OK, so I finally got around to putting my eMTB back in service. The bb spindle bearings toasted @ 1500 miles with my 52v TSDZ2 a few months ago and as I have two more bikes to ride and no time to ride a third it languished on the pile for awhile. But it is mushroom hunting time again and the best way to get to fresh spots is by eBike I have found. A friend I am working with has been going on his Haibike and getting a ton of Chanterelles and I wanted in on the action. They are located up a pretty gnarly little used in a long time logging road about a mile up the road and it is steep getting in there and my AnyRoad bikes are not up to the task.
Anyway I decided to go 48v/18A from re-cycles and also wanted to upgrade as stated above to a larger wh 2170 cell battery. There are a few changes to the TSDZ2 over my two year old model but I was able to swap over my chainring, that optimizes chainline via reworking the stock mount and adding an offset ring, and plug it right into my old wiring that I had all sized nicely, which was a pain at the time as I remember! A few Anderson connectors and some zip ties and had it together in short order.
I only ever used eco mode on my 52v one finding that suitable enough for all situations including nasty steep climbs. I could tell right away that eco mode is different on this version but Sport mode feels more like it. I experimented with the two higher settings but probably won't have much need for them as I value range over speed and the trail riding I do is not conducive to more than enough to keep the wheels turning and me on board.
So for under a grand I was able to refit my bike, that is one I have owned for years and know what it will and won't do, into what I feel is on par with any of the manufactured brands that I have ridden with and has the to me all important throttle feature. It is just too easy to take off with it there and that is about all I use it for. The torque sensing system works very well on the new model and it is alot quieter than my old one too. Probably because I switched to the brass gear on it and the new nylon gears are supposed to have been changed for the better. If not I'll put the brass gear in from my old kit.
At some point I would like to get a more integrated motor for better ground clearance and FS perhaps but I have had FS push bikes for years and they are nice but invite one to push the envelope a bit and I am too old for that anymore. A hardtail with 15psi in the tires works just fine.
On a side note there are not many eMTB's with a Ti seatpost, Chris King hubs and ChiBon rims. I have been using these hubs since 1999 with one trip to the factory, which I was able to accomplish on my way home from work a few years ago, and due to their age and what was deemed appropriate at the time they are 36h and I couldn't source TR 36h rims so I went with a Chinese carbon facility that would drill them that way. I have using the mullet setup for about 3 years that has become somewhat of a thing now and it's probably not for everyone but it works for me on this bike. I don't like a wide low psi tire in the front so I use a 700c 2.3 on an i35 rim and a 27.5 with a 2.8 in the back which makes a good combo.
