Robert C

I have built ebikes before. In fact, I am the guy who built an electric assist trike, horribly overloaded it, and then rode it from Kansas to Utah without plugging in. As an aside, on that trip I crossed continental divide signs twice, which really made no sense.

Moving along, I also had an ebike that I used for commuting. It had a simple geared 300W front motor Ona Novara Gotham with a gates belt and NuVinci N360. However, my father wanted to try an ebike, then my sister needed it for commuting . . . it is being put to use; but it isn't coming back.

That leaves me wanting another ebike for commuting. Right now I just walk from my apartment to work, I am that close. However, I am looking at buying a house and my commute will get longer.

The project is starting with a Bikesdirect 27.5 Gravity HD Comp. I stand 5' 6" and that put me in the 27.5 (I really wish 26 was still popular, I will probably convert the bike over at some point). I wanted full suspension (FS); however, battery mounting is harder on FS bikes. There is also the point that I intend to use this bike for commuting, when racks and fenders become an issue. As much as I like the FS idea, a hard tail is probably more practical.

I didn't like the way the crank sensors worked on my BaFang, which I had installed on the trike; so, this time I am trying a Tong Sheng TSDZ2. The difference is that the Ba Fang is rotation sensing, the TSDZ2 is torque sensing. I also got a headlight and tail light that wires into the TSDZ2. I will still probably end up adding my L&M for riding in the dark.

On my other commuter ebike, I ended up adding Hydraulic brakes to it. At this point I am sold on Hydraulic Disc for commuting.That is part of the reason that I went with the slightly more expensive version of the bike that I ordered, it comes with Shimano brakes versus a set of brakes that received much poorer reviews. That will necessitate a set of brake lever sensors.

I already had a 48V battery lying about; so I didn't order that (and saving a lot of money, but fixing the purchase on 48V). I also ordered a lock, rack, and fenders from Amazon.

The two major changes that I foresee are the conversion to 26" and I expect that I will eventually a NuVinci N380 to the bike (however, I don't expect either of those to be changed soon. This thread will get more posts as the parts start arriving.

2old

I had a good experience with Bike Island (owned by the same group as Bikes Direct; I posted a picture of the cruiser that was "electrified" for my daughter) so you should be very satisfied with the bike. If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about 26"/27.5" since I think 27.5" wheels actually have a diameter of 27", but tire width can influence that. BTW, probably too late since you've already ordered, but Bike Island has 26" bikes.

BrocLuno

I'm building a bike around a TSDZ2 also. For the same reasons ...

Started as a Specialized Hardrock Sport (hard-tail MTB) with an aluminum frame.

Doc_Wui

I also have a TSDZ2 that I bought last June. Still haven't found a bike for it.WIll ask my wife how she feels about trying another step-thru cruiser, if I can find one with a small frame.

Robert C

The motor is now here. Considering some of the delivery times I have gotten from AliExpress, this arrived quite quickly.

Raiden

I'm in agreement that you're not going to feel/care a whole lot about mix-and-matching your wheel sizes to your bike frames. In fact, I consider that ability to be a plus to disc brakes. Just be careful cornering, especially with large pedals.

Also, I like my tongsheng motor too- I never rode a bafang but the tongsheng gave me exactly what I thought I was going to get. I also MIGHT have gotten the built in brake light levers they offer, but like you, I use hydraulics (and it keeps the electric system and the wiring a bit simpler). Are you using some kind of device/switch that attaches to the levers?

Robert C

Okay, we had a snow day on thursday. As a result, I got a bit of building done. Almost all of the problems I ran into are directly related to the bike.
As I mentioned, this is the bike I am using as a starting point.

from here

My first complaint was that everything was over torqued. The second is that there does not seem to be a way to remove the SHIMANO FD-TX800 TOP PULL derailleur without breaking the chain, this is because the derailleur seems to use some form of a press fit in its assembly. I have the quick links on order from Amazon (the nearest bike shop is about 100 miles away).

There is also the problem that there is not room in the triangle to put a cased battery that I got from Luna a couple of years ago. In the meantime it will be in a trunk bag on the rack. I am aware that this is not optimal.

Sliping the motor in required both forceful wiggling and assistance with a mallet. After the links arrive I will post some pictures

BrocLuno

One issue with mine (which started as an aluminum MTB) was the chain stays were too splayed behind the BB, so the TS gear case hit. I had to bash the drive side chain stay in about 1/2 way to take the pressure off the gear case. I'm not worried about failure as there is a bridge welded across the chain stays just behind where I "narrowed" the tubing. It'll transfer almost all the load around the system. The bike will not be doing any big drops anymore. It's just an errand bike or e-cruiser from now on