In 2018 I was riding a LoGo (out of business for over 15 years) recumbent trike and made the decision to add e-assist to it, at the time the choice was a Bafang with cadence sensing or a Tongsheng with torque sensing. I decided to go with the TSDZ2 and purchased a 750W 52 V system from a company which ceased operations within the last year. In 2019 I purchased a new recumbent trike, an ICE Adventure HD with front and rear suspension and 20" wheels all around. Once I had the new trike I moved the TSDZ2 and battery over to the new trike and have rode it in that configuration until this year. The ICE came with a custom 9 speed Capreo cassette which had 9-32T cogs which compensated for the smaller 20" wheels. This worked fine for a couple of years until Shimano discontinued the Capreo and it became difficult to find parts. After much research I made the decision to bite the bullet and spend the big bucks on a Rohloff 14 speed Internal Geared Hub (possibly the best money I have spent as it is smooth, 13.6% change with each upshift and a total range of 526% from 1st gear to 14th gear). Between the two trikes I managed to put around 16,000 miles on the TSDZ2 until this year when I made the decision to upgrade to a Toseven DM01 and use my current battery with it.
The DM01 installation was fairly easy and very similar to the TSDZ2 installation. I don't use brake sensors on my trike as I had them originally installed on the TSDZ2 I found that I never had a situation where they came into play. Another problem on a recumbent trike is the distance from the motor to other components. Since I already had a battery there was no need to mount it, it's installed on a ICE battery mount specifically for an ICE Adventure with rear suspension and an installed rear rack assembly. The ICE mount was not large enough for my battery so I added a TerraCycle battery adapter shelf to provide a larger surface for the battery to mount to. As my battery was a 21.7 Ah battery built before the current shark style batteries with up to 25Ah were available it had no mounting plate associated with it. To solve this I fastened Simpson Strong Tie angle brackets to form a contained area to hold the battery and then used a cut down ratchet strap to hold the battery in place. This has proven to be a great and reliable method to secure the battery and if I should upgrade to a shark style battery in the future I can easily use the current mount as the TerraCycle adapter shelf has a multitude of machined holes to accept many different battery mounting plates. Another problem was the cable lengths, I already had a battery cable extender to get the power from the battery location to the motor so that was not a problem I faced. The main multi pin cable which connects to the brake sensors, throttle, and display was just long enough to go from the motor to the area where I wished to install everything. The problem I had was the speed sensor cable which was no where long enough for my use, fortunately Johnny was able to identify an extension cable and upon its installation the system was electrically connected and ready for operation.
The Toseven installation instructions instruct you to install the motor with all hardware loosely installed and then to rotate the motor in a clockwise direction (when viewed from the left side) until the motor comes in contact with the frame of the bike and then tighten all hardware to secure the motor in place. The reason for this step is so that the motor will not rotate in place from the torque generated when it is in operation, this places the motor at the position it would be once torque is applied. I could not do this as it would have the motor sitting where my light and horn are installed in addition it would add several inches to the cables once the motor is rotated as instructed. Since this was not an option for me I cobbled together an arrangement which would keep the motor from rotating during operation. The solid surface I had to fasten this to was the boom which runs from the front of the trike to the bottom bracket. The first item I installed was a metal tension band for chain link fence (size to fit the boom and black to blend in) around the boom. I next cut a piece of metal from a mending strap and after fitting drilled holes for bolts, one end of the strap was loosely attached to the tension band and the other end was attached to the mounting plate from the DM01 which I had installed so that the unused bolt hole was facing aft. Once everything was connected I rotated the motor in a clockwise direction to remove all play and then proceeded to tighten all hardware. This has proven to be a solid method of controlling the effects of the motor torque during operation.
I mounted the T24 display and associated keypad on my left handle bar using a TerraCycle bar end shifter with a T-tube extending above the shifter, leaving the shifter to be used if desired. (Currently with the Rohloff I have not used the front derailleur as I only have a single 46T chainring installed. With the TSDZ2 I was using a 42-52T setup and had changed the derailleur to a direct mount and used a clamp on direct mount adapter with a spacer to move the derailleur further from the centerline due to the offset chain line on the TSDZ2. Should mention that as the trike requires between 2 and 3 chains I have no problems with chain line interference as many have experienced on regular bikes). I mounted the throttle using a TerraCycle bar end shifter mount fasten to the front derailleur bar end shifter. This puts all of the controls on my left side where they are easy to reach with very little movement of my hand and within eyesight as my mirror is also mounted on the same mount as the T24 display.
To clean up the install (hide most of the wires) I covered my boom over its entire length with DuraWrap ballistic nylon material with Velcro closure. The material is sold in a minimum 3 foot length once you have determine the diameter of what you are covering. The material can be cut (small short slits on one side only) to allow the material to be passed under water bottle holders or batteries without the need to detach what is installed on the bosses. I have found that this is a great way to hide and protect your wires at the same time and with the Velcro closure can be rapidly opened if needed, also with this I don't need plastic cable ties which require tools to install and remove in most cases.
I have now put over 1200 miles on the DM01 and have had no problems to date. I have updates the firmware twice and the only problem is that the update program for the display is in Chinese not English. When I received my DM01 it came with all the items (except the PC) required to update the firmware.
Where to get the parts I used:
Bar end shifter micro mount: https://t-cycle.com/products/bar-end-shifter-micro-mount
Bar end shifter mount: https://t-cycle.com/products/bar-end-shifter-mount
Battery mount adapter shelf: https://t-cycle.com/products/battery-mount-adapter-shelf
DuraWrap: https://www.wirecare.com/interest/networking/sleeving/dura-wrap
