brushtrooper

Has anyipone built a bike for the purpose of to and froh from the blinds? I thought this could be a cool build

J.Higgins 

So what would your parameters be for a build like this?

Cargo?

Silence/stealth?

Camoflage?

Philphine

i don't hunt (or do much other survival/shtf type stuff), but i have been thinking of a fatbike cargo build. i do think of it as a possible off roads go anywhere (within reason) cargo bike. more or less picked up some mongoose fatbikes (a 26 and 20") and mean to try a longtail like a... now i can't think of the name of it. the bike with the rear 20" wheel and front 26", only as a fatbike.

jimmie65

I'd go with plus or fat tires, probably with a heavy tube and liners. Camo paint. Gun rack on the front (I have seen bikes with gun racks; not sure if you can buy one or if it has to be fabricated). A rear rack for gear. Lots of water bottle racks. Upright bars (flat or swept back).
Skip suspension just because of maintenance.

Philphine

an extracycle edgerunner. as much as i've been studying that bike i don't know why i couldn't think of it's name. i have the rear wheel section pretty much made (suspended, 'cause i like suspension), and just cut the front triangle of a mongoose dolomite over the winter (really to use the rear section for something else, but the front's there for me to use). just have to decide on wheelbase, join the ends and work out the rack idea.

Fastfingaz

Ok supposing you do have the front triangle to work with off a Fuji mountain bike what kind of tubing would you use for the rest of the build? The front triangle is steel so what material is compatible to build the rest of the frame, I've got welding equipment ,,,,,

Philphine

me? a lot of times i use gutted tubes from the conveyor system at work. about 26" long and not quite 2" in diameter. but maybe better, see if you have a place called "metal supermarket" near you. it's a place that sells metal in smaller portions than most wholesale metal places so it's great for hobbiests. you can buy as little as 1' (i've even had them give me a short section for free off their drop table).

the rear of the bike would be bike parts again. i've tried a few and usually use the rear suspension piece from a full suspension bike. essentially, your making the middle part of your longtail cargo bike, and using regular bike parts for the front and rear.

Fastfingaz

Philistine,,, basically the question was does the metal has to be a special grade or alloy , I guess you're talking about a inch and a half pipe which has an inch and seven eighths O.D. I'LL look for that metal supplier see if there's something close, I was thinking about keeping all the pipe frame pretty much the same size,,,

fietsbob

@ My Local most popular Mid Drive retrofits is for hunters, MTB to get to the top of the hills in the timber company lands
during elk & deer seasons ..

Where a Petrol fueled bike would be forbidden , electric bikes are still bicycles.



...

Philphine

oh, sorry. truthfully, as long as it doesn't say aluminum, i try it. being as i'm usually just trying things with flea market/thrift store finds i'm not dealing with something out of stainless steel, titanium or some other semi exotic material (i may have done chromemoly (sp?) without realising it. if i did it seemed to work. don't know if it's considered as especially different though). so far i haven't had welding problems.

Jimbo47

Try to pickup an old 80's 90's model chromoly framed mountain bike.
I've got my first one a Trek 860 I bought new in 97. I put some new tires, a luggage rack and platform pedals on it and that was about it.
It worked great on the trials and I even hauled a couple of deer out of the woods with it. I tied the legs together, and hung them over the seat post, tied the head to the handle bar stem and walked it out of the woods off to one side......100 x better than trying to drag.

CliffordK

I bought a small Bike Friday trailer with enclosed box from a guy that said he had used it for hunting.

Basic Bike Friday frame + a plastic cargo box.

He pulled it behind a 29er. He said he did bear hunting, and that he would bone the bear and just haul out the meat in a single load.

Mountain Mitch

RGMN

Cogburn Outdoors used to sell fat bikes in camo, with racks and mounts to carry a fishing rod, long gun, or a bow, and frame bags to carry other gear. I always thought they were a good idea, but I figured they'd sell about 3 of them. All the guys I hunted with would get winded and be done after unloading the ATVs. They'd never be able to make it to the blind on a fat bike.

brushtrooper

Silence and stealth would be my priority. I would camo it myself. I normally carry my rifle via a sling but if I did use a gun rack I would adapt one used on ATV's. I also think I would fab up a "flatbed" on the back to increase options for cargo as a after thought. What would be the best way to gear this bike down? For the tubes I would run slime or equal to prevent flats in it as everything where I have property either has thorns or fangs..LOL. I am learning a lot from the ideas posted so far. Thx

CliffordK

I'm not sure how you'll get it silent, but pay attention to stuff that might rattle.
Shimano freehubs can be fairly quiet if you add a little grease behind them.

My trailers tend to rattle a bit... I might have to look at what would make them quieter. Hitch??? Perhaps a single wheel trailer? Single wheel trailers are also often preferred for trail riding.

Perhaps you could build something like a Burley Travoy that would be designed to carry when empty, then deploy when you need a bit extra cargo.

There are many different sealants. Slime is a good set it and forget it sealant, but only mediocre at actually sealing.

Look at tubeless tires, or perhaps even using a tubeless sealant with a tube. They do require more maintenance than slime, but do a better job at permanent seals.

Jimbo47

If you stay on mostly well used trails you can pretty much prevent flats by just doing that alone.
Cutting across terrain and blazing your own trail is asking for flats, because there isn't a bike tire made that can withstand thorns.

brushtrooper

Silent to me would equate to being quieter than a electric golf cart with out the battery maintence and better than walking. The older big deer are not fooled by camo noisy 4 wheelers/ATV/UTV's. I just picked up a Trek Multitrack cheap and may use it for this project. Jimbo47 our property is in your neighborhood so to speak, we are 50 miles south in Campbellton area

jefnvk

Electric or manual fat bikes are quite popular around me for hunting. They occasionally turn up on CL, such as this: https://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/b...594523889.html

fietsbob

These mid drive motor kits, https://www.eradkits.com/product-cat...nversion-kits/

Are what my LBS installs in place of the Crankset, for a lot of hunters out here.. MTB & FatBikes..

As said in # 9, To get behind locked gates of timber company land holdings..

we have mountains to climb..

CliffordK

At least one of the timber companies around here posts "no motorized vehicles" signs.

I didn't pay attention to whether they allowed hunting.

fietsbob

Seems adding an electric motor is still, classified as a bicycle , around here..

and does not make the fire hazard a petrol fueled motor bike creates..

even with a "spark arrestor "..


Rather than just reading a sign, to be sure, call up the offices of the company
or the USFS.

CliffordK

Hard to say how strict the companies are. I was pretty well committed when I encountered the Roseboro sign, without cell service to call them (notes weren't on the maps). They did block me from using one of the bridges by removing all the decking.



At least the second one seems to be fairly well contained.

fietsbob

Fear of what's possible is paralyzing , and keeping you safe, door locked , at home..