HI Guys,
I have recently purchased a yellow Proton T Bolt. I saw a pic of one of these bikes and had to have one to convert over to electric.
I have 6 other electric bikes but just loved the look of the EPX frame. It is a work of art. I have been riding the bike for about 3 months now and get lots of favourable comments where ever I go with the bike.
As I said I saw a pic of one and searched every where to try and find one for sale. I did not know about this site at the time. I just could not find one for sale anywhere.
I then put a wanted ad on Gumtree with a pic of a Proton. I had forgotten about the ad and then got a reply from a bloke who had one that he had been presented with at the 2000 olympics as he worked for the Proton car company. He had ridden it twice and his wife had a go on it and that was the end of it. He must have put it in cotton wool as when I saw the pics of it I thought it was too good to be true. THe bike looked brand new and was 20 years old. The tyres are still good!.
He only wanted $500. I have him an extra $50 as he offered to drop it my brother in laws at Cronulla. The brother in law was due to come down to visit us in Narooma and the bike was mine. I could not believe the condition!
I set about converting it to electric as I am a lazy bugger. I removed the rear wheel and replaced it with a 1500 Watt hub motor powered wheel. I removed 2 of the 3 chainrings and the front derailleur and just left the largest chainring.
I already had the battery that I use on one of my other electric bikes. I used the drink bottle bolt inserts to attach the battery bracket and connected up all the wiring. The electric controller is in the Topeak bag on the rack ( I have since replaced that with a smaller rack pack).
I used the standard mechanical disk brakes for a while but they weren't up to the task of the extra weight so I replaced them with some Shimano hydraulic units. Much better.
So how does it go?
It goes like a cut snake!. I have a few bikes with this motor but I guess it may be the reduced weight of the carbon frame. I am not sure but it puts a smile on my face every time I ride it.
I have left the rest of the bike standard. I don't mind the rear shock. I only ride on a bike path anyways.