e-trike retrofit for Gekko?

[PedalUma]

You cannot put a new chain on a worn cassette. It makes it worse. Keep cadence above 70 to tap into power. And pull back on the pedals, spin fast, smoothly and lightly, do not stomp. You are swimming with scuba fins to Valvalde, not stomping with clodhoppers to a jaw harp and gut bucket duo.

 

[EMGX]

What drivetrain did your gekko come with? I saw one with a triple chainring and 11 cog cassette. If keeping that or similar configuration was a priority then the Keyde S110 might have been a better fit for you as you could've kept your original gearing but the Keyde comes with its own compromises as, to my limited knowledge, do all of the add on ebike kits. That said the TSDZ2 (at least mine) is a more intuitive natural riding experience, I like them both but in different ways. I'm not too picky, just want help up the hills where I ride - almost daily ride to the gym is 200ft elevation gain going down 4.5 miles into town and over 900ft (up to 1100 ft depending on route) coming back home with long steep and short very steep grades.

 

[ColoBiker]

I don't have a proper cadence meter but I'd guess I have to crank well over 80-90 to get up around 18-19 mph. I can't spin smoothly at that rate -- I'm bouncing around in my seat when I spin that fast. I'm more comfortable at 60-70. I do pull on the pedals, but not hard.

I'm not sure what was on the chainring -- I only had the trike for a short time before I took it in for the e-retrofit -- but it has a 7-cog cassette. I just noticed that the derailleur barely clears the wheel... when it's in top gear it nearly rubs on the rim. That doesn't seem ideal.

900-1100ft climb, yow. You need the e-boost a lot more than I do! I live at the top of a hill, and I always griped about climbing the hill at the end of a long ride. But it's only about a 200' gain.

The TSDZ2 seems to be a good product, but I'm not 100% happy with it. Minor annoyance, but it always seems to be "running away" from me. I try to pedal at a particular speed, and it goes faster than I'm pedaling. The result is that I'm pedaling with almost zero resistance, like there's no chain. I'd prefer to have a bit of resistance to push against. I wonder if that's adjustable? I should ask my local guy.

 

[EMGX]

Everyone has their preferences. I'm happy with 15-18mph on flats and going up steep grades I'm at 5 to10mph, or less, pedaling furiously in my lowest gears - 30t chainring and 11-40t cassette with 700c wheels (bike with the Keyde has 24t/38t double chainring and 11-36t cassette and 26" tires). I get more speed than I want 35+mph coasting downhill. Your TSDZ2 (B) must be programmed differently than my old version which only supports my effort without any "running away", very similar assist as my Yamaha mid drive bike. Hopefully a 52t chainring will work well for what you want. To avoid chainline problems you might want to make sure that you get a dished chainring and not a generic flat one.