Best mid drive motor under 500 Dollars?

[harryS]

I've only had one guy scam me on aliexpress, and it was my fault. I let the dispute window expire while he sent me emails. If the dispute is entered, and you have a good case on video, Aliexpress rules in the buyers favor. I found buying from China quite safe, and economical, but tariffs have ruined that,

I am impressed by my DM02, even if you're not. I had it in turbo mode the other day, and my TSDZ2/OSF never pulled like that. Nonetheless, it's a 14A motor and the newer BBS02 are 20A, so if you have a heavy load, more power is better.

When you have N+1 ebikes, you do think about the costs. A Johnny Nerdout uart BBS02 is maybe $100-140 more than what I paid in 2023. I had the choice then of a TSDZ2 for $260 or the BBS02B for $400, but it was for a friend's bike. I knew he wouldn't care about the torque sensor experience, plus he expected the bike to be like my BBS02B that he had ridden. What's 100 bucks these days.

Two of these cost me 44 bucks with milk shakes. Meanwhile. I'm paying $55 for a 26: wheel with a disk brake hub to upgrade my wife;s bike,

 

[Bob.A]

You do not need to reply to this, but just as a consideration; what is your time worth to you per hour? What level of support, reputation, and accountability do you want? Make sure that all prices include customs, taxes and shipping, and that nothing is hidden, because they will do that, and your motor will be held hostage unless you pay another $65 ransom. Is there a real person who knows what they are talking about to assist you on the phone in English and in a local time zone? Are the components really compatible or is there a meter long wire that translates to a half-meter wire to connect something? Like having a local bookstore or bike shop, does having someone like Johnny around contribute something worthwhile to you?

I'm retired and this is a hobby, so I guess I could say my time is free. I have been putzing with mechanical things my whole life and I have a fairly good IT background as well so I don't generally need handholding from paid sources. I have a pretty well equipped shop and can fabricate some bits and pieces if I need to. So I probably dont need a store like JN or Electrify bike to sell me the same motor and parts for higher costs with the idea that they will help me out of a jam.

What does matter though is that I get what I want without having to order lots of extra bits later that jack up the total cost. Like trying to put a large chainring on a tsdz8 and finding out the only source of a spyder that will work will cost me 70 bucks since it is only available from one source in Europe. I can't say I know everything so that is why I post online to make sure I'm not missing something. Issues like the can bus changeover on the bafangs and not being able to cheaply reprogram them fall under that category. That was all new to me before I started down this projects path.

This particular bike may be my last conversion as I'm running out of room to store them. It wont get the same number of miles as the other three unless I find I really enjoy riding it. So far I'm finding that I like it more than I thought I would just looking at pictures of it. Its a heavy little thing especially considering its all aluminum. Its also different enough from the other bikes to keep me interested, I don't need two of the same thing to take up space.

At this point I'll either go with the DM02 from JN, ordered with the high end display and a 52t already fitted for 427 or..

I cross my fingers and go with a tsdz2 from Ali for about 270 and another 50 for a spyder and chainring. Both are 500w, torque sensing motors so ultimately the performance should be about the same.

 

[Bob.A]

For the DM02, I just had that bike in the garage to see about putting a 48t ring on it. For the life of me I could not get the notched nut off to remove the spyder and that bike probably doesnt even have 10 miles on it with the motor. As it is, I think the performance is fine especially since the target audience is my wife who is not a cyclist at all. A bit of extra push and simplicity in operation are what is needed.

 

[PedalUma]

I'm retired and this is a hobby, so I guess I could say my time is free. I have been putzing with mechanical things my whole life and I have a fairly good IT background as well so I don't generally need handholding from paid sources. I have a pretty well equipped shop and can fabricate some bits and pieces if I need to. So I probably dont need a store like JN or Electrify bike to sell me the same motor and parts for higher costs with the idea that they will help me out of a jam.

What does matter though is that I get what I want without having to order lots of extra bits later that jack up the total cost. Like trying to put a large chainring on a tsdz8 and finding out the only source of a spyder that will work will cost me 70 bucks since it is only available from one source in Europe. I can't say I know everything so that is why I post online to make sure I'm not missing something. Issues like the can bus changeover on the bafangs and not being able to cheaply reprogram them fall under that category. That was all new to me before I started down this projects path.

This particular bike may be my last conversion as I'm running out of room to store them. It wont get the same number of miles as the other three unless I find I really enjoy riding it. So far I'm finding that I like it more than I thought I would just looking at pictures of it. Its a heavy little thing especially considering its all aluminum. Its also different enough from the other bikes to keep me interested, I don't need two of the same thing to take up space.

At this point I'll either go with the DM02 from JN, ordered with the high end display and a 52t already fitted for 427 or..

I cross my fingers and go with a tsdz2 from Ali for about 270 and another 50 for a spyder and chainring. Both are 500w, torque sensing motors so ultimately the performance should be about the same.

Again, on those torque sensing motors you do not need a new spider. I have in my hand a Deckas 110 bcd narrow/wide chainring that is 48-t. It will bolt right on because it is a 5 bolt. Adding spacers will bring in the line.

 

[Mike_V]

All this because: Without building your eBike no less riding it once with any chainring;
You're overarching concern is reprogramming some minor setting to fine tune the cadence after macro tuning the chain ring and sprockets
OK type and mail order and then wrench and then program and then type and then..ride

 

[Bob.A]

All this because: Without building your eBike no less riding it once with any chainring;
You're overarching concern is reprogramming some minor setting to fine tune the cadence after macro tuning the chain ring and sprockets
OK type and mail order and then wrench and then program and then type and then..ride

I guess you didnt bother to look at all the posts in this thread. I've ridden the bike, I've built several others using similar components and wheel size so I know what will work. At this stage tweaking should be minimal with the right parts.

I've run a bafang with the factory programming and it tends to be very "Hot" even on the lower levels, so the ability to reprogram that particular motor is important. The other brands do not have that issue, if anything they tend to be fairly weak on the low levels.

 

[PedalUma]

The DM02 comes with a very nice chainring that has the profile of a pie pan. It brings in the chainline. To better hit low gear. With 42 teeth on the ring to an 11-t rear cog and 28 inch tires top speed is 25 at a cadence of 80. I set the motor to cut out at a cadene of 110. At a cadence of 100 it will do about 32 mph. That is plenty for me. I have big hills so climbing is more important than top speed. The legal limit for eBikes in California is 28.