Mountain bike?

[Bows4Bulls]

For those of you who have used mountain bikes for an elk hunt... Any tips or suggestions? I have a heavy duty Specialized hard tail. The area I've been hunting the past several years looks like it will be very accessible with a bike. The first 3-4 miles of the trail follows a stream with a very gradual uphill grade. The trail is well maintained and smooth. I will have to walk the bike another mile or so to get to camp and the top of the canyons. Once up top, there is an old dirt road that I can zip around the tops of all the canyons on. I'm thinking that the bike will save lots of time on the way in, and also daily to get to hunting areas and to and from camp. I would thInk that my trips out with quarters can be done in 1/2 the time. Im not planning on taking a trailer. I have some panniers for the back of the bike that would hold a front quarter each, and probably 1/2 of a rear bull quarter each. With a loaded back pack and panniers, I think I could do 150 pounds or so each trip. Also, I will just wear my backpack on the way in to camp. Am I way off base with this? Do most of yall use trailers to haul meat? Is it worth it to take a bike? I've always hiked in and out and packed meat with no issue, I'm just thinking this will speed up and ease the process. How do elk react to a bike? I will often run into elk to and from camp, and I hate to blow them out if I run up on them on the bike. Any pics of your bike setups would be great. Thanks for any tips!

[ElkNut1]

Bows4bulls, I apologize for your Topic being deleted! I was trying to move it to this forum & it got away from me! (grin) Glad you re-posted it!

ElkNut1

[LckyTylr]

I haven't used a bike to pack meat yet, but I'll warn you, I rented a tandem mt bike and went on some trails with my wife that I have done hundreds of times solo. WOW what a difference another body makes on the descent. Remember that you as a single rider weigh at least 150 lbs (I'm assuming) and then if you truly load all of the panniers as you are anticipating, you are going to have completely different riding characteristics. You still only have two tires which are going to need more air pressure to handle the weight, thus, they will provide less traction and be more prone to bouncing/skipping when under braking. Also, go down a slope and feel your brake rotors at the bottom, then do it again with weight (don't feel them, squirt a little water on them. SSSsSSssssssssss)

I'm not saying that this is a bad idea, but I would suggest that you take your bike out, load it up with water jugs to simulate the meat weight and do some practice runs with a friend present to assist you should anything bad happen. I do think it's a good thought, just be prepared for it.

[Oregoncombatvet]

Guys here in WA use them all the time. What they do is get kid carryers then make them into flat beds. The only thing you have to be careful about is steep down hills when loaded down. Just like a car or truck to much weight will push you down hill. I wish I had some picture to share with you but they work very well and you can cover a lot more ground.

[one_elk]

Hey there Oregoncombatvet
so you are talking about the trailers as opposed to the on the bike carriers correct? And it would be great to see some pictures of your set up.

[slim9300]

You will appreciate the bike. Here is what we take in with us behind locked gates to make getting our elk out easier...

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1344692186.669936.jpg (167.17 KiB) Viewed 4036 times

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1344692204.238790.jpg (116.63 KiB) Viewed 4036 times

[slim9300]

The guys from the angry spike movies used bike trailers on there elk hunts. I hope this link works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEyNF4k7 ... ata_player

My trailer pictured above is a Hawkeyebuilt. That is the "company" that built Angry Spike's too. I'm pretty sure Wayne isn't building game carts anymore but I could be wrong. I picked mine up at his house back in 2003. He used to make a smaller model too.