E-Bikes for Hunting

[ABLT7]

Any interest in using an e-bike for hunting. SCI Calgary has one for auction at their fundraising event on Saturday.

https://www.icollector.com/item.aspx?i=44079323

It looks like the results were successful for the person who won the raffle in 2021.

https://www.facebook.com/calgarychap...28683337341571

[threeforthree]

Now the raffle is over, do not settle or any thing under 1000w.They are total machines, I love mine for coyote hunting. Slip in under silence, have to remember its about forward motion to get the electric part to kick in.

[TBark]

Are there license and road worthy requirements for these bikes over 750W?
I was thinking about one but we don’t hunt on flat terrain exactly. Can they climb?

TBark

[CNP]

Originally Posted by TBark

Are there license and road worthy requirements for these bikes over 750W?
I was thinking about one but we don’t hunt on flat terrain exactly. Can they climb?

TBark

750 watts is not a defining factor. Over 500 watts and it is no longer considered to be a power bicycle. http://www.transportation.alberta.ca...klet_final.pdf

Climbing? I live in the mountains. Not pedaling is not an option. They really are pedal assist. On flats the 500 watt motor can maintain a 32km/h speed no problem. On hills you cannot maintain speed without pedaling. A medium (subjective) hill will require you to provide significant pedal power. I pedal everywhere, even downhill (65 km/h on a downhill gravel road is the best I've done and it scares me) because pedaling saves battery power. I'm talking about a legal power bike with fat tires and not a street cruising power bike. Hauling a loaded trailer up or down hill will present problems. Uphill towing may not be possible depending on grade and going downhill a power bike doesn't have the brakes for the task. Hauling a trailer on flat ground, sure.

[Bodizaffa]

Had anyone used an ebike in the foothills. I had a couple buds rent some in yyc but they could not handle the hills with 45lb packs. .

[dbg498]

I have used one west of Sundry on some of the blocked off logging roads. I have a mid drive motor. The advantage of a mid drive motor is that it works like the transmission of a vehicle. You get the mechanical advantage of the motor and your legs through the gears. Like a car you have to be in a low gear to start out or go up steep hills.

A hub drive motor doesn't use the gears to directly power the bike. The gears then only use the added power provided by your legs.

A 1000 watt mid drive motor has the power to break the drive chain or pawls on the axle hub if made to start up a steep hill in a high gear. Most ebikes have a walk assist mode if it gets too steep.

[CNP]

Originally Posted by Bodizaffa

Had anyone used an ebike in the foothills. I had a couple buds rent some in yyc but they could not handle the hills with 45lb packs. .

Yes. Pedaling uphill with a heavy pack on you back is difficult because you can't stand on the pedals like you would without a pack. You need a rack (or two) on the bike to put the pack on. Try it with a regular bike and you'll see what its like to pedal with a heavy pack on your back. I picked up a foot section of railway track (43 lbs) one time, put it in my pack and expected to pedal my mountain bike home. It was an awkward trip with that much weight on my back, I could not make the uphill trip home.