E-BIKES - the way to hunt in the west

[Litehiker]

A "budget bike" for sure.

 

[Moondoggie]

After an unsuccessful Nevada antelope hunt on foot I'm convinced that to properly cover the big distances here in the west a hunter needs to be "motorized". I saw ALL other hunters on ATVs, (many of them physically unfit to hunt on foot).

I now feel the answer, for me at last, is an electric mountain bike, specifically a 2-wheel drive E-Cell Super Monarch Crown bike. I will probably buy the camo version but it also comes in bright orange. You also may want to look at the 3-wheel, rear wheel drive RUNGU. It is a strange looking bike, having two front wheels, but very capable.

The E-Cell bike has two batteries, one for each motor. It is amazingly good at climbing steep hills. So yeah, re-charging these two batteries could pose a problem. My solution will be Honda's smallest gas generator that can easily handle that task with a full tank of gas and another 2 1/2 gallon can, depending on the duration of the hunt. In mountains I expect it to have a minimum range of 20 miles, plenty for two days of hunting before re-charging.

A fat-tired mountain e-bike is easy to carry on a trailer hitch rack like the excellent One-Up. No pickup bed or trailer needed so my compact SUV, a MAZDA CX-5, can easily handle it.

With an e-mountain bike you can get quietly closer to the game and won't scare it away for other hunters. It os less expensive than an ATV and can haul a bone-out elk and you and your gear back to camp. Plus it pollutes far less than an ATV and is kinder to the land - and your wallet.

Among our fleet of atv, utv, etc is a club car onward lifted lithium-ion. Stealth machine! My wife can ride for 20 minutes and discharge 50% battery, and I can ride for 1 hour and discharge 20%, maybe. Point being if you baby the battery, whether it is e-bike or whatever, you can go a lot further.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Yes, absolutely. This is why I don't push my way on people. I rely on that fact, and that I can get as far away from them as possible to have the best personal experience.

df: there was nothing in the OP that was "pushing bikes" on other people. He was simply stating that he has found a nice alternative way to cover a lot of ground at his age.

 

[FEENIX]

I agree that hunting in the traditional sense means hunting on foot, which is what I've been doing all my life. But Nevada ain't Pennsylvania, my home state.
In the past I have backpack hunted in Nevada's Jarbidge Wilderness area and in Lamoille canyon. I did that in my 60s and also backpacked the Grand Canyon, North Rim to South Rim, at age 74 with Len Backus who was 71 at the time.

BUT... now that I live in Nevada I see a great need for motorized transport while in the backcountry in order to cover the necessary ground to find game AND compete with all the guys on ATVs. For me e-bikes seem the best way to do that. And let's face it, 99% of those guys on ATVs return each evening to their base "camp" which is usually a camping trailer of motorhome. Tent camping they ain't.

I commend you for continuing to be out in the field, enjoying your passion. I can only wish I could do the same when I get your age. If it is legal and you can safely do so, I say go for it, and good on you. Good luck and happy, safe hunting.

Ed

 

[338 dude]

https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/elips/documents/so_3376_-_increasing_recreational_opportunities_through_the_use_of_electric_bikes_-508_0.pdf

 

[Litehiker]

This was a good order and it is helping seniors and partially disabled people to get into the back country.

The mountains around the Las Vegas valley where I live (Henderson, actually) thankfully have many trails built for foot and bike travel. Henderson in particular had a wise city council that made good decisions regarding building an entire trail system. It is where I hike to train for backpacking and skiing. Just getting out there is therapeutic.
During this summer heat I train on our treadmill at an incline wearing hiking boots and a 30 lb. pack. I've probably seen every d@mn Star Trek episode in every series ever made while on that treadmill - and most Star Gate episodes too.

 

[dfanonymous]

df: there was nothing in the OP that was "pushing bikes" on other people. He was simply stating that he has found a nice alternative way to cover a lot of ground at his age.

I never said there was. You're reading into something that isn't there.

I said I don't push MY way on people. The closer to roads people stay, the better for me.

 

[Litehiker]

df,
Your comment on people staying closer to roads brings up an interesting point regarding E-mountain bikes. They are fully capable of going off road. SO... should E-bikes go on game trails? Foot trails? I say yes to foot trails but no to game trails. Most states laws agree with that.
I agree that NO vehicle should go cross country (Horses are not vehicles. They can go anywhere their riders can handle.;o)

 

[dfanonymous]

df,
Your comment on people staying closer to roads brings up an interesting point regarding E-mountain bikes. They are fully capable of going off road. SO... should E-bikes go on game trails? Foot trails? I say yes to foot trails but no to game trails. Most states laws agree with that.
I agree that NO vehicle should go cross country (Horses are not vehicles. They can go anywhere their riders can handle.;o)

It doesn't bother me to see an ebike on foot trails. Laws aside. However, depends on the land type. I don't think you can used any vehicle like thing in wildernesses, for example.

Though my whole initial point was, there's no way ebikes are going "off-road." Off-road in 4x4 talk means off pavement. In real 4x4 talk, it means a rated 4x4 trail. I'm not talking about dirt roads or bike paths at all either way.

In hunt talk, it means, off the road. Like there IS NO path. No humans.
For these bikes, it's too thick. There's water crossings that involve bolder hopping. There is long distances. There are long elevation gains. It's rained on me for a week in mid August while hitting triple digits. It's rocky. It's cliffed. I have 60 lbs of gear or more when bivy hunting on expedition.

I start to lose other hunters about 3 miles away from any road (4x4) or trail (like the PCT). I end up so far away because there's not always water, food or cover for animals. You use your glass to cover more distance. There's the western pro tip.

What you did in Nevada is just one experience. I understand how Antelope/pronghorn hunting can be. Again, I'm only respectfully attacking the wording used in the OP, that to cover big distance, you need a ebike. I understand your age, and I understand that in THAT particular hunt, that you think it would have been useful to have a ebike.

Here's last week for example.

Notice the valley. It's not a path, it's flowing water. No where is a human for miles, and this was just a over night hunt. This is a wilderness area.

Yes. Pack mules, horses, donkeys, and llamas can go cross country. People use them to do difficult loop trails as well.

 

[Litehiker]

I glassed and ranged with my Bushnell 10 x 42 range finding binoculars so many hours each hunt day that I hope I don't see them again for another 6 months (or until I hunt coyote in January, February).

 

[cornshank]

After an unsuccessful Nevada antelope hunt on foot I'm convinced that to properly cover the big distances here in the west a hunter needs to be "motorized". I saw ALL other hunters on ATVs, (many of them physically unfit to hunt on foot).

I now feel the answer, for me at last, is an electric mountain bike, specifically a 2-wheel drive E-Cell Super Monarch Crown bike. I will probably buy the camo version but it also comes in bright orange. You also may want to look at the 3-wheel, rear wheel drive RUNGU. It is a strange looking bike, having two front wheels, but very capable.

The E-Cell bike has two batteries, one for each motor. It is amazingly good at climbing steep hills. So yeah, re-charging these two batteries could pose a problem. My solution will be Honda's smallest gas generator that can easily handle that task with a full tank of gas and another 2 1/2 gallon can, depending on the duration of the hunt. In mountains I expect it to have a minimum range of 20 miles, plenty for two days of hunting before re-charging.

A fat-tired mountain e-bike is easy to carry on a trailer hitch rack like the excellent One-Up. No pickup bed or trailer needed so my compact SUV, a MAZDA CX-5, can easily handle it.

With an e-mountain bike you can get quietly closer to the game and won't scare it away for other hunters. It os less expensive than an ATV and can haul a bone-out elk and you and your gear back to camp. Plus it pollutes far less than an ATV and is kinder to the land - and your wallet.

I agree with the use of e-bikes , especially for us older guys who want to cover more ground but are unable to without something.
So I posed the question for our group to the rancher and I explained all the benefits , and low and behold ,
He said no?
I was very surprised as were our whole group , ( we had all our intended To buy e-bikes)
The ranchers reasons were
1. I don't want you guys moving around to much .
2. My son tried one , and told me they were real fast , so I don't want anyone getting hurt.

Most of the area we hunt is to steep for e-bikes , we only wanted to get to some jump off points that we always walk ,
And save our legs a little.

So no e-bikes for us at this location .

 

[schmalts]

I used an E-bike in Colorado 2 years ago. I got in anywhere from 3-10 miles one way each day on 2 track roads and then stashed the bike and took off on foot. Shot a 300 class bull and I mean it when I say without the bike I would have lost half the meat. The mid drive motor bikes cost more but the control and torque sensing is MUCH more precise on those systems over a hub drive.

 

[Litehiker]

UPDATE: Yes, I will always wear my bike or skiing helmet. Depends on the temperature.
BIKE CHARGING SYSTEM:
1.) BLUETTI AC200 MAX lithium iron phosphate battery (1,000s more charge cycles than lithium ion batteries.)
2.) Off Grid TREK foldable solar "blanket" (at 220 watts it will keep the BLUETTI charged even while it is running a 55 watt cooler all day.)

Those two items add up to around $3,000. but can keep my appliances at home running during a blackout. That's the story I'm telling my wife...

The TREK solar blanket gets laid on my SUV's roof and windshield and cable locked to the roof racks. The power cord goes into my trunk and in the BLUETTI battery. When I return to camp at day's end I'll charge my bike's two batteries from the BLUETTI. The bike has a patented single charge port for simultaneously charging the batteries.
The thought of transporting gas in my roof pod for a Honda generator was why I went with a solar blanket and battery. Yeah a spendy rig but I'm not leaving money to my daughters. Those women are both attorneys and have their own money. ;o) Same with buying rifles, scopes, guised hunts and KUIU hunting clothes.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Now if y'all had a good woman with strong legs, she would carry you from stand to stand with your Grear. NO NEED for "E" Bikes" and quiet.