Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Back country bikers!?

Folks have been using bikes to reach remote public land. Now that "e-bikes" have become a "thang", folks have decided the "No Motorized Vehicles" doesn't apply to "e-bikes".
Even with rough trails, an e-bike can get a hunter even further back into the boonies.
Any of you guys use bikes to more easily access public property?


https://www.eastidahonews.com/2023/...ic-lands-apply-to-e-bikes-officials-say/

They can certainly serve a useful purpose on some trails, but on more technical trails with a full load up hunting equipment, they may not work as well as some wish. I ride my mountain bike on a lot of trails out west when I go there, and an ebike is not a magic wand for them. When you get an animal way back in the boonies, what do you do with it?

In Idaho, ebikes are motorized vehicles per the BLM, forest svc, and Fish and Game

I'm only guessing, but you may be able to load enough on a bike to make rolling out a huge percentage of your kill easier than a pack frame.
Going back to get the remainder with a bare packframe and minus any load would HAVE to be easier! 🤷‍♂️

But, then, what do I know!

My biggest drawback with a bike, electric or not, is meeting or passing a packstring.
My luck, the biker would be an a-hole and not understand - or care - that ALL animals don't care for mechanical contraptions and insist on passing before you can find an appropriate place to clear the trail....or they refuse to clear the trail themselves! 😖

On roads like this, an ebike with a trailer could really help, but they are also accessible by motor vehicle.



This is the best part of this trail. It is highly technical in places, requiring a dismount. Were I heavily laden, even on an ebike, much of it would have been impassible. Going down a 15% grade on a smooth single track trail with a trailer and load that weighs 80 pounds ain't gonna happen. Throw in roots, rocks and ruts. A lot of people see ebikes changing the face of western hunting. I think they will largely be a non-factor.

That 'trail' is as good as our I-84.

That is awesome. Where can we buy tickets for that show?

If there is one thing I've learned over the past 73 years is, "NEVER SAY NEVER"!
Just about the time you say, "Nobody can.....!", some dingleberry will prove you wrong.

One thing to consider

There’s a canyon in an area we sometimes hunt that almost has a trail from a road on the east to another on the west. It’s 10 miles of country not accessible by motorized vehicles.

We thought it would be awesome to drop a truck off at the west end, drive to the east end and hunt the 10 miles from our mountain bikes.

It was great until it rained and snowed.

Bikes were unrideable in the mud and the wheels packed up quickly.

It’s no fun carrying your bike along with your hunting gear while your boots are 2” higher and weigh 5 pounds each for 5 miles

Only used human powered bikes and never e-bikes. I hate them as the seats hurt my rear something terrible. If I had my way I'd love to travel via an Norweign fjord horse or any or the smaller drafts and from there go on foot. Beside this many of the areas I go to don't even allow any human powered bikes or mechanical devices, and there's little game there anyway.

Generally speaking, in lots of places where no motorized vehicles are allowed (designated wilderness) bicycles of any kind are banned.

I knew a guy about 25 years ago that took a bike back to his bow stand. It was on public land and no motorized vehicles were allowed. If he got a deer he would put the deer's frond legs over the handle bars and set the back of the deer over the seat and push it out. He said it beat dragging out the deer. I never saw him actually do it so can't comment on how well it worked.

For a closed logging road or good trail, I'm thinkin' they could be great. But I don't even like bikes on technical or rocky trails. Not worth it. Here in AZ extreme rocks are often the determining factor for bikes. Other places, swamp could be.

Also, I don't know if an ebike is "motorized" in AZ.

Bike shorts under your pants. Without them, I'd be very limited.

https://uncrate.com/motoped-survival-bike/

The ultimate backcountry/hunting/bug out bike…

That just adds to the fun, doesn't it?