Huguenot Nihola cargo trike - OpenSourceEBike/TSDZ2_wiki GitHub Wiki
The Nihola is a reasonably light and well designed cargo trike, but while the steering is more sophisticated than a more standard (3 wheel) Bakfiets, these bikes still handle more like a wide plank when cornering. An off-camber turn at speed can be quite a thrill, especially if you are a tall guy. I have a fair amount of experience with the Bafang BBS02 and had originally intended to install that motor on it. A few weeks of riding in pedal mode made me rethink things, as my wife will be riding it the most with her only granddaughter aboard, and the moped mode we both love on our BBS02 equipped singles seemed like it could lead to some drama.
Enter the TSDZ2. But not a wimpy stock one, I felt that about 500w with 750w occasionally would be pretty ideal, so OSF would be the way to go. At a claimed 32kg, 26” Nexus Inter-8 rear and 20” front, Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, drum brakes on the front and V-brake rear, it was a good candidate for the addition of the motor. As a plus the install turned out very clean and looks like it came from the factory. Overall we have been very pleased with the performance, and the installation went well with only a few issues.
A minor problem was the stock Tongsheng rear mount/clamp could not be used due to there being a kickstand plate. (On a trike? Really?) This was overcome with help from my analog 3d printer and a piece of aluminum angle. The stock rear derailleur cable passes over the top of the bottom bracket so I did not have the problem of passing it down underneath like some do.
The 52v dolphin battery is vertically mounted in the cargo box under the easily removable child seat. 3 wheels at 4.5 bar do transmit some vibration so I felt isolation was in order. I made a polycarbonate mounting plate for the battery tray to mount on, and my scrap drawers yielded a couple of rubber standoffs for the lower mount. The upper end is mounted with tie wraps and a rubber spacer to hold it against the head tube. Other than a 2mm dimple in the right chainstay, the only actual modification to the bike itself is a single 10mm hole for the power cable and it’s grommet, everything else is easily removed should I ever revert to stock.
The balance of the installation is very easy, with tie wraps everywhere to match the factory ones and no extension cables were required. Note to Nihola -would it really hurt your profit margins if you added a few cable stops to a $3600 bike? Just asking.
The boost feature of the firmware is especially nice with a (now) 40kg bike loaded with 30kg of dog.
