Tsdz New Version Tongsheng Tsdz2 Mid Drive Motor Review

I ticked over 500km 1000km 1300km¹ it took me a footling while to go circular to publishing this, ok? on my Tongsheng TSDZ2 ebike conversion a few weeks ago, so information technology'southward high time to go some thoughts downward on (virtual) newspaper.

Given I've done a series of posts on the motor and plumbing fixtures information technology to the bike (run into here), I won't go into besides much particular on the nuts and bolts in this review. As a quick recap though:

• The Tongsheng TSDZ2 is a retrofit ebike motor that will fit the vast majority of cycle frames with a threaded bottom bracket.
• You pair it with a battery and an unassisted wheel, do some intermediate-complication bike-spannering, and you have a ebike.
• Different kits where you bandy out a cycle (BionX, Swytch, etc), the TSDZ2 is a mid-drive kit that replaces your existing bottom subclass and crankset. This is more than circuitous to install, but once fitted is more efficient.
• The TSDZ2 is "torque-sensing" – if you pedal gently, you get a gentle assist; if you pedal hard, the motor works harder. This differs from the other common mid-bulldoze kit (Bafang) which is cadence sensing – y'all prepare the assistance yous want, and so long equally the pedals are turning, the motor gives that apartment level of assist.

Finally, I've fitted the 48V, 250W version of the TSDZ2 (ie European union-legal), with the manufactory firmware. Information technology's paired with a 12Ah battery.

Is the TSDZ2 equally proficient as a dedicated ebike?

Allow's offset off with the fundamental question – is a bike with a retrofitted Tongsheng TSDZ2 motor going to be every bit expert equally a dedicated ebike?

Answer: It's Complicated.

As a motor considered in isolation, no; the TSDZ2 is not as proficient equally an offering from Bosch, Shimano, or any of the other big players. It's not as well made, generally not as powerful, y'all'll be lucky to get a warranty unless a reseller offers information technology, and the interface and controls aren't every bit polished.

All the same, is it possible to use the TSDZ2 to make yourself an ebike that is amend for your specific needs than anything else on the market place, and save a bunch of cash? Admittedly.

My electrical Sutra is an excellent example. I wanted a 622-wheeled ebike² ie "conventional" road-bike bicycle that could take front and rear racks, mudguards and spiked winter tyres, whilst existence no longer than "normal" bike (then I could employ trains without difficulty). I likewise prefer steel frames for condolement and longevity. That's a relatively niche set of requirements, and not something offered by any manufacturer I could find. I'd have had to compromise with either smaller wheels or a longer length overall, and plain a brand new ebike is not exactly cheap.

With the TSDZ2 I was able to have a bike I already owned and craft something that was exactly what I wanted. I besides included a bunch of upgrades (hydraulic brakes, Surly Moloko handlebars), and still had alter from £800. And (in my apprehensive opinion), it doesn't look half bad.

Hopefully every bit ebikes become more than popular there'll exist a broader selection of off-the-peg offerings, but for now if your needs are at all "specialised", you might find an easier road to happiness past finding the perfect bike first, and so electrifying information technology.

Bonus point: part of the reason it took me a while to publish this is that over the last month I've swapped the motor from the Kona Sutra to a brand new Kona Ute longtail³ I decided that now I wasn't using trains because of lockdown, really, I did desire a longer bicycle that could carry more stuff. It took nearly three hours to transfer the kit over, and it works just as well on the Ute equally the Sutra. Something you only can't exercise with a factory assist.

Good points and bad points about the TSDZ2

Let's option out the three best and worst bits.

Bad – manufacturing tolerances

The TSDZ2 is non as well made equally anything from Bosch or Shimano. This is kind of inevitable given it's much cheaper, simply if you become an unlucky combination of office sizes yous might notice yourself with real problems. Things are nowhere almost every bit bad as when the motors beginning came out (for tales of woe see this 321-page thread on Endless Sphere), but mine has a trend for the bottom-subclass securing nut and crank bolts to work loose over time.

I deal with this past conveying the spanner around with me; if you accept a more organised maintenance routine you could instead but snug it back upwardly once a month, or use threadlock. And don't carp with the spanner that comes with the kit: it's too short and can't be used without taking the crank off. Go yourself a lockring hook spanner.

Bad – battery indicator

The brandish that comes with near TSDZ2 kits is the catchily-named VLCD5. This is perfectly adequate, except for the bombardment remaining indicator, where it seems to effort and gauge range remaining based on how hard yous're working the motor at the electric current moment. That sounds like a helpful thing, until you go up a hill and the "bar remaining" drops from four to two. Declension down the other side, and it'll jump support to v bars. Given there's simply six bars when total, the indicator is really only reliable to betoken "total", "not full", and "OMG flashing empty promise you lot're well-nigh home".

You can go by gut feel instead (with the kind of riding I practise I can get about 80km from a full charge), and if you're doing regular commutes you'll apace work out how often you need to charge, merely it's not platonic for maximising the life of your battery (where ideally you'd unremarkably keep information technology between something like 30-80% charged).

Bad – max power output

I've already said that, even within the 250W constraints ready past EU legislation, the TSDZ2 is not equally powerful as some other offerings from Bosch and Shimano. That's not a disaster every bit a more frugal motor will give yous a longer range, but it would be nice to have a flake more than oomph at the pinnacle finish.

I suspect some of this is a necessary evil from the mounting arrangement. Information technology must be much more than straightforward to deliver torque against the angular mount for a manufacturing plant-fitted motor than against the smooth beat of a bottom bracket, where the only affair to lever against is the anti-torque bar in a higher place the chainstays. There's presumably a desire to keep a healthy safety margin below any force is needed to damage those aforementioned chainstays.

I'll also mentioned that Tongsheng's firmware (ie the code that tells the motor how to behave) is a lilliputian weird. In particular, you get maximum aid at an oddly low cadence – about sixty. It then tails off until at most 100 RPM yous get very petty help at all. This is not intuitive if you've mentally programmed yourself to spin up hills to stop your knees exploding; I sometimes need to change up to a harder gear if I desire more help on a hill (this only works if you're not already getting the max available power from the motor. If you are, then y'all need to alter down to proceed going. You'll become the hang of it after a few weeks, honest).

However, see next point…

Good – information technology's near certainly powerful enough to change how you use your bike for the ameliorate

I said the TSDZ2 max power was a impact low, but it still does the job. My electrified Sutra weighs 36kg, I weight about 85kg, and fifty-fifty carrying about five kilos of shopping it'll still trundle up a 12% colina at 20kph-ish. Add more weight (say my iv-year-old), and you'll demand to change downwardly another gear, and volition be going upwardly the same hill at maybe 15kph. On the flat it'll happily get y'all upward to 25kph (where the assist fades abroad; once more, a legislation thing).

Plus, your cycle is nearly certainly going to weigh less than 36 kilos (even with the motor adding about 4kg, and call it some other 3 for the battery). I accept a thing for adding heavy accessories to bikes…

Then yes, information technology might non be the magic "thou shalt never go below 25kph" that the Nihola Trekking was with its Shimano Steps arrangement, but it will all the same make the world of difference if you want to reduce your reliance on a car or public transport. Also (and to my slight horror), at that place's a range of cargobikes that you could electrify and still come under my Sutra'south total weight (eg the Yuba Mundo V5 is 26kg stock, albeit would pork upwardly a flake if you lot add on kid-wrangling accessories).

Good – and so cheap!

OK, nothing related to ebikes is inexpensive, but the TSDZ2 is cracking value. Even buying from UK reseller Woosh Bikes (who, coincidentally, take Bicycle to Work vouchers and offer a year warranty), a TSDZ2 kit including a 12AH battery was £660. You tin't buy Bosch or Shimano motors by themselves, but nosotros tin compare the price difference between electrified and not-electrified versions of the same bike to get a experience for the electrical uplift:

• Yuba Mundo (Shimano E8000 Steps): +£two,420
• Bicicapace Justlong (Shimano E6100 Steps): +£1,870
• Kona Ute (Bosch Operation CX 25kph): +£two,300
• Bearish Large Dummy/Like shooting fish in a barrel (Bosch Performance CX, which isn't European union-legal): +£ii,200

(I've roughly converted euros and dollars to sterling, and this was washed earlier nosotros crash out with a no-bargain Brexit. And again; those prices to a higher place are the difference betwixt the electrical model and the non-electrical model; not the whole ebike.)

The TSDZ2 might non be equally practiced, but you can purchase a whole load of other upgrades for that price difference. Or, maybe, the TSDZ2 allows y'all to dip a toe in the electric bike globe that was previously just unaffordable.

Good – user serviceable and upgradeable

At the moment, Bosch and Shimano motors have a two-year warranty from new. After that, if y'all go a error, you either live with it or get a dealer to buy and fit a replacement motor (and from what I tin can tell it has to be exactly the same motor model – no upgrading). It'south not entirely clear how that procedure works, or whether dealers tin can get hold of spare parts, or just unabridged motors.

With the Tongsheng, spare parts are available even to amateur mechanics, and there's a skilful amount of stuff online on how to replace parts.

(Big flip-side to this: at least Bosch/Shimano stuff does come with a manufacturer's warranty, and is better congenital and far less likely to break in the get-go place. This isn't much condolement if you're having motor bug, but let's not pretend that it'due south all roses with Tongsheng.)

However, another big opportunity with the TSDZ2 is there's a very active open-source firmware build bachelor. This allows yous to tweak a whole range of values (and sorts the diminishing-assist-with-increasing-cadence issue I mentioned earlier), add together in a walk-help mode, and manifestly makes it feel like a completely different motor (in a good way).

A word of caution; if you lot've got a warranty from the place you bought the motor from, flashing a new firmware onto it would obviously void that. Plus I believe it's possible to tweak the firmware to make the motor non-Eu-legal, which would go out you riding an uninsured, united nations-registered motorbike (not a practiced situation to be in should you always discover yourself in a collision, regardless of fault).

Conclusion – would I purchase it again?

Absolutely. I've already recommended information technology to a couple of people. In fact, I'd go and so far as to say the only reasons not to go for a retrofit kit would be:

• If yous just want an off-the-shelf, buy-it-and-ride-away, no-maintenance-needed ebike. Aught wrong with that; it's non equally if you would be asked to fit the engine to your automobile subsequently buying.
• If you wouldn't be happy irresolute the bottom bracket on a normal cycle. You could always get a shop to install it for you, but I imagine well-nigh would be a picayune hesitant around liability if the motor or bombardment fails.
• If you demand something with existent oomph (because you're towing a heavy trailer upwards a xv% loma twice a day and want to practice it at 25kph, or something). At that signal you really need a frame defended around a motor to handle the torque, and (as far equally I'm enlightened), you can't buy frames like that without the motor coming with it.

If you lot want an analogy, it's a bit like the early on days of smartphones with Android and Apple. If you wanted something to only work, didn't mind Apple setting the rules on how information technology worked, and were willing to pay a premium; you bought an Apple phone. If, instead, you wanted something to work exactly the way you wanted information technology to, and didn't listen a bit of endeavor to go it that way, you bought a cheaper Android handset.

If you lot're thinking nearly it, just buy information technology. It'south first-class.

PS: as a sneaky preview its electric current incarnation:

Virtually which, more subsequently…

clayfectined.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.darkerside.org/2021/03/tongsheng-tsdz2-review/

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