I have been lurking on this section of the forum for a couple of years, gathering information on ebikes and kits. Due to osteoarthritis and old age I have known that I would have to switch to an ebike at some stage. The big questions were when and to what system; a ready built ebike or a kit, crank drive, front or rear hub.
I decided against a manufactured ebike as I did not feel confident that I could replicate my existing position on a modern set-up. Too steep a seat tube and bars slammed down to the head tube. Those that offered a more relaxed position invariably had suspension forks. A definite no-no.
As I ride in a hilly area I needed a kit that would perform well on hills. The general consensus is that crank drives are more efficient on hills as they transmit the power through the bike’s gears. This narrowed my choice down to two kits; Bafang BBS01 or Tongsheng TSDZ2. The Bafang is cadence sensed whereas the Tongsheng is torque sensed. There is a good comparison of these kits at
https://ebikechoices.com/tsdz2-vs-bbs02/ . Because of the more natural feel of a torqued sensed kit I decided on the Tongsheng.
When to change? I have been reluctant to make the switch to e-assist, but have been getting progressively slower on my rides and when I returned from a 30 mile ride with a moving average of 8.5 mph I knew it was time to convert one of my bikes. I had already decided some time ago on the donor bike and supplier. The bike was a 26” wheeled Surly LHT which had already been modified to a step through frame. One of the problems with kits is that you end up with a lot of excess cable which can look unsightly. The LHT has plenty of space beind the seat tube where I could conceal the excess cable in a case.
I ordered the kit and battery (post brexit) as two separate orders from a Chinese company pswpower.com who hold stock in Germany. It arrived within 7 working days with no VAT or import duty to pay. Delivery was £9 on each order. A 5 star sevice.
The reviews claim you can fit the kit in 2 hours but as this was my first conversion (and hopefully one and only) I took my time and completed it in stages over a week. The fitting instructions that come with the kit are minimal, so I watched a number of YouTube videos and trawled the pedalecs forum to make sure I was aware of any potential problems. Thankfully, ebikechoices also have a web page on how to configure the LCD.
Everything appears to have gone smoothly, and apart from a ride to the next village I now have a shiny new ebike waiting to be tested. Initial impressions are good with a smooth delivery of power as it glided up the 10% hill out of the village on level 3 assist (4 available).