Tsdz2 brass gear change (weird high pitched hum)

[Nealh]

So effectively, without a temp sensor I should regulate my power usage and go easy when I notice the motor is giving out less assist to the cranks than I feel it should? Getting a temp sensor fitted feels like a bit of a pain but I may be wrong!

It is the first job to do on the motor but whilst it is open adding the conductive pads is a no brainer, the OSF stuff isn't obligatory.

 

[Bikes4two]

The tdsz2 is engineered pretty poorly and not only the nylon gear is an issue, as mentioned a mildly warm day will lead to toasting the motor. The crankshaft is known to sheer on the rhs as well and various bearings /needle cages can fail.
........

Hi Neal - I thought I read in one of your earlier posts that you were considering a TSDZ2 and I was wondering if the above are your own observations or those of others?

Having fitted my own TSDZ2 in the Autumn, I've yet to ride in warm weather and therefore don't have any experience of the possibility of the motor over heating - none the less, I was suprised to see your comment that -

as mentioned a mildly warm day will lead to toasting the motor.

and I was wondering why you think that is the case as I was hoping that my running the TSDZ2 at the nominal 250w at 36v and mostly on ECO, wasn't going to give me any issues?

In the very long thread at Endless Spere HERE were the topic of over heating and cooling is discussed, you can see from the OP's pictures in their first post that their motor is powered between 450w and 800w, on assist level 4 and ridden up a 1:17 hill for 2km.

I guess I'm looking for some re-assurance that modest use of this motor is not as problematic as those experiences of the 250lb 'well built' guys pushing 750w at 52v.

 

[Bikes4two]

It is the first job to do on the motor but whilst it is open adding the conductive pads is a no brainer, the OSF stuff isn't obligatory.

There's a useful post HERE about installing a temperature sensor - I'm reading it in earnest given the doubts expressed by Neal about overheating .

Looking through that thread, I just might buy myself some of those temperature sensing labels from RS Components (link) to see what is going on as the warmer weather approaches?

 

[Nealh]

It's observations from reading not only the ES various threads but also from the German forum which is quite huge and is Europe's equivalent of ES.
As the issues are known it is better to prevent then try and cure later on.
The Blue gear makes sense as a fail safe and an easy item to replace.

I have yet to order/buy my tsdz but is a planned buy before spring.

 

[Nealh]

Those stick on labels are dear for a pack and one has to open the motor to see the state of play, a small display with sensor will give real time readings and one can adapt riding style on the hoof to keep under the magical 60/65c internal motor temp build up.

Something like this is ideal, twin sensors one can put one on the motor and on the final drive side, take the 5v and gnd off the controller pc where there are spares or use the OSF and wire a LM35dz sensor direct to the controller pcb and have the temp read via the lcd display.

DC 4V 28V Mini Dual Display Digital Temperature Controller Temperature Sensor Thermometer Tester control +Waterproof NTC Probe|Temperature Instruments| - AliExpress

 

[Nealh]

Mine is for use on a cargo bike and trailer combo, so will be given a good workout so temp will be top of my list to monitor as well as minor tinkering of the vlcd5 with the osf. The osf allows cycling of various parameters so temp, cadence, watts, wh, voltage & current would be my six pieces of info to have on the screen.

 

[Nealh]

When I get mine and mod the motor/display I will likely just add the info with pics etc, to swizz's thread as then all relevant info is kept in one place otherwise the info may get fragmented as seen on other forums.
The es threads take some reading and there are a few different ones to read.

I have spent the best part of week bedtime reading the KT osf controller thread.

 

[Brian park]

When I get mine and mod the motor/display I will likely just add the info with pics etc, to swizz's thread as then all relevant info is kept in one place otherwise the info may get fragmented as seen on other forums.
The es threads take some reading and there are a few different ones to read.

I have spent the best part of week bedtime reading the KT osf controller thread.

Jeeez! After reading all of this I'm wondering why I bothered fitting a TSDz2. My modded Bosch Motor bike seems like the better option on every level. I just wanted a nice assisted bike not an electronics course/project. Then again maybe I didn't realise what I was getting into!

 

[Nealh]

They are chalk and cheese so one can't simply compare one to the other.

Bosh is ok if you want a bike you can't repair or be able to work on at all and can afford to keep paying money out on if it goes wrong after the warranty.
The tsdz2 if for those who can or want to diy a cheap motor with all available parts to repair.
The two are in opposing camps, one has to decide what they want out of a bike.
One an expensive dealer bike that for the most part only a dealer can swap out whole component parts or the other a relatively cheap diy option.

 

[Brian park]

They are chalk and cheese so one can't simply compare one to the other.

Bosh is ok if you want a bike you can't repair or be able to work on at all and can afford to keep paying money out on if it goes wrong after the warranty.
The tsdz2 if for those who can or want to diy a cheap motor with all available parts to repair.
The two are in opposing camps, one has to decide what they want out of a bike.
One an expensive dealer bike that for the most part only a dealer can swap out whole component parts or the other a relatively cheap diy option.

I get that. I think I might be a Bosch fanboy! Ive done 13200+ miles on my modded sport cx and it's not caused one problem. I think these units are built to last forever. Of course now I've just said that....

 

[vidtek]

Brian- I've had mine now for a couple of years and have had zero issues. I think a lot of the reported problems have more to do with riding style and expectations rather than issues with the motor.
It all depends on how the bike is ridden.
I cruise along the sea front at 6-10mph and ONLY use the assist when uphill or against a stiff breeze. The only hill near me is the one from the cliffs to my house 300 mtrs above sea level.
If you want a moped that does 25mph+ do not buy a TSDZ2.

 

[Brian park]

Fair enough -I'm obviously expecting too much grunt from a bike that is happy to pootle along! I just got an electric scooter which can go 40mph+ so should I need the extra power I have it albeit in a completely illegal form!

 

[Bikes4two]

..... I think a lot of the reported problems have more to do with riding style and expectations rather than issues with the motor.
It all depends on how the bike is ridden.......
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If you want a moped that does 25mph+ do not buy a TSDZ2.

+1 for all of that @vidtek - when you hear of the various TSDZ2 issues, you never know what weight the rider is, the power/volts they are pushing through the motor and the riding conditions the motor is being asked to work with.

I pootle a bit more than you (usually either either side of the 25kph cut-off) but almost all in ECO. I have just passed the 2000Km mark in the 4 months of ownership and I've just had to change the sprag clutch which TBH was a bit disappointing (great vid HERE on doing this) -but it took me an hour of faffing and cost me £20, so well within the realms of what I'd deem 'bike maintenace' and not too much different in terms of effort/cost in changing a bottom bracket. EDIT - see note below as it wasn't the sprag clutch!!

At the end of the day, an ebike kit at this price point is going to require some maintenance somewhere along the line. I'm very happy to get my hands dirty rather than being tied to some expensive proprietary brand whose dealership will happily relieve me of my pocket money.

I did take the motor cover off to inspect the 'blue gear' at 1500Km and it looked pristine - I do expect to have to change this at some point (but who knows when?) and I'll stick with the blue one as my motor (with OSF) runs very quiet and I understand that the brass option is noisier.

A bit off topic but for anyone reading this and considering fitting the motor, then when it comes to tightening the cranks, you really do need to tighten them to the 40nm mentioned in the installation guide - I initially did this by hand thinking I'd got it tight enough, but the cranks worked loose and I eventually got a torque wrench and did the job properly.

I also experienced motor power drop-out which caused me a lot of head scratching and I initially suspected the TSDZ2 controller until I swapped out the motor for my wife's TSDZ2 and realised that the battery BMS was the culprit and not the TSDZ2 - a new BMS arrived last week but I'm running in bypass mode on the old one for a while to see how it goes battery balance wise.

EDIT/NOTE - I thought the sprag clutch needed changing as I had the symptom described in the vid I linked to above in that sometimes the chain appeared to 'jump' in a manner similar to what you'd experience with the chain jumping sprocket teeth. On my first test ride today after the sprag clutch change, the problem is still there. Back home I checked for chain wear (I fitted a new chain when the motor was installed) and there was no discerable 'strectch' either as measured by my chain guage or against a 12 inch steel rule - thus I'm now wondering if the free-hub in the rear wheel is the problem (it's my touring bike wheel and has done literaly thousands of miles - 10,000 maybe?) - I need to swap wheels with one of my other bikes to see. Every day's a school day