Here's my build of a 2009 Trek Soho. It's the gates belt drive, Shimano 8 speed internal geared hub, Luna Wolfpack battery with Panasonic cells, and a 52v Tong Sheng TSDZ2 mid drive. It's marketed as a 52v 750w motor.
The fortunate part of this was that by moving the 55t front chain ring to the inside of the 130bcd chainring adapter for the TSDZ2 it produced a chainline ( beltline ) that aligned very well. On the belt drive there is very little room to move away from the original chainline because the belt cannot bend or flex sideways like a chain is able to.
Only time will tell if this system is durable. I replaced the stock nylon gear used in the TSDZ2 with the available brass gear. No concerns so far but it's early days.
The 2009 model of the Trek Soho uses the mechanical Shimano brakes. These are a low maintenance system suitable for urban commuting - but they are not mighty powerful stoppers so that aspect of the project is not ideal. Some powerful hydraulics would make more sense here. In my case that would have required additional money for a new bicycle to start the project with and I was trying to assemble a nice machine using what I had.
The result so far has been great. Makes a type of super-commuter bike. The Luna battery looks good, and the TSDZ2 is compact and tidy.
The TSDZ2 I have is a 52v version and I've set the software to run a max of 15amps. In this configuration I'm covering my 11.5km commute (one way) in 27-32mins elapsed time. Max realistic speed is 40kms in 8'th gear on level of slight downhill and a quick cadence. I must say that 40kms is lots of speed for commuting. With a brisk pedal effort speed is usually 30-35kms, slower on steep sections. The motor drive sound is just a bit louder than wind noise past my ears and often I don't hear it at all.
I don't have experience with other drive systems so I can't say how his compares to bafang, cyclone or hub drives. My opinion is that the TSDZ2 is a mild drive. It's not a hotrod or an electric motorcycle. It has both cadence and torque sensors. It produces a natural pedalling assist feeling. It's still me pedalling my bike, but it's a lot easier to pedal, easier to go faster, and easier to pedal up hills. In my setup, while it has a thumb throttle, I don't sit back on the throttle and zoom along without pedalling. It will drive me forward on the throttle only, but speed drops significantly. I think the supplied software limits the max power the throttle will apply so for me I feel the urge to kick in with the pedals and zoom along at a faster pace. It's that or I'm just motivated to get to work and home as fast as possible.
The front chainring does brush the plastic cover on the bottom of the motor. That cover protects the wiring to the motor and covers an empty cavity in the motor housing. It's not perfect, but there's no room, not even 1mm, to attempt to adjust. Doing so would result in an unworkable chainline for the belt.
pics:
The fortunate part of this was that by moving the 55t front chain ring to the inside of the 130bcd chainring adapter for the TSDZ2 it produced a chainline ( beltline ) that aligned very well. On the belt drive there is very little room to move away from the original chainline because the belt cannot bend or flex sideways like a chain is able to.
Only time will tell if this system is durable. I replaced the stock nylon gear used in the TSDZ2 with the available brass gear. No concerns so far but it's early days.
The 2009 model of the Trek Soho uses the mechanical Shimano brakes. These are a low maintenance system suitable for urban commuting - but they are not mighty powerful stoppers so that aspect of the project is not ideal. Some powerful hydraulics would make more sense here. In my case that would have required additional money for a new bicycle to start the project with and I was trying to assemble a nice machine using what I had.
The result so far has been great. Makes a type of super-commuter bike. The Luna battery looks good, and the TSDZ2 is compact and tidy.
The TSDZ2 I have is a 52v version and I've set the software to run a max of 15amps. In this configuration I'm covering my 11.5km commute (one way) in 27-32mins elapsed time. Max realistic speed is 40kms in 8'th gear on level of slight downhill and a quick cadence. I must say that 40kms is lots of speed for commuting. With a brisk pedal effort speed is usually 30-35kms, slower on steep sections. The motor drive sound is just a bit louder than wind noise past my ears and often I don't hear it at all.
I don't have experience with other drive systems so I can't say how his compares to bafang, cyclone or hub drives. My opinion is that the TSDZ2 is a mild drive. It's not a hotrod or an electric motorcycle. It has both cadence and torque sensors. It produces a natural pedalling assist feeling. It's still me pedalling my bike, but it's a lot easier to pedal, easier to go faster, and easier to pedal up hills. In my setup, while it has a thumb throttle, I don't sit back on the throttle and zoom along without pedalling. It will drive me forward on the throttle only, but speed drops significantly. I think the supplied software limits the max power the throttle will apply so for me I feel the urge to kick in with the pedals and zoom along at a faster pace. It's that or I'm just motivated to get to work and home as fast as possible.
The front chainring does brush the plastic cover on the bottom of the motor. That cover protects the wiring to the motor and covers an empty cavity in the motor housing. It's not perfect, but there's no room, not even 1mm, to attempt to adjust. Doing so would result in an unworkable chainline for the belt.
pics:
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