Bicycle for hunting.....

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Has been a subject on some other sites recently , anyone here use a bicycle for hunting. I did it many years ago but the places I hunt are covered in thorn trees and cactus , every single ride I got a flat. So it was very short lived ordeal to say the least. Buddy gave me his old mountain bike so I made another up for another try I put slime tubes and also added more slime to them and put liners in the tires. Been looking and saw where you can make the tires tubeless , or find solid tube-like deals to put in the tires. Also heard fill with a liquid that turns to solid foam , I just don’t think the slime tubes are going to work. Will be riding the bike for the next several days and report back. I really like the look and reasoning for one of the fat-tire bikes but have only rode one once. Really need to figure out the flat tire thing though....

,,,Sam,,,

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[slatty]

Hi Sam,
I'm into mountain biking and although I don't ride tubeless tires, they're all the rage. The friends I have that ride them get way less flats than I do, and when they do, they're fixed pretty easily. The main cost is that you need specific wheels and tires to go tubeless. Once you fork up for these and a little slime you're usually good.
I occasionally haul a trailer and hunt and camp with my old hardtail mountain bike. I like using the burley flatbed cargo trailer. There's lots of different ones out there but this one can handle 100lbs, is light, and isn't too expensive. I hate biking with a backpack, it really throws your weight off, nice to just strap your pack to a trailer.
Mike

[Chuck Jones]

Looking forward to the responses to this thread. I plan a 2-3 week hog hunt in Texas in Feb.-Mar.  Because of a bad hip, I will bring an electric bike, so I can hunt from camp without resorting to the truck. I’ll mainly keep to the ranch roads, but am still concerned about thorns in the tires.

[Whip]

Go tubeless! I rode over 300 miles on my mountain bike in Arizona last year without a single flat. The sealant does need to be refreshed every six months or so, but it works! Can't tell you how many cactus thorns I pulled out but the sealant plugs it right up. I don't recall the name of the sealant I used, but your local bike shop should have a recommendation. 

[Archie]

I have a fat tire bike that works great for getting out to the woods for hunting.  As a fairly experienced life long mountain biker, I found that I prefer the fat tires over standard tires.  I have also found that the cyclic sound of tires rolling over grass and some leaves does not spook game as much as footsteps.  A few times, I've ridden right up on deer in the dark when turning around the corner of a cornfield.

I have a trailer but haven't used it for hunting.  I use a backpack or my on-bike panneir bags.

[Joeabowhunter]

Stan's No Tubes sealant works great for tubeless but your rims also need to accommodate a tubeless setup.  Stan's website will be a good resource for you. 

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Thanks guys...

,,Sam,,

[David McLendon]

I ride tubeless, you'll get fewer flats, carry a pump and plugs incase you do and you can be rolling again in minutes.

[SAM E. STEPHENS]

Watched a bunch of videos and am going to do a DIY tubeless ( cheap version) on my bike. Also going to buy a fat-tire bike and try it out...

Thanks for the help....

,,,Sam,,,

[Broken Arrows]

With my job we pump the liquid foam into industrial tires and have done some bike tires but I recommend not using the liquid foam because it is very heavy it has the same weight as water.

[fujimo]

when i was a kid, there were solid rubber " inner tubes" the were spongey and reasonably light, and didnt quite feel the same as air, but we were envious of those kids, as they never got flats.

i love the idea of a bike, no thorns up here, but one can cycle in, and if lucky, strap a deer to the frame, and just push the bike out, we have long distances to go up here.
will be following this thread.
 those fat bikes are really awesome

[kerry]

Been considering tubeless myself, cotton stubble gets my tires each season at least once.

[katman]

Purchased an electric fat tire bike 2 years ago. First modification before heading to woods was add Mr. Tuffy liners, slime tubes and a rear rack.. Have not had a flat nor needed to add air. Now I can get to most places quietly and not break a sweat doing it. Love that bike.

[YosemiteSam]

My favorite late-season hunt (special drawing) requires a 7-mile trek.  The first 4 miles are along a dirt road behind a locked gate.  The last 3 miles are down a steep trail into a wilderness area.  I've started to take those first 4 miles by bike.  It's a slow climb just about the whole way -- lowest gears.  A bike trailer lets me haul up a backpack & my bow.  It takes me about 90 min to get to the wilderness trailhead and only about 20 minutes to get back.  After climbing out of that canyon with a pack, the speed of the bike down that dirt road feels so fun.

I've yet to take a deer out of that canyon but have gotten pretty darned close.  By the time I make it out, I'm usually grateful that I'm not also hauling out a deer as it's no mere stroll in the woods.  That tag allows for the use of muzzleloaders as well so if I get drawn again next year, I'll likely take my percussion rifle and see how it feels to hike the trail twice and see how the trailer & brakes hold up to the heavier load.

[TexasTrad]

I am having trouble posting a pic but I have been using an electric  bike to get to my stands.  I fixed up a rack to carry my bow and am able to get pretty close without making a lot of racket.  I have the fat tires and flats were really a problem at first because we have a lot of thorns.   I put the green slime in the tires and it helped a lot but I am interested in the tubeless approach. 

With the fat tires, it helps a lot to get fenders because otherwise, you will get muddy and wet when it rains.

I think I figured out the picture deal.   Here is my bike — it is a RAD Power Bike and I have been very happy with it.   The bow rack is a custom job that I made out of the shooting rail that comes with the ladder stands that I use. 😀

[mooseman76]

Check out a company called Cogburn outdoors (I’m pretty sure that’s what it’s called). They have a camo Fat bike and sell a bow/gun rack to be mounted to the back of a bike. They used to make all sorts of bags, racks, etc...  Not sure how much of that stuff they still make. If I were going for a new fatbike now I’d look at the Surly Ice Cream Truck, Wednesday or Pugsley. All awesome bikes, but I’m partial to Surly. I currently have 2.

[mooseman76]

Well, just looked at cogburn’s website and looks like they went out of business. I’d bet you could still find those racks though with little trouble.

[Archie]

I ride a Felt DD30, it's a mid range fat bike and I love it.  I used to use a standard mt bike for getting into my hunting area, and since it was wide open the whole way there, I got some ATV gun rack mounts and put them on my handlebars, and carried my bow in them, sitting like a wide set of antlers..  I probably looked like a big weird moose from a ways off.  They were rubber so they didn't scratch the bow.  Don't use them now... I attach the bow to my pack, or sometimes carry it off the end of the handlebar, hanging on my hand from around where the nock point is on the string.

[toddster]

Been starting my research for a bike too.  Since waiting my knee surgery, in need of one.  Thinking a Fat tire bike.