Bikamper tent thing - for AC and any others interested

[mrlmd1]

Just saw this bike-wilderness-camper-tent thing, thought it was interesting for those of you who might want to travel this way. Small and compact, probably could be adapted to an on or off-road motorcycle too without removing the front wheel.

http://www.gizmag.com/bikamper-bicycle- ... dium=email

[dentheman]

I looked at one a few years back and decided the tent was too small (you really want a two person tent for one person), set-up was no easier than a regular tent, and a regular tent can also be used without having to have a bike with you. Anyone doing bicycle touring or camping will already be more loaded down than the picture shows; probably carrying sleeping bag, sleeping pad, rain gear, water and other provisions in racks and panniers. So the slightly larger bulk of a two person tent in its storage bag isn't going to add much more to the load than this bicycle tent would. I would say that all of the above also applies to motorcycles.

[mrlmd1]

You are absolutely right, it's just another gadget to try and sell and probably would be a PIA to remove the front wheel and set it up. But at least no one could ride your bike off without you knowing about it.

[alanmcorcoran]

I actually looked at a series of pop-up campers -ranging in price from 2K-about4K, but I sort of came to the same conclusions as den - not that much bang for the extra hassle. But I do like to try out gadgets and gear!

[Moedad]

It's a clever idea, but what ever mud and gunk that might be in the tread of your front tire will get all over the inside of your tent fly (I hate packing a dirty tent). Plus the wheel is right there in the way of getting in and out. Not something you want to deal with if you need to get up and answer nature's call during the "wee" hours. Then again, if you take a pee bottle to bed with you, that wouldn't be an issue. USING the pee bottle in such cramped quarters might be awkward though. I like tents I can sit up in, preferably kneel in.

[alanmcorcoran]

I guess I better go back and look at this thing. Sounds like it is different than the trailers I was looking at.

[Water Warrior 2]

Hotels /motels for me. Just too old to crawl around on the ground.

[alanmcorcoran]

Went back and looked at it -definitely not what I thought it was. Looks to me like one of those products that's just a little too clever. Removing one's front wheel on a good bicycle is actually about a two second operation, but nobody, but NOBODY would use a good road bike for this purpose. One of my wheels costs about $700 to replace. To use it in place of a $1 tent pole is just plain stupid. I could never leave such a setup, and, frankly wouldn't trust that thieves wouldn't make off with one of my "poles" in the middle of the night. You'd have to locate your tent next to a decent sized tree and run cables trhough both wheels and the frame - and even then, it's iffy. People love to steal bicycles and anything on them that is not locked down, including the wheels, the seat, the seat post, handlebars, etc.
I have a reasonably priced tent that is much bigger and roomier than the one pictured and the poles for it take up about as much room as the top tube of the bike.