Bike Check: Andi’s Custom Patrol E-Six Longtermer

Andi has been made the new keeper of a 2020 Patrol E-Six eMTB and he has wasted no time customising this Indonesian eBike to make it his own.

I can feel pretty confident in saying that it’s very unlikely that you’ll see another of these on the trails in the UK.

I first learned about Patrol last year when they invited me to Bali and take part in their press camp. At the launch, I spent some time on the Patrol 691 enduro bike and the Patrol E-Six eMTB. Due to limited test bikes, I didn’t get to spend as long as I wanted on the E-Six, but now I have one living in my kitchen it’s time to put that right.

The Patrol E-Six is what Patrol call an E-Enduro bike. It features an all-alloy frame, 29in wheels, 160mm of front wheel travel and 150mm at the rear.

Though not a household name over in Europe, Patrol is very popular in Indonesia, and as the company is owned by United Bike, a very large bike manufacturer, they have very good relationships with all the top brands.

The E-Six comes in 2 build options, this standard bike comes out of the box with SLX 12 speed, Sun Ringle wheels, Maxxis tyres, Magura brakes, Fox Performance suspension, and a mix of SDG and Patrol’s own-brand kit. The more expensive E-Six S model gets an upgrade to XT and Fox Factory suspension.

Both versions of the bike run the same alloy frame, Shimano STEPS E8000 motor and large internal 630Wh SMP battery.

As you can see from the photos, I’ve already changed quite a lot on this E-Six, not that there was anything wrong with the stock kit, but I’ll be using this e-MTB for testing a range of products over the year so you can look forward to reading individual reviews of the following parts.

Shimano SLX 4 Pot Brakes

• Price: £154.99
• From: Madison

The stock Magura brakes offered plenty of power, but I find they’re not very ergonomic to use when combined to a Shimano gear shifter. The SLX 4 piston brakes are a great upgrade to any eMTB. They’re affordable, easy to bleed, and pads are readily available. They also offer more than enough power for bringing a heavy eMTB to a halt.

Shimano SW-E7000-L

• Price: £64.99
• From: Freewheel

The Patrol E-Six uses the top of the range Shimano E8000 motor and out of the box the bike comes fitted with the matching Shimano SW-E8000-L control for cycling through the 3 different assist modes. The issue with the SW-E8000-L is its design is a paddle shifter so you cannot use an underbar dropper remote. I’ve switched to the SW-E7000-R, an on bar button control to remedy the issue.

PNW Dropper Remote

• Price: £66
• From: PNW Components

With room to fit an underbar dropper remote, I went for the excellent PNW dropper remote. I’ve already tested this in the past, and feel it’s easily one of the best-made dropper remotes on the market, a huge upgrade to the bog-standard SDG Tellis remote.

Burgtec Bartender Pro Grips

• Price: £19.99
• From: Burgtec

Burgtec’s Bartender Pro grips come in a wide range of colours but I’ve opted for the brown to match the earthy tones of the E-Six frame. These grips are wider than most on the market so might not be suitable for smaller hands, but I find them very comfortable.

Burgtec Ride Wide Riser bar

• Price: £64.99 – £69.99
• From: Burgtec

I chose to replace the stock Patrol branded bar with a Burgtec model. The Ride Wide bar I’m running is an 800mm wide alloy enduro bar with a 35mm bar clamp. What I really like about these bars is that they’re not overly stiff and remain comfortable even in the choppy stuff.

Burgtec Stem

• Price: £84.99
• From: Burgtec

Keeping my handlebar in place is a Burgtec Enduro MK2 stem with a 35mm clamp and 35mm length. This colour is called Kash Bronze and although strong and burly it weighs in at only 135g.

Burgtec Cloud Saddle

• Price: £34.99 – £119.99
• From: Burgtec

Yeah, there is a theme here. While I have used the rest of the Burgtec components on other bikes, this is my first time on a Cloud saddle. Let’s just say it won’t be my last! The Cloud has so far offered a very comfortable perch for eebing up Peak District climbs.

Burgtec Penthouse MK4 Composite Pedals

• Price: £39.99
• From: Burgtec

I tested the composite version of the Penthouse MK4 last year and even awarded the budget flat a Singletrack Editors Choice award. These are great performing pedal for not a lot of money, but riders wanting something a posh should take a look at the fantastic Penthouse MK5.

Shimano XT Wheels

• Price: TBC
• From: Freewheel

The stock wheels that Patrol fitted to the E-Six used Shimano SLX hubs with Microspline and centre lock disc fitting, laced to a set of very wide Sun Ringle Duroc rims. I’ve just recently moved to this set of Shimano XT wheels which save a good amount of weight over stock, but I’ve yet to actually ride on them.

Vee Tire Flow Snap WCE Top 40

• Price: $74.99
• From: Vee Tire Co.

While changing the wheels I decided to ditch the Maxxis 2.6in rubber for some race-ready Vee Tire tread. The Flow SNAP WCE is the new 29 x 2.5in model and uses Vee’s super sticky Top 40 rubber compound. I’ll be posting a review of this tyre soon as I’ve been riding them through winter and am pretty blown away by them.

Vee Tire Snap Trail Top 40

• Price: TBA
• From: Vee Tire Co.

The VeeTire Snap Trail is the newest Top 40 tyre from the Thai manufacturer. It’s so new that I don’t believe that it has officially been announced yet, so I won’t say too much other than imagine the Flow SNAP only for trail riding and in a narrower 2.35in width.

RRP Bolt on Proguard Fender

• Price: £35.99
• From: RRP

This is the 503mm long Rapid Racer Product bolt-on front fender. Instead of using zip ties to hold in place the bolt-on model uses the threaded holes on the arch of some forks to attach. RRP supplies the fender with different bolts to suit Fox, Marzocchi and SR Suntour forks and even ship the Allen keys with the guard too.

Patrol E-Six Longtermer

Over the next few months I’ll be posting reviews of each of the above components (unless they have already been reviewed) and I’ll more than likely swap out a few things along the way.

I’ll also prepare a Patrol E-Six review too, and have been told that there will be more Patrol eMTB news coming this summer, so keep an eye out for that.