E Bikes, the new motorized access scourge?

[Jethro]

and no beating the dead horse

Too late for that.

 

[goodgrouper]

Your making one of my points.

How does an LEO/CO know how many watts an e-bike is? Very, very few have the wattage displayed. If an LEO has to ask the rider, there isn’t going to be much in the way of enforcement.

Backou ebikes will even sell you a sticker to put on your motor that says 750 watt when its actually putting out almost double that.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

Hmmmm- you would think that wouldn't matter; either it has a motor or it doesn't- shouldn't have to prove was he peddling or not- if you can't have a motorized vehicle, doesn't matter if you're pushing it or mashing the pedal

I certainly have no way to verify the story but I 100% find it very plausible, you'd be amazed what it takes to get a conviction in court with these types of cases.
I work in natural resources (I won't say what and for who), and I have firsthand knowledge of guys getting charges for cutting green timber on federal lands dropped in court because photos of them and their vehicles doing the act weren't sufficient somehow..

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Buddy of mine is a ranger in a popular national park and when he finds any bike in the back country, he confiscates the front wheel. Receipt says feel free to pick it up at the office in a few days.

 

[BBob]

You all worried about ebikes wait until the e-copters start coming. Yes they already exist...

Home | Jetson - Personal Electric Aerial Vehicle

Your personal aircraft in aluminium and carbon fibre, powered with eight powerful electric motors.

www.jetsonaero.com

 

[tdhanses]

Might want to familiarize yourself on ebike battery removal

No joke

 

[bozeman]

Can we also censor posts from people who are 'whining'? Please.....

 

[Marble]

I've hunted off of horses for decades and just recently used my mountain bike. Never used an E bike.

Horses are wonderful to get you up the mountain and on the pack out. But they also require a lot of attention and time when not hunting.

The mountain bike was great this year, I used it to pack out my bull. It was on a closed road in Oregon, closed by Oregon DFG August through about November. Closed to all motor vehicles, including e bikes. I read through a lot of rules and it seemed there may have a loop hole for an E bike that can't go faster than 15 mph being allowed on the closed roads. And I have one that seemed to qualify, but there was conflicting info so I just didn't use it.

If I were to be in charge of the rules, e bikes can be used where other ATV/UTV/MCs can be used. The definition of an e bike would be any electric motor period. No wattage or speed rating clause.

And I did have people drive right onto the closed roads and make calls every few hundred yards, making it several miles back. They also left beer cans and trash. About what I expected.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[idahodave]

Man I have to respond to this because you're totally missing my point..
Mountain bikes are non motorized, yes they offer some benefit in certain types of topography but nothing even close to what an e bike is capable of.

When it comes to big game security the mountain biker who busts his ass, the hiker who does the same, or the horseman riding into the backcountry all have one very important commonality to consider; Commitment.

It's easy for anyone to own an atv or e bike, hiking and cycling take a Commitment to fitness that most aren't willing to undertake.
Horsemanship is an even higher level of commitment both financially and lifestyle, most people will never own horses because of this.
Point being all of the above mentioned non motorized methods of access do not offer a quick turn key solution to put a hunter deep into the backcountry, and therefore limit overall pressure on game.

I'll also add that I spoke with an e biker this year who claims his friend was ticked by an LEO on federal land for riding an e bike in a non motorized area, and beat the charge because they couldn't prove he wasn't simply pedaling with the power off

You're saying the advantage a "regular" mountain bike offers over a hiker on say, a closed USFS road is okay because you ride a regular mountain bike of course and the degree of advantage is such that YOU are comfortable with it. You're saying the advantage an e-bike offers in that same scenario "too much" of an advantage though,....because YOU don't ride one. I think you have to concede a mountain bike does in fact offer an advantage over hiking. Otherwise, why else would you be using one in a hunting scenario? I'm simply pointing out that thought process is what led you to draw a line directly behind where YOU were standing on this issue.

I'm not missing your point friend, I'm just pointing out the self-serving thought process behind it and how frequently I see it. I'm also admitting I can be guilty of it too, so my apologies if it seems personal in nature. Half the reason I engaged in this is to make myself more aware of the pitfalls of this approach and to try and give it more consideration when I do so. Lots of people on this thread have displayed the same thought process. You were just the first to post it so I used it as an example. No offense intended fwtw.

We'll have to agree to disagree the hiker, equestrian, and mountain biker are "busting their ass" but the e-bikers aren't "willing to undertake" a commitment to fitness. My opinion is you're painting with a really broad brush and it doesn't match my own experience in the wilds of Idaho. I'll state for the record I'm not an e-biker btw.

Dave

 

[307]

They have a motor, it doesnt matter what powers it.

There is a guy a couple miles south of me that has a road bike (its similar to the Harley Buell) that will do 60 MPH. I know this cause he passed me on it one day when I was going 60. It sounds like the batmobile when it passes you. There are also electric dirt bikes that will compete with 2 and 4 strokes.

To say that because the motor is powered via electricity and not gas, therefore they should be classified different is absurd. We have areas that are open to motorized access and areas that aren't, it should stay that way.

Did you miss the part where I said that they were motorized vehicles.

I believe it does matter that they're quiet and don't pollute in the same way as ICE motorized vehicles.

An ICE bike passing through a drainage is noisy as hell and affects my experience significantly even hundreds of yards away on foot. An e-bike passing by at the same distance isn't likely to be noticed at all. I think there is a very big difference.

 

[CorbLand]

Did you miss the part where I said that they were motorized vehicles.

I believe it does matter that they're quiet and don't pollute in the same way as ICE motorized vehicles.

An ICE bike passing through a drainage is noisy as hell and affects my experience significantly even hundreds of yards away on foot. An e-bike passing by at the same distance isn't likely to be noticed at all. I think there is a very big difference.

No, I did not miss the part where you said they were motorized and I also did not miss the part where you said they should have their own category.

Why would we start to categorize motors? Where do we draw the line on them? Do we need trails for 450 vs 250 dirt bikes? I can silence a ICE down to pretty low levels, does that suddenly make it allowable on non motorized trails? My pickup has glass packs on it. Should it be in a different category than my wifes car that isnt as loud?

Trying to classify motors by displacement, sound, etc is asinine. A motor is a motor.

 

[307]

No, I did not miss the part where you said they were motorized and I also did not miss the part where you said they should have their own category.

Why would we start to categorize motors? Where do we draw the line on them? Do we need trails for 450 vs 250 dirt bikes? I can silence a ICE down to pretty low levels, does that suddenly make it allowable on non motorized trails? My pickup has glass packs on it. Should it be in a different category than my wifes car that isnt as loud?

Trying to classify motors by displacement, sound, etc is asinine. A motor is a motor.

Keep the derogatory language to yourself if you don't mind.

The noise factor does necessitate a separate category IMO as the e-motors have much less impact on the surrounding area wildlife and other users. You don't agree. I'm fine with that.

 

[CorbLand]

Keep the derogatory language to yourself if you don't mind.

The noise factor does necessitate a separate category IMO as the e-motors have much less impact on the surrounding area wildlife and other users. You don't agree. I'm fine with that.

Where did I use "derogatory language?" Asinine? I didn't say you were asinine, I said to try and classify motors by anything other than its a motor is asinine. Its asinine because where do you draw the line? Sound, displacement, weight?

Noise does not even come into the equation when it comes to this stuff. Its about access and its ease. Should I not be allowed to hike on trails if I wear bear bells? What if I put a speaker on my ebike and it plays race car noises?

Motorized is motorized. Nonmotorized is nonmotorized.

 

[BeaverHunter]

All bikes are prohibited from all wilderness areas that I'm aware of.

As are hang gliders so don’t be getting any ideas about using them either.

 

[ManyBullets]

JO's ride e-bikes where they're not allowed, JO's ride dirt bikes and ATVs where they're not allowed, and JO's cut the locks on gates and drive where they're not allowed.

Hunting isn't supposed to be easy, which just doesn't work for some people.

Personally, I've got a nice bike lock that I'll lose the key to for one lucky offender this season. Does that make me a JO? Maybe.

 

[CorbLand]

JO's ride e-bikes where they're not allowed, JO's ride dirt bikes and ATVs where they're not allowed, and JO's cut the locks on gates and drive where they're not allowed.

Hunting isn't supposed to be easy, which just doesn't work for some people.

Personally, I've got a nice bike lock that I'll lose the key to for one lucky offender this season. Does that make me a JO? Maybe.

 

[S.Clancy]

All bikes are prohibited from all wilderness areas that I'm aware of.

Anything using wheels is prohibited, along with a number of other things.

 

[Btaylor]

strange things happen in the backcountry....tired deflate and those damn squirrels love to shew wires

Sounds like a potential e-BOAL thread to come.

 

[OregonSteeler]

Anything using wheels is prohibited, along with a number of other things.

Yup. Wilderness areas here in OR even prohibit game carts because they have wheels. Makes the rules easy. If it rolls, it's not allowed.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Having now seen e-bikes in both Wilderness Areas and on trails that are closed to all motorized vehicles, I see the biggest issue being that it's too easy to get away with having them where they should not be, or people just don't know or think that what they are doing is wrong. Since e-bikes are quiet and leave the same tracks as a regular bike it's easy obviously easier to get away with having them where they don't belong vs a dirt bike or ATV.

In order to realistically enforce anything with e-bikes, States really need to require them ALL to have OHV stickers like ATV's so there can at least be some form of accountability and an opportunity for agencies to provide education as to where they can and cannot go before people take them into the outdoors.