E-Bikes for us geezers

[Litehiker]

OK, OK, OK! I get it, e-bikes in a backpacking forum is blasphemy but hear me out.

If you get a good hunting electric bike you still need to have lightweight backpacking gear to maximize battery life and the amount of meat you can haul out. Plus if the bike goes tits up you can still backpack out for help.

As Len Backus can attest, I'm a geezer and nearing the end of backpack hunting years. To me an e-bike will extend my backcountry hunting years. If this hunting e-bike stuff takes off maybe we'll need a new forum for it - who knows?

So keep an open mind about e-bikes and look them over. They are quiet and the good ones are pretty reliable. For both scouting and hunting it would be a big help, even for younger guys with bad knees, bad back, bad wife, etc.

Eric B.

 

[Len Backus]

Eric

My sense is that the entire e-bike trend is just exploding right now.

Just got home a couple hours ago from Grand Teton National Park where this week I was e-biking the easy, level paved trails along the best views and noticed many more ebikes than in past years.

My newest e-bike is an "assist" model, meaning I get a choice of 4 levels of power assist. I don't use it for hunting or on mountain trails.

But in my case I use the assist function only for about 10% of my total miles ridden.

 

[Litehiker]

Len,
That's what I want, and e-bike that I can pedal most of the time with little assist but using more motor assist when needed, as on the steeps.

Thanks for your input. I'd appreciate any info you want to send my way.

Eric

 

[Len Backus]

Eric

Have you read John Murphy's feature article on hunting e-bikes. He sells them and knows a lot about many brands and models...as well as rules from different US areas.

You may want to contact him. Seems like a great guy.

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/elevate-your-hunt-with-an-electric-hunting-bike.219549/

https://ebikegeneration.com/

 

[Litehiker]

Andy,
That article is what got me started investigating e-bikes. Thanks for publishing it.
I think e-bikes will be a boon for senior hunters.
Eric B.

 

[26Reload]

I like the idea of ebikes also.....but I don't appreciate being called a geezer....
Bad knees, back, neck, elbows, wrists....well thats a good start....but I still ride my nonmotorized......just not as often as I would like.....
But have also seen a lot of ebikes allover the place......its a crazy time...invest quick....

 

[Litehiker]

Reloader,
Ahem, may I inquire as to the number of birthdays you have had? ;o)

If you call your wife "What's-Her-Name" or "Hey You" you may be a geezer.
If you forget where you parked your car in Wally Mart's 10 acre lot you may be a geezer.
If you went hunting and brought the wrong cartridge for your rifle - yes, you may be a geezer.
If you snap, crackle and pop when you get out of bed to pee (for the 4th time) you too may be a geezer.

But at 76 I just returned from an overnight solo backpack trip where today I hiked from my 9,000 ft. camp to 10,070 ft. just to take photos. All the while I wished for that e-bike!

Eric B.

 

[26Reload]

If you can do all that at 76....sounds like you are a whiner....lol...
I am 52.....somedays I don't move so well...others...not at all...its not the age....its the body.....some parts snap crackle and pop...before the real snap crackle and pop......

 

[cody finch]

From the investigation that I have done you are limited to using on forest service and BLM lands to only open roads for motorized vehicles, so they dont get you anywhere for hunting that you can't take your 4 wheeler or motorcycle, was all set to get 1 until I read this.

 

[26Reload]

Some rebukes are under different rulings as to ATV...because of the motor size....
But yes....some ignorance still interprets them a motorized.....

 

[cody finch]

National forest service is 1 of those ignorant types as well as BLM and state of Montana

 

[Litehiker]

26 Reload,
"But yes... some ignorance still interprets them as motorized."
AMEN Brother! I do think state and federal bureaucrats who make the regulations need to be educated about e-bikes.

At least make an exception for seniors 65 or older and physically TRUE handicapped.

Eric B.

 

[26Reload]

I couldn't agree more about the physically handicapped and hunting transportation and road accessibility....
If the person you are taking hunting is restricted to a vehicle meaning less than 50 feet of travel on feet from vehicle to shoot...that person should have way more allowances to shoot from a road in the woods than others....some handicapped people can't even handle the ride up the mountain to hunt...this is where things get ridiculous....the other hunters with full abilities have as much right to ride their ATV as far as any handicapped person...yet at the end of most roads there isnt much for a handicapped person to do other than sit and wait...forever...to see if something may show itself......
So last time I approached the BLM in Soda Spring ID they didn't like what i had to say.....
There's a certain perfect gravel road that is closed by a gate...at the end of a rough road to get there....their reason to keep it closed is limited traffic...fair enough.....but shouldn't a handicapped person be allowed to access that area to road hunt....its a thru road...but their explanation is that that area is closed to allow calving to occur....calving...in October & November.......extremely intelligent idea...and the wolves also know the area is closed to access during calving season.......
Did I say idiots......let me say it one more time........friggin idiots.....
Ebikers are not stopped at that gate that I am aware of....as a lot of the cascades in Oregon bounce back and forth as to what is open to rebikes......

 

[Wheeler co]

Just found this site. 100% disabled vet from Vietnam Nam era. After my trouble walking this season, I had to seriously think about giving it up, but when I got home I researched the internet. Now, an e-bike wouldn't work for me because I'm too unsteady, but how about an e-trike? Think I found the best one presently out there...and ordered it. When I get it, we'll see if I can get a few more years in doing the thing I love most in life (beside my family). I think there are more "geezers" like me looking for a few more years in the woods. I like to hunt a place that is closed to motorized vehicles. I've worked hard, payed my taxes, and led a good life. My choice is to stop buying license and tags, sell my gear, and wait to die...or I can protest how things are, buy this e-trike, and go hunting till I'm caught. What would you do?