Anyone else hunting with an E-Bike this year?

[gumby]

I have been watching the Honda Trail 125 on u tube and that seems like a good set up to me. They are light, quiet, easy to handle and lots of room for packing in and out. The color is a little bright but could be covered when parked. Now I have not rode one or have I seen one at hand because I live in North Alabama, and it seems dealers can't get their hands on one here but what I have seen looks like a winner if you can find one. Where I live the rules are about the same for both bikes.

 

[Aeds151]

I bought one because I just recently broke my ankle well it’s going to take a while. So it’s the only way I can hunt for a bit. Our rules state is not considered motorized 750w and under. I’m NC.

Just Stick to strictly state land and you should be good. Speedy recovery


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[Aeds151]

Super sweet sale on Rambo bikes right now. Only $4500 now. Better act fast


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[Apex7]

E-Bikes are motorized and NOT allowed on non motorized trails within NF land whether regular bicycles are or not so read the signs. Non-Motorized access only means no E-Bike.

There was a policy change within USFS, but it’s being reported by some as allowing E-Bike access wherever regular bike traffic is allowed. Not true. The policy is simply to review and possibly allow them on some “non-motorized” trails/roads. But again, it will be on a trail by trail basis so read the signs.

Not all e-bikes are considered motorized vehicles.

 

[Weldabeast]

I got the full e-bike experience the other weekend. My friend has 2 and he wanted to go set cameras with me. Wow....they sure are useful for scouting. On my peddle bike I average 7-10 miles before it gets too hot and I want to leave. We easily doubled that and if the batteries would last maybe even tripled. Haul butt to the area u wanna explore and stash the bike. Walk around and then u get air conditioning cool off on the way to the next spot. These were hub drive and they got bogged down and had to be pushed thru the deep mud but I was impressed with how far off the beaten path u could ride. I'm still not entirely sold on the effectiveness during hunting season. I do a lot of walking/exploring and having a bike locked up somewhere limits how far I can go....but if u were gonna hunt in a small generalized area they would be great tool to use. I cant justify the expense of 1 even if I wanted to buy 1

 

[rambotogo]

You can build your own e bike ,not that hard. I made one out of a fat tire mongoose bike . Bafang mid drive motor kit with brake cutoffs and downsized the front sprocket to 36 t. All in not counting bike and labor $1600.00 . If I can do it anybody can.

 

[jphillips97]

You can build your own e bike ,not that hard. I made one out of a fat tire mongoose bike . Bafang mid drive motor kit with brake cutoffs and downsized the front sprocket to 36 t. All in not counting bike and labor $1600.00 . If I can do it anybody can.

there are a lot of e bikes available for half that price. What benefit do you see to building your own?

 

[thedutchtouch]

there are a lot of e bikes available for half that price. What benefit do you see to building your own?

Building your own like that can get you a quality bike with components that are twice as good as what comes on a 450 ebike complete. Assuming with that price point they are talking about Bosch mud drive motors, which are pretty much top of the line. If I do end up using an ebike, it'll be my sparkly purple surly straggler, after I put one of those mid drives on it. Do I get a timberpimp entry if I end up using it?

 

[rambotogo]

You can build it to your exact specs . Yes you can build a hub motor bike for cheap and it will do the job . Mid motor drive will be more money but better on hills etc . If you decide to buy one factory build ,lots of options also.

 

[Gary330]

I have a negative view on the whole E-bike thing. Couple years ago on my very first saddle hunt me and a couple buddies walked a little over a mile and a half to get into some public ground we had scouted. Not that far but far enough from the access point to feel like we're the only ones out there. Found my spot, climbed the tree in the dark, waited for the sun to come up. This was opening morning of bow season and im super excited. About 7:00am I heard something coming that I have never heard in the woods before, didn't know what the heck it was. Then i see it.... some dude on an e-bike rides right up underneath my tree like 5 yards in front of me. Then his buddy shows up right behind him and they stop under my tree looking for their game camera. After a couple minutes I whistle at them and they see me and apologize then ride their bikes on up the hill, they talk for a while, stumble around from tree to tree until they find their camera. Then they come back by about 25 minutes later and leave. *** man. These guys were not handicapped in any way. They had no problem stomping around in the woods trying to locate their camera up and down the hill.

All that being said. I can see how riding through the woods on an ebike would be really cool. Seems like a great tool for hunting scouting and just for fun. In fact, if I could afford one I would love to try it. But i know how my wife would react if I told her I wanted to buy a couple thousand dollar bicycle for hunting. LOL

 

[Lowg08]

Just Stick to strictly state land and you should be good. Speedy recovery


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After my discussions with rangers and wildlife officials 750 and under does not meet the motorized transportation definition. So they are legal on bicycle approved trails unless otherwise posted. We ended up with four of them between my sisters clan and ours. I can now reach an area which is a gated gravel road that goes 10+ miles on day hunts.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Just curious. Has anyone had a bad experience with one taking you way into the boonies and then going belly up? I've had two experiences that sort of relate. My first year on public I bought a regular offroad bike, like $200 to use for scouting. I peddled down a road (downhill) in July or August about daylight to scout some areas that were behind the gate. I went about 4 miles. scouted around and ended up about lunchtime worn out and hot. Well, I quickly found out that peddling that bike back 4 miles uphill in the already hot and dehydrated state I was in was no fun and was probably dangerous. I ended up just getting off and walking it out since it was killing me to peddle it. I quickly decided that I could peddle myself way farther than I wanted to peddle my way out of. What happens if you got 10 miles back and the E part of it dies and you have to peddle it back out? Has that happened to anyone?

Another instance that comes to mind was an electric side by side a friend of mine bought so he could ride around, and turkey hunt and deer hunt and it would be fairly quiet. On its maiden voyage we rode from his house about 10 miles and then off onto the hunting club onto some pretty remote areas with very bad roads. This was August. Well, the batteries died when we were driving along and we had a very long, hot walk back to his house. It was a new side by side with new batteries and he said it was easily good for a 25 mile round trip. It was sold the next week and a gas powered model was purchased.

 

[rambotogo]

I have a negative view on the whole E-bike thing. Couple years ago on my very first saddle hunt me and a couple buddies walked a little over a mile and a half to get into some public ground we had scouted. Not that far but far enough from the access point to feel like we're the only ones out there. Found my spot, climbed the tree in the dark, waited for the sun to come up. This was opening morning of bow season and im super excited. About 7:00am I heard something coming that I have never heard in the woods before, didn't know what the heck it was. Then i see it.... some dude on an e-bike rides right up underneath my tree like 5 yards in front of me. Then his buddy shows up right behind him and they stop under my tree looking for their game camera. After a couple minutes I whistle at them and they see me and apologize then ride their bikes on up the hill, they talk for a while, stumble around from tree to tree until they find their camera. Then they come back by about 25 minutes later and leave. *** man. These guys were not handicapped in any way. They had no problem stomping around in the woods trying to locate their camera up and down the hill.

All that being said. I can see how riding through the woods on an ebike would be really cool. Seems like a great tool for hunting scouting and just for fun. In fact, if I could afford one I would love to try it. But i know how my wife would react if I told her I wanted to buy a couple thousand dollar bicycle for hunting. LOL

 

[Apex7]

Building your own like that can get you a quality bike with components that are twice as good as what comes on a 450 ebike complete. Assuming with that price point they are talking about Bosch mud drive motors, which are pretty much top of the line. If I do end up using an ebike, it'll be my sparkly purple surly straggler, after I put one of those mid drives on it. Do I get a timberpimp entry if I end up using it?

If you want a really good Mid-drive motor try and Ultra Mid-drive.

 

[Aeds151]

After my discussions with rangers and wildlife officials 750 and under does not meet the motorized transportation definition. So they are legal on bicycle approved trails unless otherwise posted. We ended up with four of them between my sisters clan and ours. I can now reach an area which is a gated gravel road that goes 10+ miles on day hunts.

Sounds good. As stated, stick to that state land you hunt.


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[luv2bowhunt]

Do you have a recommendation for a class 1? The only one I can find is the Hyper sold by walmart...

I have a Rambo bike. To meet the requirement here in PA, you have to take off the thumb throttle switch. Then it is a Class 1 as long as it's 750 w, only going up to 20 MPH, powered by the pedals.

 

[Lowg08]

The forest service just put out it’s decision on Them. They are legal on national forest roads unless marked hike only

 

[LoadedLimbs]

The forest service just put out it’s decision on Them. They are legal on national forest roads unless marked hike only

@Lowg08 - can you provide a link to their ruling or policy on that? Also, does their policy have any restrictions on wattage or class?

 

[Lowg08]

@Lowg08 - can you provide a link to their ruling or policy on that? Also, does their

@Lowg08 - can you provide a link to their ruling or policy on that? Also, does their policy have any restrictions on wattage or class?

@Lowg08 - can you provide a link to their ruling or policy on that? Also, does their policy have any restrictions on wattage or class?

https://www.fs.usda.gov/news/releas...manage-future-e-bike-use-national-forests-and

 

[Lowg08]

https://www.fs.usda.gov/news/releas...manage-future-e-bike-use-national-forests-and