Electric Fat Bikes

[IDLassie]

Looks like Idaho Forest Service has outlawed E-bikes on trails that only allow regular bicycles. Considered motorized.

 

[SHTF]

Has anyone used a fat bike, electric or pedal, in a cut corn field? Couple of my stands here in Midwest are close to to mike walk in muddy, clay fairly loose land.

Haven’t ridden through a corn field yet but my electric fat bike takes me anywhere I want to go.

Setup for around town in that picture with 29 inch street tires but I also have tubeless 27.5 carbon wheels I keep my trail tires on.

Easy swap out.

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[sneaky]

Has anyone used a fat bike, electric or pedal, in a cut corn field? Couple of my stands here in Midwest are close to to mike walk in muddy, clay fairly loose land.

I know my buddy has, and standing beans with tractor ruts too lol. He was hauling butt across one and hit the ruts lol.

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[missjordan]

Love my fat bike from Rad Power Bikes. If your looking at a more affordable option this is the way to go. It’s a rear drive but still is very impressive. Modified the Quiet Kat trailer to fit on the back to haul gear.

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[SHTF]

Love my fat bike from Rad Power Bikes. If your looking at a more affordable option this is the way to go. It’s a rear drive but still is very impressive. Modified the Quiet Kat trailer to fit on the back to haul gear.

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Yeah I just picked up the Burley Coho single Wheel Trailer for mine. REI sale and I couldn't pass it up. Looking forward to using it this year.

 

[nrh6.7]

FYI, QuietKat is giving away a free Rover 750 ebike. Here's the link to enter if anyone is interested.

Enter To Win >> QuietKat

 

[mtnbiker208]

if you are looking into an ebike. look at the bike companies first and the pop up ones second. ie giant, specialized, felt, scott all are bike companines with ebikes. when looking at the cost, the emotor is a big one. the other parts to the cost are the components, do you want to stop? good brakes are very important. especially with a load going down hill. when it comes to bikes, you get what you pay for.


i am not an ebike guy, but remeber motors are motors, it doesn't matter if internal combustion or battery, they are still considered motorized.

 

[MuleyFever]

Looks like Rad has a pretty good sale going on.

 

[Titan_Bow]

Has anyone used a fat bike, electric or pedal, in a cut corn field? Couple of my stands here in Midwest are close to to mike walk in muddy, clay fairly loose land.

I’ve used mine quite a bit in eastern Colorado and western Nebraska. Mines not an ebike and it’s not quite a fat bike.. 27.5” by 3.0” tires. One thing you’ll definitely want to do is set up a fat bike or plus bike for tubeless. Otherwise you’ll be fighting flat tires constantly. With big tires though,, you’ll be really impressed with what you can just roll right over with no issues at all. I also tow a little trailer, it’s a good way to get a mile back into a spot for turkeys or deer. I’ve taken it to Montana on spring bear hunt too, getting ten miles back on a closed logging road was a cake walk. However, it seems moose don’t like them very much!! If you are in moose or griz country you got to have your head on a swivel for sure!!!


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[sneaky]

I’ve used mine quite a bit in eastern Colorado and western Nebraska. Mines not an ebike and it’s not quite a fat bike.. 27.5” by 3.0” tires. One thing you’ll definitely want to do is set up a fat bike or plus bike for tubeless. Otherwise you’ll be fighting flat tires constantly. With big tires though,, you’ll be really impressed with what you can just roll right over with no issues at all. I also tow a little trailer, it’s a good way to get a mile back into a spot for turkeys or deer. I’ve taken it to Montana on spring bear hunt too, getting ten miles back on a closed logging road was a cake walk. However, it seems moose don’t like them very much!! If you are in moose or griz country you got to have your head on a swivel for sure!!!


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If you are in moose or grizz country your head better already be on a swivel lol.

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[wapitibob]

I'm liking that trailer. With a dual drop down stand like for motorcycles you could have a solid platform for loading or just letting it sit with gear. I modified a Burley 2 seater and it's noisy as heck.

 

[Shraggs]

Thanks for the feedback on fat bikes in cut corn fields. In Ohio hunting now, one field is quite broken from stalks partially knocked over from combine harvest creating a loose top. Coupled with all the rain got to be careful just walking in it. Don't have an atv, want one of course - but the cost, transport, etc makes this seem like a good option. Trailer looks sweet!

I bet you could park these close to a stand near bushes and weed and animals may not notice it...

John

 

[SHTF]

I'm liking that trailer. With a dual drop down stand like for motorcycles you could have a solid platform for loading or just letting it sit with gear. I modified a Burley 2 seater and it's noisy as heck.

that is the Burley Trailer I just got has the double kickstand it holds the bike up just fine. Works even better with weight in the trailer.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

I dunno about you guys but when I wolf down a MH breakfast at 3;30am, take my morning constitution in the dark, start hiking at 4am and arrive at my public hunting area at graylight only to have some jackass tear up a closed road on his quad or motorcycle near me, I'm friggin' livid!

Think about it...how many yahoos on e-bikes do you want racing past you on the trail to your honey hole? Next thing ya know your happy hunting grounds are filled with photographers, picnickers, cache seekers and druggies looking for a remote place to get high and skinnydip.

About ten years ago this happened to me exactly. My dad, a buddy, and I were all walking down a closed road calling for elk. I had two answers. I hear a boom and the elk stop. I turn around and there is a bull and a couple cows within 50 yards. Just as I am about to pull the trigger, my scope goes black. Two guys on two four wheelers pull up. They say they shot a rag bull and are going down to get it. Long story and not so nice words the guys turned around. We called them in. Haven’t been back to that area since.

Back to the topic. I am tagging to keep track as I am looking at an ebjke.

 

[jbhbill]

I have a Rambo and my GF has a RAD Rover. If I had it to do over again I'd go with the RAD. Four main reasons - The RAD has a 14ah battery where my Rambo 750 (actually 749 to comply with federal and state laws on non-motorized for Class 1 and 2) while the Rambo has 10.5 ah. The RAD has about 2" higher pedal ground clearance than the Rambo. The RAD has front shocks where the Rambo doesn't. And it costs $1,000 less. They are amazing tools. We take ours into places where no other vehicle can go because we can easily lift them over or pick our way around deadfall and negotiate over and around rocks. Both will literally climb up or navigate down a rocky chute if the rider is good enough. There is definitely a learning curve in how to ride them safely in rough terrain and how to manage the battery (shut it off on downhill, or drop the assist to 0). We keep our tire pressure at 10 psi which makes for a very forgiving ride.

As far as legality, Colorado law declared them as non-motorized and the CPW does not have a policy currently on state land. I spoke with the head of the trails division for CPW and he said he believes they should be legal wherever regular bikes are allowed. Same answer from the USFS Regional Trails supervisor. He said he is all for them because they keep people out riding who otherwise wouldn't because of age or injuries, because they are "green", quiet, and do no more resource damage than any other MTB. He said the USFS is reviewing the policy and running some pilot programs now where they are allowed. He believes it's only a matter of time until the TMR is revised, but the federal bureaucracy moves slowly. He also told me he doesn't know of any citations being written on USFS trails. The county where I live has some huge foothills open space areas allowing horse, foot, or bicycle, and they are legal there. They are growing in popularity and are here to stay. My GF remarked the other day that if ATVs and motorcycles were outlawed but e-bikes were allowed, the mountains would be a much better place.

Ok, I'm 64 with a metal hip and a bad knee and still bowhunt big game solo for 70+ days a year. I've gotten grief from people who think riding an e-bike is cheating", but who have no problem hiring someone to pack them in and out on horseback. That smacks of just a little hypocrisy. So far all my riding has been either on private land in the mountains or on USFS trails open to motorized vehicles but impassable to ATVs and motorcycles due to deadfall patches that the USFS doesn't clear. But come hunting season I don't think I'd have any qualms about riding in on a closed USFS road open to regular bikes. USFS TMR policy is not law", but rather arbitrary rules enacted by unelected bureaucrats that can be changed at any time, for any reason. My GF is a lawyer and would love to test the TMR rule in court, as do several other e-bike riding attorneys I know.

You're giving me hope. I just flipped 61 and the Rockys are taller than they used to me. I bow hunt elk every Sept but it seems the last few years I've been spending more time just getting to the place where I want to start hunting. I've been looking at the Rad and was wondering it the hub motor could take the grade out there, sounds like it can. If I can use one to help cover the 2+ miles of trail to the Wilderness area, that would be great.
I live in Vermont and there are plenty of trails to train on but I don't want to buy a bike and find out it can't cut it on a good climb.

 

[missjordan]

You're giving me hope. I just flipped 61 and the Rockys are taller than they used to me. I bow hunt elk every Sept but it seems the last few years I've been spending more time just getting to the place where I want to start hunting. I've been looking at the Rad and was wondering it the hub motor could take the grade out there, sounds like it can. If I can use one to help cover the 2+ miles of trail to the Wilderness area, that would be great.
I live in Vermont and there are plenty of trails to train on but I don't want to buy a bike and find out it can't cut it on a good climb.

It’s realistic to think that a class I ebikes can climb 10%-12% grades with little to some effort from the rider. They are not dirt bikes and won’t power over rocky terrain or downfall without a lot of effort from the rider or honestly jumping off the bike and pulling it over the obstacle. Anything super steep they just don’t have the juice for that. My Rad Rover will do about 80% of the places i want to ride and if i need to finagle it over something than i do. I get about 7-17 miles on an average charge depending on how hilly the terrain is and don’t even feel the need to invest in an extra battery


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[mattferg84]

I won a $500 gift card off an ebike - I wont use it since I cant afford one. If anyone is interested send me a PM and maybe we can work something out.

 

[Mike098777]

Big money but would be super cool.

 

[Craw3773]

What about the modern version of a mini trail?

 

[Gobbler36]

Thx guys, the areas I am reviewing allow travel, its just that some of it is restricted during certain seasons to 50" wide or less. My Ranger is wider. I never understood why that rule was implemented, even here in Utah, when so many already had these vehicles. The Razors were just hitting the market, and it was weird to say the least. My vehicle is like 54". Seriously what is 4" more into a law.
lol

I just don't want to drop the $$ on another side by side that in my opinion is less efficient in hunting. I can throw a whole spike elk in the back of my ranger, with my bow, and other stuff, the razors are too small.

I saw some negative reviews on the off brands and have steered away from them. I noticed Rambo and Specialized, but will review and check out the others as well- thx.

if you were gonna spend that much on an ebike id just look at a used honda 230 and pick one up for around 2 to 3k and you dont have to do any peddaling