bikes

[Chet43]

any experts or users of mountain fat bikes that can help me out with information

[Labs07]

I have a fat bike.

[TheHunt]

I have a fat bike as well.  What do you want to know?

[Chet43]

I'm thinking about buying one but have not ridden a bike in over 30 some years and I am 70 years old. So was wondering how easy are they to learn how to ride and are they better than the original style of mountain bikes to use on closed roads (gravel)?

[Katmai Guy]

Chet, look into an E-bike.  Rad Rover or Quiet Kat for example.

[Special T]

Additionally if they are less than 750 watt they are not considered a motorized vehicle according to the feds

[Chet43]

thanks i"m researching e-bikes with fat tires now but boy are they expensive. I may need to just buy a real cheap one to ride around where i live and see how hard it would be for me and if i want to go the exra mile and get a more expensive one for closed roads and easy trails.

thanks for the info

[summertime blues]

Do NOT test ride an e bike.  I ride a lot of road bike miles and road an e-bike at a dealer once.   it was awesome.  Takes most the work out of it.  Super fun.  I had a hard time not buying one

[Kit Carson]

Additionally if they are less than 750 watt they are not considered a motorized vehicle according to the feds

Interesting!

[Chet43]

Well I'm no longer looking for a electric mountain bike as they are legal on Washington state roads up to 1000 watts BUT ARE ILLEGAL on Washington fish & wildlife; BLM; DNR and USFS and US wildlife refuges land except where motorcycles and off road vehicles are allowed. They are considered motorized and you will get a ticket and maybe have the bike confiscated.

So all the information in recent magazines articles and information I got from bicycle shops is all wrong.

[Special T]

Well I'm no longer looking for a electric mountain bike as they are legal on Washington state roads up to 1000 watts BUT ARE ILLEGAL on Washington fish & wildlife; BLM; DNR and USFS and US wildlife refuges land except where motorcycles and off road vehicles are allowed. They are considered motorized and you will get a ticket and maybe have the bike confiscated.

So all the information in recent magazines articles and information I got from bicycle shops is all wrong.

Please cite where it states this... The feds say it's not a motor vehicle 750 watts or less. You assert that wa has a law that 1000 watts and less they are not a MV...

So how is it legal if it's not a motor vehicle? I'm confused...

[birddogdad]

Additionally if they are less than 750 watt they are not considered a motorized vehicle according to the feds

when did WA state care what Feds say or Fed laws? This may be worth a form letter to WDFW and FED sources for resolution? One of our advocates on here who have contacts could get some official replies and post here to copies and carry for those who feel the need to use these? Don't know, just spit balling here.

[bobcat]

If it's got a motor, it's motorized. Pretty simple concept. No motorized vehicles means exactly that.

[JLS]

(17) "Motorized vehicle," as defined in RCW 46.09.020 and 46.04.320, means a vehicle that derives motive power from an internal combustion engine or is propelled by electric power. For purposes of this chapter, it does not mean motorized wheel chairs used by persons with disabilities.

Per the WAC for WDFW lands.

The USFS views it differently, in that there is a difference between electric assist vs. electric propulsion.  I talked to a guy during elk season this year that had an e-bike in a motorized closure area and was given the go ahead by the USFS because of the watt output level.

[Special T]

Funny thing about legal definitions... they arnt the same across the board... as some times something that seems self evident has a different legal definition than the word implies.

I say this because the legal definition of depredations is not what you would think but has a convoluted definition compared to the word and what it implies.

[TheHunt]

I love eBikes...  There is a lot to this.  More than just a few sentences on a forum. 

BTW, I road a 6000 Watt, two wheel drive with motors on each hub of the bike.  CRAZY FUN!!! 

[pygmy1985]

It's good to have rules, but I see a lot of them disregarded. When hunting in 340 in Sept.,  I saw ATV tracks, and the ATVs themselves off the Green Dot roads.  I can maybe see someone "sneaking in" on the ATV to recover an elk , as it was really hot, but they were accessing hunt areas daily, despite the signage. 
Re: electric bikes, seems like a great way to help with the pedaling. I did take my mountain bike, and it was hard work getting up some of those hills, but downhill was a blast.

[TheHunt]

Mountain bike with regular 2 inch wide tires verses a fat bike 4 inch wide tire.  The fat bike is harder than a traditional mountain bike to peddle because of the width and the additional weight of the fat tires. 

Fat tire seems quieter on gravel roads and they run better on snow and sand. 

[Chet43]

The state Regs say it is legal on roads 1000 watts or less. I went to the USSF, DNR, BLM and the US Wildlife Sanctuary Web sites and they said all electric motors where considered the same as gas or diesel motors and I have been told but not verified that the WA Game Department web site says the same thing. Will check this out and let you know.

[Turner89]

Tag

[Chet43]

I did not see anything differentiating an electric assist with a 100% electric motor the web site just said electric motors are classified the same as gas motors. I forget which one but one web site even went further and said all electric and electronic motors are classified the same as all other types of motors including electric outboard motors.

As far as what JLS said may be true but I wouldn't rely on word of mouth because if it's different from what the regs say one person may say it's OK but another may issue you a ticket.

[JLS]

As far as what JLS said may be true but I wouldn't rely on word of mouth because if it's different from what the regs say one person may say it's OK but another may issue you a ticket.

I wouldn't rely on what I said either.  Call the appropriate agency and ask them directly.