MCPHEDRANb10
Member
Been thinking about getting into them, are they worth it ?
Thinking about it.
- Thread starter MCPHEDRANb10
- Start date
FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
To me, no. I see that you live in Missoula. When they close and lock a gate for hunting season in MT, it turns the road behind the gate into a "non-motorized" trail. Pedal bikes, horses, foot travel are all legal, e-bikes (motorized) are not. There's different ways folks view if they're legal or not. Spending $5-6k on a bike I can't use for hunting…when I bought it for hunting, doesn't interest me.
Can you get away with using one behind a locked gate? Sure…until there's a FS LEO or a warden at your truck when you return. They may give you a warning or a ticket. It's up to you. Depending on where you hunt, folks may turn you in as well. Think the Rattlesnake drainage.
Here's the setup I'm rock'n instead:
That's a great setup! I have the same, except with a bob trailer. In Idaho all "non-motorized" trails/roads are closed to all motors, whether electric or gas. And is is mind boggling how many hunters cannot accept that….
FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
This will be the first year on this setup. There are other guys that use bikes in my hunt area and I've been dying to give it a shot. I'll put this setup to good use this year.
Nice! I started hunting off my fat bike @ 15 years ago. I've been a cyclist for all of my adult life, so it was a natural attraction to use the bike to get further out. Looks like you got yourself a nice bike. Is that a Specialized frame? Looks like you have carbon rims too, which are great! If you want to venture a little ways into the rabbit hole of lightening it up even more (without breaking the bank), you could get some "fatty rim strippers" and use them with sealant (Orange Seal or Stan's) and go tubeless, which will drop nearly a pound of rotational weight from each wheel. You'll also need tubeless valve stems for your rims. There's YouTube videos on the setup process, or a local bike shop should be able to handle it. Have fun on that thing!!
FireFlyFishing
Well-Known Member
It is a Specialized Fatboy, carbon. It's a nice bike. Components aren't top of the line, but for this bike, they do what is needed. Rims are aluminum. It would be nice to get a new fancy wheel set…I just don't know if I need it for what I'm doing. If any money is getting spent on bikes right now, it will be on a new Yeti trail bike…which means big bucks…
I'm looking to get a set of panniers Burley sells for the trailer that will store a light tool kit. I'll probably throw a pump and an extra tube in there. I run tube less on my enduro and trail bikes…I haven't gotten there with my fat bike. I just haven't needed it…yet.
There's a couple of things I'm really excited to try this year with this setup.
1. If I shoot an animal in the right area, I'll be able to haul it out with the trailer.
2. I can carry more gear for a day or two spike camp.
3. If I'm day hunting, I can stay out later and have a quick ride to camp in the dark with lights.
4. Overall, where I hunt, this will save my legs as I can run a shuttle and coast mostly downhill with the bike.
I'm looking forward to trying out the setup this spring bear hunting. I'll be hunting in the same area. Hopefully, knock out all the kinks prior to general big game season.
I've heard the BOB trailer has been the standard for bike packing for a long time. How do you like it?
Gotcha. They looked like carbon rims in the photo. Carbon rims are $$$$, and probably not worth it for a hunting application, especially if you're getting a new Yeti MTB!!
The bob trailer works well. It's pretty clutch for single track. That said, most of my riding for hunting is done on closed FS roads. The bob trailer does get a little squirrely when you stop and "park" the bike. The bike will stay upright if you have enough weight in the trailer and jack knife the trailer to the left (non-drive) side of the bike. If the trailer isn't heavy enough then the whole thing just lays down. Here's a pic of it "parked" with a rear quarter in the trailer.
I run a frame bag and I have an old man mountain rack on the back with panniers from Revelate Designs. The panniers are great for taking layers on/off while you're riding up/in. Much easier than trying to get them into my pack, which is all tucked in on the trailer.
One thing I would suggest is a mountain feedbag or two from Revelate. They mount on your handlebar on either side of your stem. I put my cup of coffee in one for my ride up and then a bottle of water in the other so that I don't have to access my pack. Having a sip of coffee when I stop is really nice on the predawn ride up!
And for late season hunts a light pair of pogies on your handlebars is nice. I think there is a neoprene set of them called Bar Mitts that are pretty inexpesnive. They allow you to wear thin or no gloves and have warm hands while not sweating out your heavier hunting gloves.
Good luck with it this spring! There's definitely some kinks and nuances to learn and work through, but for me it is my favorite way to hunt. If you have any other questions going forward, feel free to reach out. Like I said, I've been doing it for a while and I spend a lot of time on bikes for fun, hunting, bikepacking, etc.
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My apologies for hijacking the OP's thread. @FireFlyFishing got me all excited about his setup. My advice would be go for it! Electric or human powered, hunting off two wheels is great IMO! My word of caution would be to figure out the maintenance part beforehand. There are numerous new companies popping up selling e bikes that have no history of making bikes. And a lot of local bike shops don't want to touch them. So, maybe give that some thought ahead of time. All bikes require maintenance, so knowing how to fix/repair brake or shifting issues is important for longevity.
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Paulyester
Active Member
I built an ebike I call The Tractor that is super low geared and gets me any where. I honestly use it to travel the roads I would normally drive my truck on and you would be amazed how often I've come around the corner and seen a herd of elk right in the road that probably would have disappeared had I been in an ATV, truck, etc. That and you can traverse rough ground so much quicker.
