E-bikes gaining trust with hunters



I spent last weekend falling in love with an electric bike. Tasked with a muzzleloading deer hunt on property dominated by uncompromising sugar sand, my hunting partner and I required a conveyance to tote stands and gear three miles into the woods where vehicles were prohibited.To get more news about fat tire electric bike for sale, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.

Neither of us own an e-bike, though. Fortunately, my buddy was able to locate one for rent through a member on the Florida Ebike Hunters Facebook page, and we were in action.
For those unfamiliar with this emerging technology, electric bicycles or e-bikes are those equipped with fully-operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts. A rechargeable battery supplies the power and can be re-juiced in the comfort of your home.

Currently, there are three classifications of e-bikes defined by Florida which maintain the same rights as a traditional bicycle.For our hunt, we procured a Class 2 RadRover Fat Tire Bike, an introductory model into the world of e-bikes. As the name suggests, the oversized tires are designed to stabilize the bike for off-road activity. And these bad boys can scoot, even with an attached cart loaded with a climber stand and ground blind, to speak nothing of my considerable heft when it came my turn to ride.

Now granted, my heft might not be as considerable had I not adopted the lazy life of short-cut devices like e-bikes. True to form, I relied primarily on the throttle, utilizing the pedal-assist when the deeper sands would bog down the bike. All told, we logged roughly 16 miles before the battery gave up the ghost near the truck. With a lighter load, more agreeable terrain, and less reliance on the throttle, it’s likely it would’ve gone farther.

Throughout the country, e-bikes are gaining trust with hunters, especially those in western states where vehicular access on public lands is restricted. Until last year, Florida did not allow any electric bicycles on public lands. Today, only Class 1 versions may be used on WMAs. Class 2, Class 3, and unclassified electric bicycles may be operated only on roads or trails open to other motorized vehicles. With the increasing popularity of e-bikes, it’s possible this policy will be re-examined in the future.

A few hours riding one and you’ll quickly understand the advantages of an e-bike. Hunting-worthy models range from under $2,000 to over $10,000, and all kinds of accessories are available for customizing these bikes. They are not as expensive or as intrusive to a piece of property as an ATV and are more than capable of hauling hunters and equipment deep into Big Buck territory.