06/27/2025
Years ago, when just building ebikes for hunting buddies out of my garage and we'd talk shop, I'd often mention that a lot of hunters would really be better off with a step through style frame, to which the reply was mostly "wait, you mean like a girl bike??".. Yes, lol, like a girl bike. Anyhow, lo and behold, in the years to follow companies caught on and they've gained in popularity.
So, naturally, when starting Ditch Bird Wheels I planned to do a step through frame. Initially, the plan was to do a standard style frame first, but it quickly became clear the step through was what most hunters wanted. So for the last year and a half, this is what we've been working towards.
Introducing, the 'Close Contours' frame. Why the name? Because from this frame, we will build hunting bikes that will tackle any topo map, even the ones where the contour lines get so close they start to blur together.
When we've talked about multiple upcoming models, they are all variants built on this frame. What's different about it? Well, it may appear similar to many frames out there because we used a standard downtube/battery compartment, but outside of that its entirely our design.
A main goal when designing this frame was to make certain it was versatile...to keep it so that one frame could be a ton of different bikes, for a ton of different hunter's needs. This frame can be a hub drive, dual hub drive, mid/AWD, and can accommodate a ton of different mid drive motors, and a ton of different state/fed regulations. It can be built to fit someone short, tall, old, young..to traverse a crawfish pond or climb a mountain, and everything in between.
Another huge benefit is the frame geometry. Without getting too technical, other bikes we've seen miss the mark on what would best suit a hunting bike. This bike will be more stable and balanced, have lower stepover height without compromising ground clearance, handle hills and tow better, and carry cargo more efficiently, among other things.
We designed and CNC'd the rear triangle yokes and rear dropouts for a super tough frame that's able to handle the high torque of our motors, all while cutting weight elsewhere to make a lighter frame.
The Close Contours frame has undergone fatigue and stress testing that simulate years of tough riding and has passed both ISO 4210 and EN 15194 safety standards with flying colors.
We cant wait to share with you some of the builds on this frame!
-Daniel Sibley & Ditch Bird Team
Close Contours....CROSS THE LINE
