Looking for help with ebike purchase

[Swift]

Looking for info about ebikes from people that have been using them for hunting! Pros/Cons inside tips

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

I built one in 2017 from a BBSHD Kit on Lunacycle. I did it from the ground up and really like it. I used a Surly Wednesday frame as my base and then got all the components. Back then the options were limited on E- Bikes. Mine has a 17ampHr battery and is 52v. It is a lot of fun and towing my BOB trailer in the local mountains will get me about 20 miles round trip with minimal peddling. I could stretch that out if I used the peddle assist by it sure is easy to push the throttle and go. There are a lot of companies making them now. Using a trailer to haul an animal out is the only way to go in my opinion.

 

[Hootsma]

I bought an e-bike for a hunting club I was a apart of. It was a game changer for me. No more being drenched in sweat by the time I climbed my tree in the middle of winter and then proceed to freeze until the sun was well up in the sky.

Those little motors have unbelievable torque. I’m north of 200 lbs plus my hunting gear/stand at 30-40 lbs, depending on weather, and then a cart with a 100-175 lb deer in it wasn’t a problem. Granted, we don’t have steep hills/mountains in west TN, but gearing can help with that.

My biggest con was the derailleur. My first excursion occurred after a heavy rain. The logging roads of the club became gumbo clay and were extremely difficult to navigate even with the fat tires on my e-bike. So, I stuck to the shoulder of the road, which was choked with weeds. The mud and weeds combined and wrapped around the rear cassette and derailleur and promptly snatched the derailleur from its moorings. As a former bike mechanic, I was able to take some links out of the chain and direct drive it to the cassette and continue on my way, but it wasn’t ideal.

The manufacturer warranted the derailleur and I put the new one on. However, after cruising part way through a slightly overgrown cow pasture I noticed grasses building up on the cassette and derailleur. I stopped and cleaned it off. I had to do that several more times until I got to my ultimate destination, which was probably a half mile or so. Im sure if I didn’t stop, I would have shredded another derailleur.

I alleviated this issue by having a new rim laced up with an internal derailleur. I went from a 7 speed to a 3 speed. There are 7+ speed internal derailleurs available, but they’re pretty pricy. I only lost a couple mph on the top end (25 down to 23 mph), but I picked up gearing on the low end.

I don’t ride it much anymore because I haven’t joined that hunting club in a couple of years. But I do break it out a couple of times a year, and it always brings a smile to my face to whip around the neighborhood on that thing.

We had an unusually heavy snow this past winter here in west TN and I broke it out and pulled my wife, son and neighbor around the neighborhood on skis in the dark about 10:00 at night. We had a blast!…until I got a little overzealous with the speed and out drove my traction. Ended up cornering too hard and wiped out. Bent a pedal and severely bruised my hip. I was black, blue, yellow and green from my waist down to my knee on my right side. The coloring faded to normal after a month or so, but the hip is still a bit tender, even to this day and this was back in February.

E-bikes are great for hunting if they’re allowed in your area, so check that out first before spending a bunch of money. Depending on your conditions, a fat tire e-bike will probably be the most versatile. And I highly recommend a bike with an internal derailleur if you going to be on anything with tall enough vegetation.

I hope this helped. More specific questions or a general idea of your intended use and terrain might get you better information.

 

[Swift]

Thank you guys I've been talking with Ryan at Bakcou bikes and think I'm just going to pull the trigger ! any reason not ?

 

[WRM]

I have a fat bike to use in some of our no motor vehicle areas. Right now, they allow "pedal assist" only, but that rule was made in the early e-bike days before tech advanced to a point where pedal assist is basically meaningless. Then, they started checking to see if it "had a lever". There's ways around that, tho. So now the regulators on the area I hunt are pretty pissed about the abuses of the rule and are contemplating making it human pedal power only. Make sure you can use what you are buying where you want to use it, and never assume it will remain "legal gear".

 

[DRUSS]

Tagging in here. What kind of options does a guy look for on these? Specific things to stay away from?

 

[mtnbiker208]

forest service considers ebikes as motorized and they are.
i have a mountain bike ebike, great fun, but no denying there is a motor there.
the "hunting" ebikes are cheap bikes with a motor.
my mountain bike ebike is a decent bike with a motor.
none are inexpensive
I will be on my normal bike for hunting next week.

 

[TheTone]

I think a bunch of them come off the same Chinese assembly line and then just get individual company stickers put on them. I’ve rode them from legit mtn bike companies and also some of them made by the hunter focused companies. There was no comparison in quality

 

[tdhanses]

I’d buy a good quality mountain bike for $1k-$1.5k and then convert it, these e bikes are all made in China and once you remove the motor and battery the bike is a sub $500 bike usually, I cant beleive people are paying $4k+ for what they get.

You get such a better overall bike for less when you convert your own quality bike.

I have a Trek Roscoe 6 I’m going to convert one of these years.

 

[Iron pig]

IM With @tdhanses, Looking at Major Retailers focusing on the hunting/Backcountry type fat e-bikes, I think you can have a lot more for around 1/2 the cost.

Looking at Full downhill Bikes, 26" Wheel with a 2.5-2.7 tire size is plenty big enough i would think. You get true HD front suspension w/Triple tree, Heavier Fork Build, Heavier fully adjustable Rear coil shock etc. Only problem i would see with Heavy Downhill frames is the geometry, Not meant for pedaling on flat, or uphill, But for a hunting bike, You could offset the Seat Post to correct, and Move the bars forward etc.

Also, Bafang Makes Motors, (Mixed Reviews), But Lift MTB and Master EGO make far superior e-bike Kits. Iplan on going Lift MTB. Not cheap though? Thinking around $1-1.5K for Bike and same for Kit and Battery. but you would have a truly HD e-bike.

(believe BakCou, Rambo and QK all use BAfang Mid drive. I would stay away from Hub Drive Motor/Motor Kits, from research/Reviews)

I plan on converting a downhill and Building a Bike trailer this winter, Will post when i have it under Power.

IP

 

[SneakyThunderCat]

Rambo cruisers are on sale. Buy one, throw a BBSHD motor on it, and you have a 1000w bike for about $2200. Plug and play except for the speed sensor.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[tdhanses]

Rambo cruisers are on sale. Buy one, throw a BBSHD motor on it, and you have a 1000w bike for about $2200. Plug and play except for the speed sensor.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Or buy a Trek, throw in a BBSHD and battery kit and you’ll have an even better bike for $2k or less.

 

[txhunter581]

The big choice you have to make is “hub drive” vs “mid drive”

A hub drive motor is at the rear wheel hub. Mid drive motor is under the pedals. Mid drive is better for climbing mountains and is more expensive.

I got 750 watt because that seems powerful enough and that is what is legal on BLM and national parks. Above that may not be legal.

before you pull the trigger check with John at ebikegenerations. He has multiple brands and won’t steer you wrong.

 

[Patriot2]

Interesting that one can convert a conventional bike. I have a full suspension Trek mt bike I was considering selling - may be I will just convert it. Thanks!!!