AJ_P

Yes but in this case I'm not sure just how much deeper the indentation could be made without collapsing the aluminium chainstay. It certainly isn't going to give me what I would need but I do have some good news. As I said before, rotating the motor downwards a little so the protruding screw section on the circular housing behind the chainring no longer fouls the chainstay has given me a little leeway. I have managed to get the shims necessary down to 3.5mm in total using the two 1.5mm shims in the the kit along with some 0.5mm plastic material I cut to suit. I can easily get a sheet of paper to slide in the gap. This is not permanent as I have ordered some 0.1mm shims off Ebay and may even get it down a tiny little hair further. As it is, the chainline is pretty straight on gear 5 which given that I have an eight speed freehub or whatever it is called, isn't too bad. It's not perfect but it is pretty close to centre. I suspect that chainline is rarely great on these mid drives as they sit out so far from the bottom bracket by necessity. I'll maybe post a photo later of what the chainline looks like on the lowest gear. I'm no expert so I really don't know what is acceptable. However, this is about as good as it is going to get and I feel that if my present gearing doesn't suit my needs, then a new rear wheel with a may well be the answer. It does appear to me anyway that it should be a viable option. I'm making progress with it and I at least now know that I cannot improve it much more. The next issue involves mounting the heavy 19.2ah battery on the downtube. More welding methinks. By the way, what a disappointment the Hailong Max case is compared to the Hailong G70. The G70 has ample mounting points on a full length strip of metal whereas the Max uses a ridiculously short piece with only two bolt holes to hold a significantly heavier battery thereby leaving the majority of it unsupported by anything other than plastic. The mind boggles.... All the best, AJ

Hello Sturmey, There already is a factory indentation on the frame there. With the motor in the correct orientation, the little projecting piece sits just within it but in order not to hit it, I have to shim by 6mm. Rotating the motor allows me to use only 4mm but the chainline still looks uncomfortable to my mind at least. AJ

If I fit the motor in accordance with Tongsheng’s instructions which involves having the frame block bolt locked at it's lowermost position, one of the bolts that fits into projecting sections around the circular housing behind the chainring touches the chainstay. That requires 6mm of shim. However, if I rotate the motor backwards a little, I can avoid that issue and get away with 4mm. Before I removed the triple chainring etc I took a few measurements from the seat tube to the teeth and found that the largest chainring was 30mm away. The TSDZ2 chainring is 40mm from tooth centre to seat tube. I simply cannot get it any closer by any more than about 0.5mm if I were to shave down one of the shims a little. The only other way of closing the gap so to speak would be to cut into the offending part of the frame. That would require a piece of solid aluminium being shaped to fit tightly and then have it all tig welded up. That’s a bit drastic though and I’m not sure if I want to do that to my bike. Anyway, as for chainline, it is straight when on 7th gear which I assume is not preferable. I can however access all eight gears but I'm really not sure if the amount it deviates from straight when on 1st gear is actually too much. I'll have to fiddle with it some more, fine tune the derailleur etc and see how quiet it is, or not. Does anyone know if the Bafang fits any better than these in terms of chainline etc? All the best, AJ

I have fitted the motor to my bike and in order to avoid touching the chainstay, I had to add just over 6mm of shims to get a sliver of clearance. I suspect that this will rule out a second chainring as I don't think the chain line is going to be ideal even for what I've got at the minute. I'm going to fit the chain, hook up the derailleurs and route the gear cables which will actually squeeze nicely between the bottom bracket and the motor each in a little length of 4mm outer housing. I will then have a better idea as to whether or not I can access the eight gears with the motor set out so far. I expected my B'Twin Rockrider 520 bike being the same brand as my wife's would have presented a similar installation to hers but apparently not. If it doesn't work then I've got some head scratching to do. Maybe a new rear wheel fitted with a cassette with a smaller number of carefully chosen gears but spaced out from the wheelhub, or simply a different bike. We'll see shortly.... All the best, AJ

I bought it as a 48v 15a but I can't open the case without voiding the warranty. If that's the only way to be sure then I'll just have to take it on faith for the time being. All the best, AJ

My front derailleur is a triple so if I go down this route that's at least one thing I don't have to buy. I just bought the motor and battery for my own bike so I'm hoping to get going with the conversion soon. I have the bottom bracket stripped so with a bit of luck I will get some time to start on it. I'm going to have trouble with the battery though. Even though it fits easily within the frame triangle on this one, the nutserts are too low down on the frame to suit it and I really don't think they're going to be up to the task of holding a very heavy 19.2ah battery in place. I'm thinking of making up some sort of steel bed for the battery once more but this time it will have a few round clamps welded to the underneath which can then be secured around the frame with some rubber strips inside for some protection and to assist in grip. I'm not sure yet what approach to take but I'll know better once I start working on it. Something like these might be an idea. Just as an aside, does anyone know how to tell for sure that the two motors I bought are actually 750w and not one of the lesser models? There's no labelling, not that that could be relied upon anyway but I am very curious indeed given how much money I have spent! All the best, AJ

I actually have eight gears on the back wheel so it will be interesting to see if that will work with the standard TSDZ2B chainring. For some reason I had it in my head that there were only seven. I have just bought the motor and battery for this bike so I will see shortly. All the best, AJ

For anyone interested, here's another dual chainring Tongsheng conversion just posted.... A longer travel front derailleur is required so an update will hopefully be provided soon. Regards, AJ

Hello Sturmey, Would you mind telling me how many gears you have on the back wheel and can you access all of them with the dual chainring set up you have? I'm debating whether to go with a dual chainring or change to a 9 speed cassette for which I would have to replace the rear wheel. All the best, AJ

Are you going to try a 34 and a 42 together? I got a puncture in the back tyre of my bike so took it off for the first time and discovered it doesn't have a cassette back there. If I want to do any experimentation in that area then it's going to mean a new wheel. At least if a functional dual front ring configuration can be made to work then I don't need so many cogs at the back I suppose. Good to hear you're making progress. I'm itching to get going with converting mine. Hopefully I'll get a motor etc soon for this one. I'm definitely leaning towards the TSDZ2B though I see the first review has been released for the Toseven. It's expensive though... All the best, AJ

I'll be very interested indeed to see how you get on. If I get around to it first I'll be sure to let you know. All the best, AJ

You mean a non dished one? AJ

Hello Nealh, That's great to hear! Non dished I presume? Does it work well? Would you have any pics of your set up to help us form a plan for our own bikes? All the best to you, AJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPKNaWUMlcw:422 Here's a very interesting video on the subject of dual front chainrings on the TSDZ2 where the chap appears to be happy with the result he has achieved. It opens at the appropriate part. You've probably already seen it but for anyone who hasn't, he has fitted two non dished chainrings, a 34 and a 46 tooth onto the Tongsheng TSDZ2. Originally his bike had a three chainring setup so in his case at least the front derailleur had enough travel to enable this to work for him. I very much like the idea of that. It's certainly appealing enough to give it some serious thought and it'd be very interesting indeed to experiment with it so that may be an option for the future, though I wouldn't want to spend too much just in case. All the best, AJ

I don't like the idea of the battery being on full display though in our case it will never be left alone long enough for anyone to steal it. Apparently though there are such specimens among the human race and if an opportunity presents itself there is always someone willing to seize it. I just prefer the battery being ensconced in a padded shell so to speak that will give it a bit of protection should the bike tip over onto something that could potentially crack the Hailong case or even worse penetrate a cell. The latter isn't particularly likely but stranger things have happened and I'm a firm believer in thinking ahead. The fact too that such a bag would tie neatly in with the small side bags especially if a similar colour gives it a discrete appeal. Early days though and if I find something that fits the bill, I'll give it a go. All the best, AJ