Trek mountain bike upgrades for hunting

[goodoakoutdoors]

I have an old trek mountain bike I have had for years, probably a late 2000's model. I was wondering if anyone has experience building out a mountain bike mainly for hunting and scouting purposes. I am looking for advice on accessories and DIY mods I could do, I have access to hand tools and even a welder is necessary.

I hunt the national forest region of PA and plan to ride in on gated forest roads and roads used by the timber and oil companies.

I'm thinking mount a small spotlight to the handle bars for light. A frame bag to hold a repair kit. A platform over the rear tire to hold a small bag. Build a tow behind trailer to carry my main pack, climbing steps, bow, and to haul out a deer.

If anyone has done anything similar Id love to see some pictures for inspiration

 

[NDhunter88]

I have the old man mountain pannier racks on the front and rear of my bike. They were expensive but are lightweight and have been very solid. Putting these racks on your bike, and then loading them is going drastically change the way it handles, especially any weight added to the front wheel/handlebars. The added weight is usually manageable on gravel roads and smooth single tracks but if there are rocks, and roots on the trail it gets very difficult to ride. I haven’t pulled a trailer, But I imagine it wouldn’t work in the applications I have experience with.

 

[goodoakoutdoors]

I have the old man mountain pannier racks on the front and rear of my bike. They were expensive but are lightweight and have been very solid. Putting these racks on your bike, and then loading them is going drastically change the way it handles, especially any weight added to the front wheel/handlebars. The added weight is usually manageable on gravel roads and smooth single tracks but if there are rocks, and roots on the trail it gets very difficult to ride. I haven’t pulled a trailer, But I imagine it wouldn’t work in the applications I have experience with.

Good to know, thanks! how about your bow carrier? Any worries about it bouncing around and altering your sight?

 

[WoodBow]

I would skip the bike mounted light and just get a good headlamp.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[NDhunter88]

The bow is sitting in regular old atv rack bow/rifle carrier that I mounted to my bars. It works ok on smooth roads like I said. Didn’t have any issues with beating up the bow or sights. Another thing to think of is that a lot of mountain bike don’t come with a kickstand and they wouldn’t work anyways unless the ground is very hard. I was always looking for a tree to lean it up against when I needed to get off. There is about 50lbs of total extra weight on the bike in that photo and it’s a hand full to manage that amount of weight. I ride with my pack mostly empty to keep center of gravity lower.

 

[Holocene]

Those Old Man Mountain panniers are slick. My buddie's e-bike has them on there, and we use them all the time to haul extra heavy gear and pack out elk on the Oregon coast -- this is exclusively gravel logging roads.

When going to the end of decommissioned roads, which are thick with volunteer alder trees from 1 - 15' tall, the bike handles wonky for me. But, that's the price to pay for being able to get a lot of meat out in a single trip.

Just my view -- a lot of mountain bikes get heavy quick, especially anything targeted toward the hunting market. My personal bike is a Lynskey titanium mountain bike from like 12 years ago and it weighs 19 pounds. By comparison, another buddy's e-bike is 60+ pounds!!! This thing hurts to lift and maneuver.

Your old Trek should be relatively lightweight. If adding anything, make sure to focus on nice, lightweight components so the overall build does not get crazy heavy. While hunting, we end up stashing bikes in the bushes and down slopes so they don't get stolen, and if I had to move a 60# bike like this it would tear my shoulders to shreds.

 

[Holocene]

PS, as far as "repair kit" you don't really need much.

Tubeless slime or extra tube, small lightweight pump, and that's about it. I don't bother with a huge heavy multi tool anymore. Light and lean.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I am sure @mtnbiker208 could give you some good tips.

 

[slatty]

I have used the burley flatbed trailer on a few trips and i've been very happy with it. I hauled out a mountain goat with it. It's not expensive. I upgraded the tires on it (I think the schwalbe mad mike tires).
I don't think you're asking a lot of your bike and using it for what it was designed to do, and don't need to modify anything. Bikes are built tough.
The biggest thing for me is realizing the intended use. The perfect use for me is motor vehicle closed areas that have forestry roads. I don't mess around on any sort of trail or single track, it's not worth the effort for me.
I agree with the headlamp, although difficult if you're wearing a helmet which I try to always do. I do have a 2000lumen handlebar light which is ridiculously bright and much more than I need for safety.

 

[mtnbiker208]

racks, bags, pogies, lights, trailers, the list goes on.

 

[wapitibob]

I've used one for years, we go 20 miles on our morning hunts. I use a handle bar mounted 1000 lumen light as well as a headlamp. Iphone mount on the handle bar for onX, and a small seat post bag for tools and tubes.

 

[mtnbiker208]

fatbikehunter.com
revelate designs has alot of bikepacking bags.
tubeless is nice, disc brakes are nice, 1x or 2x drivetrains are nice.
wheel size is not as important, but 26 on the way out, 29 in. 27.5 is there but more and more 29er's.
I have used cross country race bikes, to my pugsley to get the job done. use what you got, just remember the brakes will squeek when wet. Flat pedals work best.
chamois butter for the inner legs.

 

[goodoakoutdoors]

Those Old Man Mountain panniers are slick. My buddie's e-bike has them on there, and we use them all the time to haul extra heavy gear and pack out elk on the Oregon coast -- this is exclusively gravel logging roads.

When going to the end of decommissioned roads, which are thick with volunteer alder trees from 1 - 15' tall, the bike handles wonky for me. But, that's the price to pay for being able to get a lot of meat out in a single trip.

Just my view -- a lot of mountain bikes get heavy quick, especially anything targeted toward the hunting market. My personal bike is a Lynskey titanium mountain bike from like 12 years ago and it weighs 19 pounds. By comparison, another buddy's e-bike is 60+ pounds!!! This thing hurts to lift and maneuver.

Your old Trek should be relatively lightweight. If adding anything, make sure to focus on nice, lightweight components so the overall build does not get crazy heavy. While hunting, we end up stashing bikes in the bushes and down slopes so they don't get stolen, and if I had to move a 60# bike like this it would tear my shoulders to shreds.

I've never really tried hauling anything heavy with my bike. After reading this I'm thinking I should definitely practice with some heavy rides once the weather clears up. Thank you for the input! Security is something I've been thinking about too, my plan is to chain it to a tree haha.

Two seasons ago I was hunting in West Virginia we got to the trail head a little late and walked in on the gated road, every pull off had a mountain bike stashed somewhere. That is what got me thinking of using a mountain bike. It seems like such a good way to get in deep quickly especially on gated roads in heavily hunted areas where people don't want to walk far.

 

[goodoakoutdoors]

racks, bags, pogies, lights, trailers, the list goes on.View attachment 391171

Man you read my mind! That is exactly what I was picturing in my head! Thank you!

 

[goodoakoutdoors]

fatbikehunter.com
revelate designs has alot of bikepacking bags.
tubeless is nice, disc brakes are nice, 1x or 2x drivetrains are nice.
wheel size is not as important, but 26 on the way out, 29 in. 27.5 is there but more and more 29er's.
I have used cross country race bikes, to my pugsley to get the job done. use what you got, just remember the brakes will squeek when wet. Flat pedals work best.
chamois butter for the inner legs.

Appreciate it!

 

[BAKPAKR]

@mtnbiker208 has a pretty slick set up. On the other end of the spectrum is what my brother and I came up with. While taking bikes in was a good idea, we had not really thought through a successful hunt. We ended up putting the bikes side-by-side, placing my brother’s bear over the top tubes, and walking the bikes and bear out a few miles.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

The lower unit on my boat crapped out at the beginning of deer season so wife and I spent a lot of time deer hunting on the bikes. I learned a lot and it was a great season. I definitely enjoyed having a handlebar-mounted wide light in addition to a headlamp, helped weaving in and out of thick Texas scrub brush. Inserts for the tires for us were a must to keep flats away, everything down here pokes you and goes right through tires. Wife had an almost new bike so we rolled with her factory tires/tubes and she flattened both pretty quickly, changed out her tubes with Slime tubes plus the tube protectors and didn't get any more. I already had that setup and didn't have any flats. We both strapped our bows to our packs and carried our gear in the packs but I have a trunk rig on mine to carry drinks and excess weight. Riding with a backpack full of gear isn't the most comfortable but it was doable for both of us. I'll edit in some links to what I had here in a bit when I can look them up.

The flashlights aren't on Amazon anymore but they run on 18650 rechargeable.
Ibera Bike rack: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002T5H8MW
Ibera QD bag: https://www.amazon.com/Ibera-Bike-Trunk-Clip-Quick-Release/dp/B002T5MZ70/
Ibera seat bag, this is great for tire tubes and repair kits and your keys: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098POGBM
Tube protectors: https://www.amazon.com/Slime-20093-Tube-Protector-Size/dp/B003NUJ212/

 

[bpurtz]

I've been riding in and out of our hunting area for several years now - about 14 miles each way and I usually do 2-3 round trips. I would highly suggest you go ride a newer full suspension bike with disk brakes before you spend any money or time on your old bike. My old USA built Cannondale with a front suspension and caliper brakes was a great bike in it's time, but the ride and braking power doesn't even compare to the newer bike technology.

 

[mtnbiker208]

I packed my first bull out in 2002 on the bike in the top picture. 3x drivetrain, v brakes, full suspension, bob trailer. It was my back up bike.
My next bike was a cross country race bike, but it turned into my backup bike. but the hydraulic disc brakes where sweet.
there was a theme, my hunting bike was my back up bike. but the third bike was used for just a couple of years, until i built up a hunting bike.
in 2015 i decided to make my fat bike a hunting bike, and i have been using the surly pugsley ever since. It is truly the most functional bike i have ever owned. It was the first production fat bike. But with 29+ tires, it rolls well and the disc brakes stop it. It can take racks both front and back and haul a trailer.

I do need to say I am a little bit of a mtn bike guy. I have been riding them for over 30 years and own close to 5 bikes right now. I ride year round. My expierence has been gated forest service roads are where they excel for hunting.

the black bike picture was a hunt i will never forget, but the pack out day was a bugger. 5 rounds trips, each trip took and hour. I shot the bull at last light and slept in my tipi over night, the next morning i was on the bull at 7:30 and finished the breaking down process. I gutted it and left it over night. I closed my truck up at 5:00 pm and went home and hung him in my shop. the next day i peddled back into my camp and packed it out. For about a decade, i packed camps in and had some phenominal hunts. go in for 4 days and come out with a bull. I was always solo.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Man that's insanely cool, love all those pics. Looks like that trailer is a keeper through all iterations of bikes you've used, what trailer is that?