 mph and opening it up to use the full 500W annoys the hell out of him.
My battery still outlasts his too!
The stock is still on the hybrid and I havent touched it since. Although it is line to be done!
I also have a Yose power rear hub, but that is pathetic compared to this.
All in all I love these. I can probably say that I have built the first one for £850 and as I re-use the battery the second one has only cost me £300 - £400 as the bike was just gathering dust.
I might do some videos and thread on the OSF at some point if anyone is interested.
This is a great thread, I should have read this before. I bought a TSDZ2 and the plan was also to get a Bafang for my other bike. In the end I bought 2 Tongshengs as they are so cool.
As I have 2 bikes it might help people even more (1 whyte hybrid and a Boardman 8 year old mtb) Both have 48V 500W motors
A couple of random points that echo most on here:
I got the kits from Ali Express, they were about £300 and arrived in under 2 weeks, no stress, no taxes or customs charges. All worked perfect out of the box.
The hybrid goes for miles on a 17.5Ah battery. Seriously one charge could do 100 miles if you cycle a bit.
As a normal bike I much prefer the Whyte but as an ebike I much prefer the MTB boardman.
I feel these are better on a mtb. The fatter tyres, that are annoying on a road are fairly irrelevant once converted More stable and hydraulic brakes are a must for me too.
I would love to convert a 29er. I think this would be perfect, if you can find one that fits the bill then go for it.
Installation was the same as most. Just re-route your gear cables, its just quicker and easier and actually gives you chance to sort them out if they are worn.
Get a new cassette and chain, once again they are not that expensive and just solve a tonne of hassle.
I used an old chair leg and seat post to tighten things, massive amount of torque and seems to hold things in place well.
I ditched most of the stuff, like the throttle and the lights and brake sensors. It looks like a nice clean build then.
But the biggy is the OSF (open source firmware) if you are not IT savvy or technically minded it might be a challenge. But its not total rocket science and quite good fun to do.
I have kept the display and VLC5 and just tweak the motor settings. Once you have it right then you dont really need to touch it much.
My mate has a £3000 Bosch thing. He previously had more climbing power, and accelaration on big hills, but my battery can outlast his by at least 20 miles if not more. That is on stock
Put the OSF on and get it right. See you later mate on the Bosch!
The cool thing is that you can switch between legal and not legal. I am not a speed freak and am careful where I set what.
But our rides are usually in the middle of nowhere, so just putting the motor assist speed to 20 mph and opening it up to use the full 500W annoys the hell out of him.
My battery still outlasts his too!The stock is still on the hybrid and I havent touched it since. Although it is line to be done!
I also have a Yose power rear hub, but that is pathetic compared to this.
All in all I love these. I can probably say that I have built the first one for £850 and as I re-use the battery the second one has only cost me £300 - £400 as the bike was just gathering dust.
I might do some videos and thread on the OSF at some point if anyone is interested.
