A True Confession

[RockyMtnMT]

We bought a couple of ebikes. I don't think they should be used where they are regulated out, just the same as atv's etc. I personally really have a problem with the atv's running all over the place when they are not legal. They are ruining MT. Actually I should say the people that own them and take them anywhere they please are ruining MT.

That said, I can tell you that riding an ebike is nothing like riding a motorcycle. If I want to cover ground on the ebike I had better get into shape. You can move straight from the recliner to the motorcycle without issue.

 

[Litehiker]

I recently bought a Backou Mule 26" Step Through and absolutely love it! It's quiet, goes some places even an ATV can't go, I can pretty much drive right up to my hunting area, and I'm getting exercise in at the same time. Pedaling is easier than a regular mountain bike and extends battery life quite a bit. Even got a deer trailer to pull with it. I like it so much I sold my ATV

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J, that looks like a 1UP bike rack. I have one too. Great rack Made in USA.

 

[dfanonymous]

Horses are low impact on the trail and wilderness. Wilderness/forestry etc go by traffic. For every 20 hikers .3 of a horse is not a problem.

So, with that said, if every "senior" gets to go wizzing into these areas with Ebikes, that traffic will increase, simply because it's permitted. It will undermine the point of going into these areas, which is to literally get away from other people.

Creating an age limitation is umm…shady at best too. Let's say you're 62, do you have to really have to wait another 3 years to get to go driving by a 20 year old who's sweating, feeling the burn and working his *** off hiking in??

Even so, a lot of these areas out west can't be accessed with e-bikes even if they let it happen. Like the ebike is incapable of negotiating the terrain.

Honestly, if you never dirt biked on a black diamond trail, then you're really going to be in for a surprise when there's no road and you're in the same terrain, to include river crossings. Then of course, if something bad happens, you have someone who was too old to have walked in the first place, stuck in the backcountry.

 

[Litehiker]

Preferential treatment…

Talk about a slippery slope.

An electric bike is a "motor" "cycle". By definition!!! Come on….the fact that e-bikers have convinced themselves they aren't MOTOR - CYCLES is embarrassing to ebikers…

Er... U mean bikes as in EV motorcycles? Let their (few) owners be embarrassed by we E-MTB owners who don't think we are running EV motorcycles. We PEDAL to assist the motors and save the batteries. Haven't seen any pedals on any EV motorcycles.
As for the preferential treatment I requested I'm asking for seniors 65 and older, not even for "seniors" in their 50s. We geezer hunters still buy hunting licenses (and maybe E-MTB licenses?) pay Federal Pitman taxes on guns and ammo, use hotels and motels on hunting trips, eat in restaurants on those trips and in short still help the economy when we hunt. But we are not as spry as (most) younger hunters. Thus the need for E-MTBs for hunting, especially in the"wide open spaces" in the west.