Electric Bicycles

[Dixie-Dude]

Does or has anyone here used one of those "fat tire" electric bicycles for hunting? I have arthritis, among other things, and I was thinking of getting one. Kind of expensive, but you can't use a 4 wheeler on most national forest lands. You can use a horse or bicycle. They make a deer hauler trailer for them also. Just wondering.

[phalanx]

Does or has anyone here used one of those "fat tire" electric bicycles for hunting? I have arthritis, among other things, and I was thinking of getting one. Kind of expensive, but you can't use a 4 wheeler on most national forest lands. You can use a horse or bicycle. They make a deer hauler trailer for them also. Just wondering.

I almost bought a heavy duty mountain bike that looked like one of those. It had a kit you could buy to make it electric. I still want one someday. The dealership is in Lubbock so thats not to far away. Factory assembled electric bike is $1,500.00 and up.

[ironglow]

  My son is a professional photographer, videographer and FAA licensed drone pilot. He has photo mapped rather primitive trails for the state government.
  Last summer I helped him map a trail being developed, from Black Creek, not far from Pennsylvania border, to
  Rochester up on the shore of Lake Ontario.  The trail is being developed from old rail bed and some forest trails, passes alongside Letchworth Park, then passes through corn field and farm woodlots, on up to Rochester.

  We used and ATV (I was the driver), following an electric bike..ridden by my grandson, who had a helmet
   mounted video cam..with a Drone flying overhead.
  Often it was the bike and drone, without the ATV, because the bike could go through some places where theATV could not venture, along with a couple spots where the drone alone did the job, simply because the trail was wiped  out by by the Genesee River.

  I am not sure how far they go on a charge, but I suspect 40 miles or so, is expected on road riding..

  We used his black, 'Aventine Sinch' bike for the mapping..but he has also used it for pleasure riding since then, often with myself accompanying him on my motor scooter.
 
   Pedaling comfortably, he travels about 30 mph.


  More recently, he has bought a wife duplicate for his  wife, and they are planning a vacation where they will carry both bikes (conveniently folded) in the back if his new Ford  Maverick pickup.

  A single bike folded will easily fit in the trunk of a car or in an SUV.  Here's the model he has.

    https://www.bertsbikes.com/product/aventon-sinch-397758-1.htm

[Dixie-Dude]

The ones I was looking at were Quiet Cat brand.  They said you could haul a deer in the deer trailer by walking beside the bike while it pulled itself along back to your truck at 2 mph.  I can't drag a deer out of the woods anymore.  My back can't take it.  Riding a bike like that wouldn't be hard as you could use the electric assist to go up hills.  They also had gun scabbards and hunting stuff.  But boy are they expensive.  The come with "fat tires" like 4" wide for better pulling in mud or rough terrain.  They come camouflaged or black.  The range for the battery was around 28 miles.  Plenty for what I would use it for. 

https://quietkat.com/collections/quietkat-electric-bikes?gclid=aaaa42beeb7a1e4926e6206ecf400fd0&gclsrc=3p.ds&&hsa_acc=8185095137&hsa_cam=428342690&hsa_grp=1334808579936548&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=o&hsa_tgt=kwd-83426467332635:loc-71161&hsa_kw=quietkat%20electric%20bicycles&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&msclkid=aaaa42beeb7a1e4926e6206ecf400fd0&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand_MG_Phrase_US&utm_term=quietkat%20electric%20bicycles&utm_content=Brand
 

[ironglow]

  I'm not familiar with any other than the Aventine Sinch brand, however that one sure looks capable..

  However, you may want to consider a folding model, unless you have a pickup truck with ramp.

[DDZ]

Ebikes are becoming more and more popular. Just four or five years ago there were not many companies that made ebikes, but with demand and better technology there are hundreds of ebike options now.  Even Mercedes and Harley got into the market. Along with companies like Yamaha.
A mid drive motor is best if you plan on using it on hilly terrain. Where if mostly flat terrain, a hub drive motor would suit, and they are cheaper.  A good mid drive motor ebike that is built for the use of hunting will cost $5000 to $7000. Something with a hub drive motor you could get something in the 3000 to 4000 range.  Here is an article that talks about ebikes made for hunters.
https://ebikegeneration.com/blogs/news/top-7-electric-hunting-bikes-for-2019

I dont know anyone that has one of the dedicated ebikes built for hunters, but I know a number of people that have ebikes for commuting and for recreational riding. They all seem very reliable and work well.  I have thought about going the ebike route, but right now I'm still able to pedal a regular bike. When I was in Millersburg Ohio. Many if not most of Amish out there use ebikes for travel. Its mostly flat so most all of the bikes they have are a hub drive motor with the Magnum brand of ebike being the most popular. I talked to an ebike dealer out there and asked why the Magnum ebike is so popular in that area, and he said they are very well made, and are priced cheaper in the $2500 range. 

[DDZ]

The ones I was looking at were Quiet Cat brand.  They said you could haul a deer in the deer trailer by walking beside the bike while it pulled itself along back to your truck at 2 mph.  I can't drag a deer out of the woods anymore.  My back can't take it.  Riding a bike like that wouldn't be hard as you could use the electric assist to go up hills.  They also had gun scabbards and hunting stuff.  But boy are they expensive.  The come with "fat tires" like 4" wide for better pulling in mud or rough terrain.  They come camouflaged or black.  The range for the battery was around 28 miles.  Plenty for what I would use it for. 

https://quietkat.com/collections/quietkat-electric-bikes?gclid=aaaa42beeb7a1e4926e6206ecf400fd0&gclsrc=3p.ds&&hsa_acc=8185095137&hsa_cam=428342690&hsa_grp=1334808579936548&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=o&hsa_tgt=kwd-83426467332635:loc-71161&hsa_kw=quietkat%20electric%20bicycles&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&msclkid=aaaa42beeb7a1e4926e6206ecf400fd0&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand_MG_Phrase_US&utm_term=quietkat%20electric%20bicycles&utm_content=Brand

The bakcountry Mule also has the feature for hauling heavier loads while walking beside it.
https://ebikegeneration.com/collections/electric-hunting-bikes-1/products/backcountry-ebikes-mule?aff=88

[ironglow]

As I said, I don't know everything about electric bikes, other than the bikes my son has, have served him very well
  over a couple seasons now.  Enough experience with his first one, caused him to buy the same brand again.
  I believe they go for about $1800 !

  So far as the location of the motor, I don't see why there is any difference between center mount or hub mount.
  One has the motor between the pedals, the other has the motor on the rear axle..neither one likely to drag upon the ground. In fact, being centered in the rear wheel would it seems, make that one even less likely to suffer from road clearance problems.

   But then, I personally, have not used such a bike...although I accompanied it along hundreds of miles of trail riding and working.

[DDZ]

Her are a couple links to articles about mid drive and hub drive motors. There is a difference, and there is a reason the better bikes built for hunting have mid drive motors.  If I was putting money into an ebike that was going to be used for hunting. I would definitely buy one with a mid drive motor.  I think if I was buying an ebike for anything. It would have a mid drive motor.

https://thenextweb.com/news/hub-vs-mid-drive-motors-on-ebikes

https://ebikegeneration.com/blogs/news/hub-motor-vs-mid-drive-which-is-best-for-hunting-ebikes

[phalanx]

Don’t drive them on the shoulder of the road. Not here with this oil field traffic.

[Ranger99]

Unless the laws have been changed,
they would not be permitted on public
land here. There are a few exceptions
on some units, and for disabled ( can't
remember the percentage disability
that's required for exemption) but
for the most part,  the rule used to
state "NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES "
and that covers electric bikes and
carts and scooters. We used to
ride mountain bikes at one time in
the public units, but there was one
time some years ago that the pinheads
were purposely digging ruts through the
creek beds and such places and causing
severe erosion, but I think that was taken
care of. I'm sure horses are still ok with
previous permission from the area manager
and paperwork from the veterinarian, coggins
test etc.
That might have changed, but I don't know.
Used to be pedals or hooves or shanks
mare only for sure

[DDZ]

Unless the laws have been changed,
they would not be permitted on public
land here. There are a few exceptions
on some units, and for disabled ( can't
remember the percentage disability
that's required for exemption) but
for the most part,  the rule used to
state "NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES "
and that covers electric bikes and
carts and scooters. We used to
ride mountain bikes at one time in
the public units, but there was one
time some years ago that the pinheads
were purposely digging ruts through the
creek beds and such places and causing
severe erosion, but I think that was taken
care of. I'm sure horses are still ok with
previous permission from the area manager
and paperwork from the veterinarian, coggins
test etc.
That might have changed, but I don't know.
Used to be pedals or hooves or shanks
mare only for sure

Class 1 ebikes are generally permitted on trails and public lands. A cass 1 Ebike is a pedal assist only. Meaning you can not get the bike to move unless you pedal it. the motor assist stops working above 20mph.  A class 2 bike has a throttle, and can be driven without having to pedal, although the pedals can be used for assist. the max motor assisted speed is also 20mph. A class 3 ebike is pedal assist only, but the motor assist does not cut out until 28mph.  Best to check each states laws pertaining to ebikes before you buy one for hunting. 

[Ranger99]

Well I can't say for now
I haven't bought a public permit for
the last couple of years
I can say that when I was actively
using public, it was no motors
of any configuration unless exempted
for disability
That's any kind of electrical or
combustion propulsion

[Lloyd Smale]

yup same here. We dont have silly rules about atvs being used on any land but they have to have an orv sticker that cost 15 bucks a year. Actually two of them. One for federal forest roads and one for everything else. You dont need one for a bicycle but an electric motor makes it a motor cycle and you still need the permits.

Unless the laws have been changed,
they would not be permitted on public
land here. There are a few exceptions
on some units, and for disabled ( can't
remember the percentage disability
that's required for exemption) but
for the most part,  the rule used to
state "NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES "
and that covers electric bikes and
carts and scooters. We used to
ride mountain bikes at one time in
the public units, but there was one
time some years ago that the pinheads
were purposely digging ruts through the
creek beds and such places and causing
severe erosion, but I think that was taken
care of. I'm sure horses are still ok with
previous permission from the area manager
and paperwork from the veterinarian, coggins
test etc.
That might have changed, but I don't know.
Used to be pedals or hooves or shanks
mare only for sure

[DDZ]

Basic state by state laws regarding ebikes.

https://rogueridge.com/where-are-hunting-e-bikes-legal-state-regulations/