Help on hunting e bike

Agotham

1 mW
Joined
Mar 2, 2022
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Like title says want to build fat tire mid drive hunting bike. Live and hunt in Wyoming so hilly rocky terrain a 20-40 mile range with just me and gear roughly 275lbs. total. Got the bike Elocony 26 inch godzilla fat tire bike. Now just need to figure the rest looked at the bafang stuff, bng, and lightning rod I'm open to any others. OK with more complicated builds needing fabrication . I'm thinking the gng 3000w kit but confused on batteries needed and cotroller programming. No specific budget in mind probably under 3k
 
What about having to lift the ebike over stumps or embankments, or crossing a creek or river?
What speed do you want?
Do you want full suspension or just a suspension fork?
I tried to search for Elocony Godzliia bike but couldnt find it, do you have a link or a picture?
You hunting the back quarter of your plots farm land or you rocking in amongst the trees and mountains?

Wyoming so hilly rocky terrain a 20-40 mile range with just me and gear roughly 275lbs. total. Got the bike Elocony 26 inch godzilla fat tire bike.
 
It's from newegg link didn't work had money to spend lots of private land so no need to worry about the 750 watt max or a throttle wouldn't mind speed but figured I'd make a trailer for it to haul out a quartered animal in bags getting tired of hiking miles with a few hundred pounds on my back very little water but sometimes snow /mud
 
That bike is a waste of however much time and money you spend on it. Before you squander an e-bike conversion on it, ride it the way it is for a little while. You'll learn what you're getting into.
 
Chalo said:
That bike is a waste of however much time and money you spend on it. Before you squander an e-bike conversion on it, ride it the way it is for a little while. You'll learn what you're getting into.
What would be a good bike to start with only spent 50 bucks on it so trying a better base is an option
 
The low end fatbikes use a screw on freewheel that will strip out after a few rides. This has happened to me. With an ok fork, no rebound the bike is passable but the stock rims are thin and flimsy but they work, except for that stripping out hub part. It’s the wheel that’s the weak link. I have a cyclone now (60a) on this cheap bike and I loved the ride. Now it just sits. This wheel problem would be there for any bike. Cassette type wheels are also vulnerable to breakage. So learning all this out on a cheap but steel bike frame that you can weld and pop screws into to mount stuff isn’t that bad. I’m sure you’ve priced new nicer bikes/frames. I’m putting my fat Ebike on the back burner for now. I could lace a custom wheel but that is a huge pain. Dealing with some dude (attitude) in a bike shop or learning to lace myself, old tech to me I know it works and is proven I’m just not going to learn how, figure out spoke length, cross pattern geezzzz it’s a lot, don’t want to. The rear wheel is the weak point for any high powered Ebike. Oh you are going to want 3,000-4,000 watts minimum to do what you want to do, I know. Got the bike and rims for free anyway due to months for shipping so I was refunded. Three to four months for each the frame and wheels so I’m not crying too badly.
 

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There are going to be weak points I understand that ,power will find them. I was not expecting perfection from that bike I'll replace things with better as I break them. I have made a couple overpowered things and gone that route (turbo ford lightning, big motor custom built hard tail chopper). But first experience with eletric bike (have not rode a bicycle in almost 30 years) figured I would get help and information from you guys. Figured out how to do previous projects from being around guys and picking their brains, harder over the web. My thoughts right now are the cyc x1 pro but don't know what voltage guessing higher the better, and ah ? Do I run dual batteries ? Could it be best to look at replacing a few things before I start, rear wheel etc. ?
 
Agotham said:
There are going to be weak points I understand that ,power will find them. I was not expecting perfection from that bike I'll replace things with better as I break them. I have made a couple overpowered things and gone that route (turbo ford lightning, big motor custom built hard tail chopper). But first experience with eletric bike (have not rode a bicycle in almost 30 years) figured I would get help and information from you guys. Figured out how to do previous projects from being around guys and picking their brains, harder over the web. My thoughts right now are the cyc x1 pro but don't know what voltage guessing higher the better, and ah ? Do I run dual batteries ? Could it be best to look at replacing a few things before I start, rear wheel etc. ?

Is sound a concern for a hunting bike? If so, that should factor into your choices as well.
 
Sound is to a certain amount. I will most likely ride to a certain point then hike a smaller distance. Once animal is down, then the bike and probably trailer will get the most use. My thoughts are leave trailer with truck/camper use bike to main area to hunt if successful with animal scout good path to it or as close as possible. Return to camp with bike get trailer then haul out. Or at least in a perfect world that would be how it works thinking maybe 20 mile range or 5 miles each trip one trip with a 500lbs extra cargo.
 
Agotham said:
...but don't know what voltage guessing higher the better, and ah ?
Higher volts not necessarily better.
Generally speaking, Volts = Top Speed, Ah = Range, Watts = Power. (W = V * A)
Generally, the motors are most efficient when operating near their top speed.
Seems like you are most concerned with range and power? Hauling you + bicycle + trailer + 500 lbs. meat = ~800 lbs?

Agotham said:
Do I run dual batteries ?
Maybe. Some do that to help with weight balance (distributes weight centers) or to add on another pack (parallel) to extend range as needed.
Agotham said:
Could it be best to look at replacing a few things before I start, rear wheel etc. ?
You will have to decide if the components are up to the task. If going with mid-drive, your drivetrain (chain, cogs, freewheel) will take an extra hard beating, so make sure those are heavy duty. And figure on shortened maintenance intervals. Have spares on hand.
 
Man that one trip with a trailer and 500lbs of extra weight will probably cost you your whole 30 miles of range. Remember that those miles estimates are assuming a relatively slow speed, on relatively flat pavement, and not carrying an elk.

I think your plan is going to fail. If you want an ebike to scout and get you and some gear around that's no problem, but if you want one that can haul hundreds of pounds of meat and gear on a trailer...you should just get a 4 wheeler. Use the ebike to get out there with stealth and use the 4 wheeler to bring back your bounty.

Can it be done? Yes. Could be it awesome? Yes. Would someone with knowledge and skill to pull it off buy a random fat tire bike in Newegg as a base? No.

I do not mean to criticize. I don't think I could build such a bike at this point either.
 
4 wheeler could not make it trails to narrow don't feel like making a chainsaw highway tearing up the country and losing my good property. It was a thought I'll keep trying it. what amp hour would you look at for the cyc or a lightning rod setup. Honestly it would never hit max speed probably not even much throttle until needed to pull cargo out can make smaller trips if necessary. The bike I got figured it was garbage but figured it was a starting point if I need a better bike later I have the motor etc. Did work on a vehicle for a newegg card so figured I'd try it. Thanks everyone for the help
 
The suspension fork would be complete and utter rubbish, at a minimum you will need to spend $250+ whether its a cheap new suspension fork or an old used fork that is rebuildable.

Other then that, just go through the entire bicycle and re-grease everything, tighten everything up including truing the wheels. Look for any weak spots on the frame, like holes in the frame for cable routing those holes are the weakest link and can and will crack the tube. Later on you might have to replace the rims with good brand name rims, good brand name spokes and nipples and you might as well upgrade the hubs.

It all really depends on how reliable you want the bike to be.

You will spend just as much replacing the junk and replacing with good quality components then buying a good bike right from the get go.

If your out in the middle of the bush, hunting and your bike breaks down - What does that mean to you?
 
I'll say this I know almost nothing on pedal bike last had one around when I was 10 or 12 years old now 41.
Got dirt bikes and lived on several hundred acres so never had a desire to pedal after that . Don't know much about electric motors . My electrical knowledge is mostly for vehicles and household stuff. If I build and do small upgrades this year and I haul out a broken bike then it either be fixing the broken stuff or a completely new bike . Worst case scenario I buy a dedicated hunting bike rungu, bakcau or one of the other companies, but have rode some of them and not impressed. Thought better could be built (granted I'm starting with a bad base bike) but I have started other projects with worse. Is a bakcau frame that much better ? My next option locally was specialized fat tire bike but are they worth 2k
 
So in comparison could I get better performance from a biktrix juggernaut for a 5k price tag or building one
 
I know in my area a lot of hardly used fat tire ebikes are surprisingly cheap. Bought a nearly new RadRover for $400. It was missing a battery so I am building it one. I would search your local area for high-end used ones and then upgrade the battery from there. One other big advantage of a purpose built ebike is that they route the cables and cords through the frame. That way they don't get torn out by branches and bushes!

Also don't get the CYC - they are extremely loud. If you want some stealth the only real options I know of are BBS02 BBSHD and hub motors. Most used ebikes you will find will be hub motors anyway.
 
🏧Are you from Gotham?💰
I suggest matching paint for all the killer machines.
Agotham said:
Sound is to a certain amount. I will most likely ride to a certain point then hike a smaller distance. Once animal is down, then the bike and probably trailer will get the most use. My thoughts are leave trailer with truck/camper use bike to main area to hunt if successful with animal scout good path to it or as close as possible. Return to camp with bike get trailer then haul out. Or at least in a perfect world that would be how it works thinking maybe 20 mile range or 5 miles each trip one trip with a 500lbs extra cargo.
 

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Agotham said:
I'll say this I know almost nothing on pedal bike last had one around when I was 10 or 12 years old now 41.
Got dirt bikes and lived on several hundred acres so never had a desire to pedal after that . Don't know much about electric motors . My electrical knowledge is mostly for vehicles and household stuff. If I build and do small upgrades this year and I haul out a broken bike then it either be fixing the broken stuff or a completely new bike . Worst case scenario I buy a dedicated hunting bike rungu, bakcau or one of the other companies, but have rode some of them and not impressed. Thought better could be built (granted I'm starting with a bad base bike) but I have started other projects with worse. Is a bakcau frame that much better ? My next option locally was specialized fat tire bike but are they worth 2k
Then use your dirt bikes and forget this whole Ebike thing.
My dad and his buddies used Honda XL 250 and 350's hunting Elk in Idaho for many years. After getting the critter out of the steepest gnarly ravine they would always fall down into, they would quarter the carcuss, drape the meat over the seat and ride out to a road access point.
Take it from me, someone who grew up on dirtbikes in the woods and has spent years trying to build decent E-trailbike, what you think you want to do, will be a never-ending money pit that will never work well. Besides, you say the pine trees will be too close for an ATV, how is an ebike trailer going to work?? (it won't, ever try and puller a trailer off-road on a motorcycle?)
If you just got to do "electric something", carry a sm electric chainsaw across the handlebars. Personally, I would do that and use an ATV (gas). I don't know your neck of the woods, but in N. Idaho, in the places where to young trees are really thick, they are Bull pine and no great loss if you have to cut a trail.
 
Get this. Add a rear rack and saddle bags, with an extra battery in each.
https://hpcbikes.com/pages/titan1

There's a lot of trailer mounting options, but I don't understand the logic of the extra trips. Why not just pull the trailer out to where you're hunting the first time, instead of once you get something, having to make an extra trip back to the truck to get it? I figure if you're successful, you want to get it back to the truck faster.
 
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