Hunting/fishing bike?
- Thread starter bigcanoe
- Start date
reed scott
Well-Known Member
Use the search feature at top right. There are lots of threads by people building their own bikes with kits. Also look up who is selling bikes from kits in your area and take a look at what they are doing. If you build your own bike you will save a lot of money but you need to know what you are doing. It's really the only way to get a strong bike on your budget.
bigcanoe
Member
Will do, thank you! But I am also welcome to off the shelf suggestions. There may not be many in my budget it sounds like.
indianajo
Well-Known Member
Peruse this category for a review of bikes capable of handling weight in addition to the rider. https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/best-electric-cargo-bikes-for-2020.32707/
Heaviest duty steel frame cargo bike with lots of hanger points comes from Surly.
Cheapest non-powered stretch cargo bike is the envoy mongoose, which see under kits & conversions.
Your size matters including your weight, length of arms & legs. that determines what size frame & wheels you will best suit you. Type of surface matters. Fluffy powder snow, beach sand, fat tires >3" are in order. Ice, large clearances for fenders & spikes are in order. Pavement gravel grass mud, I find 2.1" x 26" tires adequate, with knobby tires. Maximum grade matters. I carry 80 lb cargo, 94 lb bike+tools, 170 lb me, up 15% grades with a 500 W geared hub motor. (Mac12) If that motor fails (ebikeling 1300 w one did at 4500 miles) I can ride it home self powered. My stretch frame can carry up to 12' long light loads over the aluminum rear rack + hanger from the handlebar. Carried home some abandoned 3/4"x 10' conduit last week.
Mid drives are better at climbing rocks or grades >15%. They also strand you if something goes wrong in motor or chain. Mid drives wear out chains twice to four times as fast as hub drives. Especially chains thinner than 8 speed rear cluster. If your route climbs >1000' in 25 minutes, a geared hub motor will short a winding from the heat. Not a problem in the midwest; I cover 77 hills in 27 miles, but short rollers.
Bikes under $2000 come with kiddie grade shifters, cables, spokes & chains. The brand you chose has >30 complaints of loose spokes on known problems thread. I've broken the axle of a 6 speed shimano rear when I weighed 190. I had a 7 speed shimano rear come unscrewed and drop the balls, making me walk. Stupid design for kids that ride 200 miles in the life of the bike. Cheap shifters & cables, like the shimano & sun 7 speeds, require frequent adjustment. I've adjusted the SRAM on my yubabike once in 6000 miles. Only the stop screw. Real steel cables don't stretch. That bike cost $1500 with 2 panniers, front basket, 2 leg stand, free freight. I added $221 in front hub motor & $630 battery, $30 aluminum & screws. That motor wore out in 4500 miles, now I have $730 Mac12. Took 2 afternoons to swap drives, 1 building a new mount for the controller. Try swapping a defective mid drive that fast. Hub motors do need cover screws tightened occasionally. Don't buy a direct drive hub motor for anything but flat level fast city riding.
You probably can't build a bike cheaper than you can buy one now. Exception, my yuba bodaboda came unpowered with 24 speed sprockets, triple front crank, which you can't buy pre-built. I then added a front hub motor, which you also can't buy installed. Front hub motor can throw one if rider powers through ice, slick rock, wet wood, muddy steel plates, or other low traction situations. Front drive would be a big attraction to tort lawyers in US market. You can't buy a bike with one. I just turn the power off in slick situations. I walk bike on really slick situations. Front hub motor & battery balances the rear cargo better, makes the bike easier to push over the step into my garage.
Happy shopping & cruising the woods & fields.
Heaviest duty steel frame cargo bike with lots of hanger points comes from Surly.
Cheapest non-powered stretch cargo bike is the envoy mongoose, which see under kits & conversions.
Your size matters including your weight, length of arms & legs. that determines what size frame & wheels you will best suit you. Type of surface matters. Fluffy powder snow, beach sand, fat tires >3" are in order. Ice, large clearances for fenders & spikes are in order. Pavement gravel grass mud, I find 2.1" x 26" tires adequate, with knobby tires. Maximum grade matters. I carry 80 lb cargo, 94 lb bike+tools, 170 lb me, up 15% grades with a 500 W geared hub motor. (Mac12) If that motor fails (ebikeling 1300 w one did at 4500 miles) I can ride it home self powered. My stretch frame can carry up to 12' long light loads over the aluminum rear rack + hanger from the handlebar. Carried home some abandoned 3/4"x 10' conduit last week.
Mid drives are better at climbing rocks or grades >15%. They also strand you if something goes wrong in motor or chain. Mid drives wear out chains twice to four times as fast as hub drives. Especially chains thinner than 8 speed rear cluster. If your route climbs >1000' in 25 minutes, a geared hub motor will short a winding from the heat. Not a problem in the midwest; I cover 77 hills in 27 miles, but short rollers.
Bikes under $2000 come with kiddie grade shifters, cables, spokes & chains. The brand you chose has >30 complaints of loose spokes on known problems thread. I've broken the axle of a 6 speed shimano rear when I weighed 190. I had a 7 speed shimano rear come unscrewed and drop the balls, making me walk. Stupid design for kids that ride 200 miles in the life of the bike. Cheap shifters & cables, like the shimano & sun 7 speeds, require frequent adjustment. I've adjusted the SRAM on my yubabike once in 6000 miles. Only the stop screw. Real steel cables don't stretch. That bike cost $1500 with 2 panniers, front basket, 2 leg stand, free freight. I added $221 in front hub motor & $630 battery, $30 aluminum & screws. That motor wore out in 4500 miles, now I have $730 Mac12. Took 2 afternoons to swap drives, 1 building a new mount for the controller. Try swapping a defective mid drive that fast. Hub motors do need cover screws tightened occasionally. Don't buy a direct drive hub motor for anything but flat level fast city riding.
You probably can't build a bike cheaper than you can buy one now. Exception, my yuba bodaboda came unpowered with 24 speed sprockets, triple front crank, which you can't buy pre-built. I then added a front hub motor, which you also can't buy installed. Front hub motor can throw one if rider powers through ice, slick rock, wet wood, muddy steel plates, or other low traction situations. Front drive would be a big attraction to tort lawyers in US market. You can't buy a bike with one. I just turn the power off in slick situations. I walk bike on really slick situations. Front hub motor & battery balances the rear cargo better, makes the bike easier to push over the step into my garage.
Happy shopping & cruising the woods & fields.
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indianajo
Well-Known Member
Stretch cargo bike puts your weight on front wheel, cargo on back wheel. When I was carrying groceries to summer camp on MTB with steel baskets, weight without me was 120 lb rear, 20 lb front. A dog hit the front once, made it skid and knocked me over.
You size & weight. aluminum frame nominal 18" 19" 20" should be fine. Sandy piedmont should be fine on 2.1" tires, IMHO. I ride my loamy fields with johnson grass sometimes when I suspect a poacher is prowling out there. As tall as you are, 700 mm or 29" tires should not be a problem for you. I'm short, like nothing taller than 26" tires.
You size & weight. aluminum frame nominal 18" 19" 20" should be fine. Sandy piedmont should be fine on 2.1" tires, IMHO. I ride my loamy fields with johnson grass sometimes when I suspect a poacher is prowling out there. As tall as you are, 700 mm or 29" tires should not be a problem for you. I'm short, like nothing taller than 26" tires.
linklemming
Well-Known Member
A Rad Rover would likely be a really good fit for you unless your really carrying ALOT of gear. It appears that the RadRover has max weight limit of 275#. You can interpret that how you want but I doubt its going to be a death trap is your final weight with gear is 280# as Im sure there is alot of margin on the weight limit.
I have seem some pretty big guys on Rad Rovers (likely over 275#). Every one I have spoken to loves their RadRovers.
That being said the Rad Rover isnt for me as I have no reason for a fat tire bike (27.5plus is fine for my riding) and hate cadence based PAS systems.
While cargo bikes definately hold more cargo, they also have dramatically longer wheelbases which might not be much fun offroad.
If weight limit really is an issue, you could consider getting a bikepacking bike and putting a motor on it. Surly makes some BEEFY frames. My surly troll is rated for 300# rider + 30# gear and this is apparent when I put my 220# body on it as its super stiff. The Surly ECR is an even beefier frame. That being said, this route will definately be more expensive (My Surly Troll ended up at about $4k but its got all top notch new parts and a top speed of around 36mph).
Mike_V
Well-Known Member
He's got his shotgun and waiting for you riding on your $2K eBike, $500 gun, $100 GPS, $1K cell phone, $100 boots
and your best pants
Mike TowpathTraveler
Well-Known Member
I took this on my 20 plus mile ride in the NJ Pine Barrens a few years ago now. Pine Barrens sand roads in Wharton State Forest run from hard pack to sugar sand, like in this pic. I can't speak of doing it on a Rad Rover, but I suppose it can, for the long term. Still, a quality mid drive and fat tires is the ticket for long term ownership and satisfaction. For this ride, I aired down to about 8 psi or so and just floated above the sand. Skinnier mtb tires would have a hard time getting through this stuff. At a minimum, 3 inches tire width. 4 inches will get you through. Bring a tire pump and tire guage, should you need to get back onto pavement.
Constable Bridge, Mullica River, NJ Wharton State Forest. Cedar Water, with Chain Pickerel the main fish predator in those dark waters. The closer to brackish water, downstream of here, where it meets the bay, those fish get mighty big. A rear rack or a combination of front and rear racks, handlebar bag will allow you to carry as much gear as you want. The racks on my Haibike are Old Man Mountain racks. But any decent rack will do you good. This bag is an Ortlieb. Ortliebs are well known for being of water proof construction. Great if you are caught out in a storm.
Might even run across one of these snakey critters catching some October sun in the middle of the road. Moving him off the road with this stick prevented him getting run over by some motorcyclist or Jeeper......
With the Rad Rover, you can upgrade components with higher grade gear as you go along. A fat tired ebike can get you back into the sticks right nicely. I like your plan. Go for it!
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
You might get lucky on Craigslist and find a steel bikepacking frame build with internal gears to do a mid-drive conversion for under $2000 total, that will then outperform bikes from online or in stores. The photo is Viola Brand. She advocates for belt-drives to keep out the sand and mud:
Attachments
john peck
Well-Known Member
Go to Electric Bike Reviews & search NCM Aspen. NCM is a German Co. which means most of it came from
the orient, but I can vouch for it´s Das Kit motor. They name their bikes after cities; The Aspen+ is the fat tire
version of my bike, the moscow which is the cheaper model of the moscow+. I love the bike I´m on, but am
seriously considering the Aspen +.. Check Aspen+ specs* in Electric Bike Review against the Radrover¨s.
I´ve put 3k on the moscow, 29 x 2.25 tires, only issues, some flats,(mostly from blackberry thorns), wore
out one chain & rear manual disc brake pads. The plus is worth the extra outlay for hydraulic discs, 16Ah bat.,
Some other upgrades. Very solid bike, better than my last bike which cost twice as much & is now a ;parts
bike. I´m big, I think you´d be more comfortable on the Aspen fat tires, specially in sandhill country.
compare for yourself, I´m biased. *$1699 P.S. it has a 48/38.28. triple chainring compared to Rad´s
single, & will climb a tree.
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bigcanoe
Member
Yes but not sure which!Are you gonna get a Bolton or Electro Bike World kit?
bigcanoe
Member
Cool, thank you for the information!I think their motor, controller and display are identical.
Their batteries are different though.
Hailong Fat Shark 52v 17.5Ah Battery
Introducing our newest Shark pack, the Hailong Fat Shark 52v 17.5Ah! This battery pack has the powerful genuine Samsung cells 14S P5 configuration = 840 watt hours that will deliver an incredible amount of power and range you've been dreamingelectrobikeworld.comI am also not sure if they would fit RadCity step thru.
Area 13
boltonebikes.com
I think CitizenCycle on YouTube said they will fit, but I can't remember for sure.
Mike_V
Well-Known Member
The Fortune teller?
electricbikereview.com
This thing is a Drug
I think I came to Ebikes late in life which is really a good thing because unlike many experiential things arriving late mean you lose - stocks and real estate, come to mind. Not with an EMTB, I have never owned a thing - where after every experience with this bike, I want to care for it - I...
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