E-Bike

[david k.]

What bike do you have?

My brother is a design engineer and built two of them for me and him...he started with a bare fat bike frame from Bikes Direct and then he bought (or fabricated) each individual component and put them all together.

He made this video when he finished them:


Here is a video he made showing how the deer stand rack works:


I just looked at the Rambo website and these bikes would be pretty similar to the Rambo Prowler I think in power and features.

 

[Antler Daddy]

My brother is a design engineer and built two of them for me and him...he started with a bare fat bike frame from Bikes Direct and then he bought (or fabricated) each individual component and put them all together.

He made this video when he finished them:



I just looked at the Rambo website and they'd be most like the Rambo Prowler.

Yeah, I met your brother a couple of months ago. Smart guy. He also definitely knows how to score deer.

How much do y'all have in each of those builds?

 

[david k.]

Yeah, he said he'd met a guy from TN Deer....do you live in ATL and /or do I know you?

He built them about 4 years ago and I want to say it was just under $2500 each. We also saved a good bit on batteries because he also built the battery packs (52v / 17Ah) from scratch. He was able to get individual Li-Ion 18650 cells that had been very lightly used at his job for free so he wired them all up for us...2 complete battery packs each.

 

[david k.]

Yeah, I met your brother a couple of months ago. Smart guy. He also definitely knows how to score deer.

How much do y'all have in each of those builds?

Oh and he's also the luckiest deer hunter who has ever stepped foot in the woods......

Even when I try to "gar hole" him, he shoots big bucks.

 

[Andy S.]

^^^^ True statement. Mature bucks love him.

 

[tellico4x4]

Dang guys, y'all have me just about ready to pull the trigger. Believe one would be great out West hunting in plains or high desert. Already have Rhino, Ranger, old CJ7 & two 4wd trucks, what's one more hunting vehicle? With 3 grandsons who hunt, sometimes its hard to have two vehicles that are running! Maybe they'd steer clear of the old man's bicycle

 

[Tanelson43]

I have a mountain bike I converted to an ebike. I bought the bafang conversion kit off of Amazon. It is 48v and 750 watts. I think you can buy the same exact kit now for $750. There are tons of YouTube videos explaining how to install it. I wouldn't go hunting without mine now. It makes checking cameras easier and the deer pay no attention to it. I ride mine all the way to my stand or right where I sit on the ground. I hunt alot of public land in the mountains of East Tennessee and honestly hope alot of people don't buy them. I can get anywhere a 4 wheeler goes and a bunch of places they can't. It is even better for turkey hunting. You can cover alot of ground and be mostly silent. It is the best hunting investment I have ever made.

 

[13pt]

This is my first hunting season on my Bakcou Storm; however, bought it at Christmas last year, so used it lots late season scouting…and been using it to run cameras this year. This thing is a beast! Absolutely love it! I had to sell my ATV to afford the price tag, but have a Rhino still and will always use the Rhino when it's more convenient. Here's just one example of how it steps up the game. Opening weekend I seen my target buck every sitting, but he was on the opposite side of my food plot 150 yds away and feeding hard on this huge white oak dropping acorns like rain. I just can't hunt the other side because I'd have to walk through my food plot to get there, and the entire reason my stand works so well is being able to get in and out without spooking anything. So, I decide to give the eBike a good test. Sunday midday I sneak in and put up a hang-on near that big white oak. Didn't go back until Monday afternoon. Rode the bike to within 40 yds and laid it in some tall grass, which beat the heck out of the 1/2 mile walk in 80 degrees! Unfortunately, he didn't make an appearance that afternoon but had plenty of deer all around me. Now the real test. I sneak to the bike and get it up to about 20mph as I enter the food plot with at least 10 deer watching. As if zipped through the plot they literally stood still and watched. I seen one raise it's tail but it didn't move. Looked behind me as I rode away and still no movement! Honestly I was shocked. Had I attempted to sneak out on foot they all would have panicked and ran and blew to high heavens. Next time I checked cameras, I was able to confirm none of them left the plot as I ghosted away. This has been my first testimony to their stealth, and enough to convince me I made a wise purchase. Hope to have many more of these experiences to share soon. Been too busy with work lately, so that's been my only 3 days to hunt, but I take off most of November, so I'll be testing it lots more. I've attached a couple of pics so you can see the custom rack I had built to haul portable stands and such. This one has a range of 50 miles with pedal assist, but why pedal when your hunting. I've gone an 8 mile round trip in the mountains and still have 75% battery life and never touch the pedals. I've up to 75 lbs of gear including a 50 lb bag of salt on the back and hardly know it's there. Someone mentioned riding by turkeys and they just stand and watch. I had that happen once. They jumped a few feet when they seen me, but then stopped and watched me ride through. I was on a trail on my way to check a camera and came around a curve and just 50 yards away was a coyote just easing down my trial and it didn't hear me coming until I cleared the curve. Scared him real good, but point being is how incredibly quiet these are, so I believe one could easily ride it to your tree and just lay it down and hunt. Which for us old guys is an attractive feature. Could say lots more but I've rambled on long enough. A "good" eBike is truly a game changer.

 

[Joe2Kool]

I have a mountain bike I converted to an ebike. I bought the bafang conversion kit off of Amazon. It is 48v and 750 watts. I think you can buy the same exact kit now for $750. There are tons of YouTube videos explaining how to install it. I wouldn't go hunting without mine now. It makes checking cameras easier and the deer pay no attention to it. I ride mine all the way to my stand or right where I sit on the ground. I hunt alot of public land in the mountains of East Tennessee and honestly hope alot of people don't buy them. I can get anywhere a 4 wheeler goes and a bunch of places they can't. It is even better for turkey hunting. You can cover alot of ground and be mostly silent. It is the best hunting investment I have ever made.

You convinced me. I'm getting one!! I hunt East TN mountains and was wondering how it would handle them. And I mainly want it for turkeys.

 

[JDUB]

How are they in NW TN mud and water?

 

[redblood]

They seem pricey to me too. I been kicking around the idea for a year now. I use my mountain bike a lot hunting though so I can see the advantages of them.

I use a mountain bike on occasion during turkey season

 

[13pt]

My first hunting season with my eBike and absolutely love it! It's a beast! Hauled out a 200+ lb buck (177 lb dressed) 3 miles without any problem. Amazing how quiet. I was riding out one morning and come upon a doe about 50 yards away with a 130" 10pt staring at her. I seen them before they seen me, and then they bolted. I was shocked how close I got before they heard me coming.

 

[102]

So I bought one.

After TONS of research and many phone calls I bought one.

Then I took my hitch haul and welded a couple a couple rectangular 3/4 inch narrow tubes on the back to haul it (and a deer).

Then I bought a used kids cart and put the quick hitch coupler on the rear axle.

Then a found a golf bag caddy in a friends garage who gave it to me and I hooked a carabiner clip to it and it hooks to my rear rack.

The kid cart will easily haul a 180 pound dressed buck while the golf caddy (needs straps) will handle average size does.

So here's the scoop on the e-bikes.

MOST are waaaaay too pricey!
For sake of simplicity I'll divide these into two categories
1-Rear hub motor
2-Mid Hub motor (crank/pedal)

I suggest 1000 watt motor. Although 750 is acceptable.

The mid hub motor generally has more low end torque. It pulls better and will start off slower. But generally speaking, these are VERY expensive. (think Rambo bike)

The rear hub motor is more affordable.

The low end torque is not as good but it is more affordable.

I chose (after much research) Aventon Aventure (spelled correctly, not A "D" venture)

It comes with a 750 watt rear hub motor. And a computer on the handlebars that can be synched to a smart phone.
I downloaded the Aventon App and now my peak watt is 1140.

I'm 64 (next month) and hunt like a retired 64 yearly should...A WHOLE BUNCH!

I dragged a fat doe across a cut bean field the other day.

I'm over 200 lbs, had a tree stand/pack on my back. A bow in my bow holder (mounted on handlebars), and used my tree rope to wrap around the does neck while the other end of the rope was clipped to my rear bike rack.

My battery had not been charged in days so I drug her out across the ground (200 yards) with a low battery and severely decreased power outage, just to really give it a tough real world test!

The bike SHINED and never slowed down!

BTW, some public land won't let you access ebikes with over 750 watts. Another plus for Aventon.
Just open the app and select!

Top speed on this bike is, well, DANGEROUS! 36 MPH for an old fat guy on a bicycle?
But it's fun!

I'm sure there are many confused public land hunters where I frequent, who are still scratching their heads trying to figure out the weird "WHEEEEE" sound was they heard from the general direction the trail while sitting on their stand.

And turkey hunting!

Imagine traveling MILES slowly, effortlessly, through gobbler territory, all the while LISTENING!

GAME CHANGER!

Aventon comes in under 2K. There are discounts available through Gov X ( for qualified).

 

[Tanelson43]

You convinced me. I'm getting one!! I hunt East TN mountains and was wondering how it would handle them. And I mainly want it for turkeys.

I hope you don't hunt the same mountains as me. My brother hates that I give out all this information because it really does give us an advantage over other people that hunt the same areas that we do!

 

[dr]

I've been looking at them. From what i've read the bikes that are driven at the crank are better than the ones driven from the rear sprocket. I have some steep logging roads to climb, and it's hard on bad knees. I f I knew they would pull those hills I would have one. Most of the video ads I watched show the rider peddling most of the time.

 

[dr]

So I bought one.

After TONS of research and many phone calls I bought one.

Then I took my hitch haul and welded a couple a couple rectangular 3/4 inch narrow tubes on the back to haul it (and a deer).

Then I bought a used kids cart and put the quick hitch coupler on the rear axle.

Then a found a golf bag caddy in a friends garage who gave it to me and I hooked a carabiner clip to it and it hooks to my rear rack.

The kid cart will easily haul a 180 pound dressed buck while the golf caddy (needs straps) will handle average size does.

So here's the scoop on the e-bikes.

MOST are waaaaay too pricey!
For sake of simplicity I'll divide these into two categories
1-Rear hub motor
2-Mid Hub motor (crank/pedal)

I suggest 1000 watt motor. Although 750 is acceptable.

The mid hub motor generally has more low end torque. It pulls better and will start off slower. But generally speaking, these are VERY expensive. (think Rambo bike)

The rear hub motor is more affordable.

The low end torque is not as good but it is more affordable.

I chose (after much research) Aventon Aventure (spelled correctly, not A "D" venture)

It comes with a 750 watt rear hub motor. And a computer on the handlebars that can be synched to a smart phone.
I downloaded the Aventon App and now my peak watt is 1140.

I'm 64 (next month) and hunt like a retired 64 yearly should...A WHOLE BUNCH!

I dragged a fat doe across a cut bean field the other day.

I'm over 200 lbs, had a tree stand/pack on my back. A bow in my bow holder (mounted on handlebars), and used my tree rope to wrap around the does neck while the other end of the rope was clipped to my rear bike rack.

My battery had not been charged in days so I drug her out across the ground (200 yards) with a low battery and severely decreased power outage, just to really give it a tough real world test!

The bike SHINED and never slowed down!

BTW, some public land won't let you access ebikes with over 750 watts. Another plus for Aventon.
Just open the app and select!

Top speed on this bike is, well, DANGEROUS! 36 MPH for an old fat guy on a bicycle?
But it's fun!

I'm sure there are many confused public land hunters where I frequent, who are still scratching their heads trying to figure out the weird "WHEEEEE" sound was they heard from the general direction the trail while sitting on their stand.

And turkey hunting!

Imagine traveling MILES slowly, effortlessly, through gobbler territory, all the while LISTENING!

GAME CHANGER!

Aventon comes in under 2K. There are discounts available through Gov X ( for qualified).

Have you tried going up steep Logging roads? I haul deer out on a 4 wheeler. But, would like the quietness of the bike for getting to the stand.

 

[gobblegrunt]

I have one and love it! Best decision I ever made!

 

[102]

Two more things about these bikes.
They handle rain just fine.
Bit don't like the deeper creeks.
It's a water/electricity kinda thing.
I've been through deep mud holes but you don't want to spend much time in water.

Steep hills can be challenging for some models.

It just depends how steep and how heavy is the load.

Loose gravel can be challenging, as with any bike.

But moderate hills, flat ground and rough terrain...
no problems.

Hunting Ocoee, Cherokee with the gated roads is PERFECT as long as you don't drop of into those INSANE holes!

 

[Joe2Kool]

I hope you don't hunt the same mountains as me. My brother hates that I give out all this information because it really does give us an advantage over other people that hunt the same areas that we do!

Unlikely we do. If we did, I would've seen you. I deer hunt, turkey hunt, kamp, ride atv. So I'm there frequently!

 

[Joe2Kool]

After all my research, and much of the info came from this post, I bought an M2S, 750w, hub drive, 19,2 aH. It arrived in a few days. M2S is based in Asheville. The Himiway, Radbike, and Aventure were also in the running.

From what I could tell, they (midrange $1500-$2000) are all very similar. Baofang motor, hub drive, Shimano derailers, and 160-180mm disc brakes. The lower end of that price range has mechanical brakes and lower end Shimanos, and no fenders or racks. The upper end of that price range gets hydraulic brakes, higher end Shimanos, fenders, and a rack.

It took less than an hour to assemble, and the battery was charged enough I could take it out for a few miles. There are some very steep hills in my neighborhood so I tested the bike's capability to climb them. I'm about 180 pounds and the bike needed some pedal assist from me, not much though. Some comments I read said if you were expecting these to be like a dirt bike, you'd be disappointed. Based on that, it was what I expected.

I rode several miles, changing gears, testing different pedal assist modes, and just getting a good feel for the bike. I haven't had it on gravel roads or trails yet, but based on the online videos, it should do fine.

Can't wait to get it out and check my mountain trail cams. Based on the several miles I rode it, I think it's gonna be the ticket!