Best mid drive motor under 500 Dollars?

[Bob.A]

A bit of background. I've installed 4 motors over the last few years on mostly recumbent bikes.

First was a TSDZ2b on a Greenspeed trike. No OSF, vldc5 display, no throttle. Ran great for a couple of years but then something in the motor went and it developed a vibration under heavy load. I tried the extra bearings trick and that didn't do anything. So far I am continuing to use it since it still mostly works.

Second was a BBS02 I got used with a battery on some old guys project bike. I trashed the bike (thrift store) and put it on a Rans recumbent. It has worked great for a couple of years. I tuned it down so that I rarely go above level 2 and I still get to feel like I am doing a good amount of work. I use the throttle so I dont have to Fred Flinstone it to get it moving.

Third was a TSDZ8 on another recumbent, this time a delta trike. Motor is probably a year old and has the oem programming with the fairly weak pas levels on 1 and 2. I did have to buy another spyder from bikestuff.eu so I could fit a large chainring up front and that cost me 70. Last I checked, to get a cable to program it, would cost another 70 or so and then I'm not sure what the state of the OSF software is these days. It works well enough and if I need more umph, I just hit the throttle a bit.

Last was a T0seven dmo2. That went on a bike for my wife, a Townie. It seems to work fine, not super fast but gets that bike, a Townie up to about 15. Its a fairly locked down controller too, not too many things I can change. I'm not seeing any available, at least on Amazon where I prefer to shop.

Out of all of em, the Bafang seems the most bulletproof. Parts are cheap so if I want to change the chainring, its easy enough. Looking online at Varstrom it seems like they have moved off the UART based controller on to canbus. I have an idea of what it is but no clue as to how reliable it is or if it changes the ability to customize the settings on the motor, which was a big plus in my book.

So I'm looking for any recommendations or thoughts on what might be available. Leaning toward another bafang, probably 750w/48v to take advantage of the batteries I already have. The new bike is a Sun EZ-Rider with the aluminum frame and dual 20" wheels. Not looking for a hub motor and since this will be the 5th conversion in my little fleet, I do want to keep an eye on the cost.

 

[harryS]

I own four mid drive installs. BBS02B, two TSDZ2, and a DM02. BBS02B is the winner for power and reliability, but I had a setup problem with a 2023 model I did for a friend. Had to use a program cable to set it up like mine. The problem was the factory set speed limits for each assist level, requiring me to change levels as I pedalled. I typically stay under 16 mph, but I still wanted the bike to be unrestricted.

The factory TSDZ2B was just weak. I didn't feel much assist out of it until level 4. My little 250W hub motors felt snappier. Hated it til I loaded OSF firmware and tuned the power so I had the same easy pedalling I was used to on my other bikes. Bought a second TSDZB for my wife, but she hates torque assist and any hard pedalling, Turnes out the OSF cadence mode works perect for her, She says it's effortless. The TSDZ2 bikes are our daily riders now. Occasionally, I pull out the older ones and we ride them to keep them rustfree.

The DM02 was a motor I wanted to try. I did the conversion a few months ago, I prefer the DM02 over the other three for its good pedal response and ability to dig up power with harder pedalling. I think it digs harder than the TSDZ2 too. I like that I can switch between 36V and 48V packs, and the controller automatically increases the current to maintain the same watts. I'm not sure my wife would like it though,

 

[Bob.A]

Thanks for the reply. Thats the type I feedback I was hoping for. I like the DM02 as well. I'm just not seeing too many on the market at the moment though. It seems like they locked it down to keep people from modding it and then trying to return it if they somehow bricked it. On this bike I'm not looking to make it a rocket ship, its only got 20 inch wheels so it will only go so fast. Do you know if there are larger chainrings that will fit on it?

I put one on a Townie for my wife. She had a Lectric 2.0 that I hated having to deal with, esp trying to load it in a rack, it was so heavy it took two of us to do it.

 

[Gionnirocket]

Thanks for the reply. Thats the type I feedback I was hoping for. I like the DM02 as well. I'm just not seeing too many on the market at the moment though. It seems like they locked it down to keep people from modding it and then trying to return it if they somehow bricked it.

@PedalUma has figured out how to program them and supposedly it's not that hard and somewhat manufacture supported.

 

[PedalUma]

Every aspect of the DM02 is programable through the display. There are like 150 programable settings and 15 power levels. A couple of weeks ago I programed a four kid hauler cargo trike with 1200 watts max on Sport, level 5. I lowered top speed to 15 mph and lowered the temp sensor cut out. If anyone wants one I can send it.

Here is a 2007 Specialized Crossroads commuter, comfort, gravel bike I just made.

 

[harryS]

My DM02 was purchased a year ago, so it has open settings on the T-24 display. I have read that subsequent firmware updates for both display/motor restrict the power. Most of those updates reported bombed out too, if you read the Toseven WIki.

ToSeven Mid-drive Wiki

The only thing I've done is allow 36V operation, and set current limits of 10, 12, and 14A for the three operation modes. They had been all set to 14A before. I also set the throttle for scooter mode, which should be unlocked speed in all assist levels. but it doesn't do much,

These are my wife's fullsize ebikes. I also built her a 20" folder. On left is a 500W rear hubmotor, a nice bike. On right is her TSDZ2 .



She does like the seats pointed toward the sky. I've ridden the hub motor more than her and think the cadence boost is pretty smooth, but she likes the other bike, I wish I could fit a TSDZ2 on it, but I would have to go 24" wheels front/rear and shorten the cranks.

I think I will convert the right hand bike this winter to hydraulic disks front/rear. I am only lacking the rear wheel in my box of parts, One finger braking would be good for the old arthritis in the hands.

 

[Bob.A]

We actually looked at one of those and then my wife asked if we could put a motor on it. I looked it over and after a bit said probably not, at least a mid drive. We ended up getting the Townie for 200 and it looked almost new, nubs still on the tires. She liked the way it looked, so that what was important... As it is she has to ride it with the seat all the way down and the only place I could put the battery was on the rear rack and I had to move it out a bit otherwise the seat would hit it.

If you dont mind sharing, where are you sourcing your motors from?

 

[EMGX]

I think I will convert the right hand bike this winter to hydraulic disks front/rear. I am only lacking the rear wheel in my box of parts, One finger braking would be good for the old arthritis in the hands.

How are you planning to put a rear disc brake caliper on that bike? I have an old 10 speed steel bike frame that I'm thinking of converting to disc brake on the back and might buy one of these to weld on. The other caliper adapters that I've seen look sort of sketchy.
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[PedalUma]

If you dont mind sharing, where are you sourcing your motors from?

I normally get them four at a time made to my spec from my rep in the factory. They also supply me with service parts for free and like my builds and that I can do all my own programing and do things like solder inside motors. I do things like have a special motor mount system that is more solid and quiet. Just as I finished that Specialized I have four motors arriving in a couple of days. I will sometimes have motors sent to people out of state and walk them through the install process so it is solid and looks clean and is programed for their needs. It is not like buying from a website in China and it would cost you the same. You would have a known real person who speaks English you can call with a question.

Another choice is Golden Motor in Detroit, MI. They are domestic and know their stuff. With them after tax and shipping it would be about $430. If you get your battery from them on the same order then shipping is free. But they are out of stock.

Four batteries just arrived seconds ago with a fifth one arriving in Texas today.