Touring - Tent with vestibule for bike

I'm looking for a good touring tent with plenty of space, and a vestibule that can fit my extra large Cannondale Prophet 1000 bike. I can't imagine leaving my bike outdoors with the weather, or so somebody can steal it.

Also, while I'm at it, using a trailer would I be able to tour offroad with a Prophet 1000?

By the way, I'm looking for a pretty comfortable tent. I don't need anything extremely lightweight. Under 10 pounds would be fine.

Right here.[edit:add] I looked closer, it doesn't do what your looking for, but still kind of cool.
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=47984313&parent_category_rn=4500666

The back of the bike seems to be exposed. Have you used this tent for camping? How is it?

Under 10lbs, you can probably get a nice tent and just carry a tarp for your bike...

many 2 person tents will weight around 4-5lbs... You can get a single wall tent for 2 that weights 2lbs and some hammocks will weigh 1.9lbs or so...


Jay

have you seen the msr velo?

two person, two bike, 3/4 season tent. packed weight of 9 lbs. 8 oz. i don't own one, but i have heard good reviews, not only as great bike storage, but a great tent as well.

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/2439/velobottomcg2.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=velobottomcg2.jpg)


check it out: http://www.msrcorp.com/tents/velo.asp

Wow! I wish it was a bit lighter, but other then that, it looks like what I'm looking for. I need to read up on it more. I hope it's 4 season!

Bob yak trailer makes off-road no problem.

I went on one tour where it rained a lot but cleared every night. Your bike is going to get hit hard on the road. Overnight I just put a bag over the saddle.

I don't worry about theft, I just lock the bike up. Many don't even carry a lock touring. With the odd town on route I don't feel comfortable with that, but most people outside of urban areas don't want anything to do with your bike.

There is at least one tent that use the bike as a pole.

have you seen the msr velo?

two person, two bike, 3/4 season tent. packed weight of 9 lbs. 8 oz. i don't own one, but i have heard good reviews, not only as great bike storage, but a great tent as well.

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/2439/velobottomcg2.th.jpg (http://img157.imageshack.us/my.php?image=velobottomcg2.jpg)


check it out: http://www.msrcorp.com/tents/velo.asp
It's four season in that it is good for most weather conditions, zips up tight, weather resistant venting etc., can probably stand a six inch snow or some moderate wind.
It is not a full expedition tent, which would be ment to stand a blizzard on a mountain side.

Those are MSRs categories, REI(who sells quite a bit of MSR, including the Velo) would call the former a more of a three season mountaineering tent and the expedition would be called a four season mountaineering tent.http://www.rei.com/online/store/LearnShareDetailArticlesList?categoryId=Camping&url=rei/learn/camp/howtentf.jsp&cm_re=toc*32*How_to_Choose

Thanks! I appreciate your explaination. It would have taken me awhile to figure out how they categorize three season vs. four season tents. Four season tents are apparently more of an expedition tent.

Am I out of line thinking I can do off road touring with a Cannondale Prophet 1000?

i wasn't too familiar with the prophet 1000, so i did a search for it.

first off- it looks ******** awesome! is that only ONE fork blade?! how does that work?!

secondly- i think the suspension would definately provide a cushy ride.

i guess my only real concern about touring off road would be the fork. how it would manage to support all the extra weight and puill of your load is something that should be looked into. a trailer would be the best option, i think. just make sure the rear stays can handle the extra weight as well. make sure that trailer has suspension as well!

The fork is actually the best part of the bike, and one of the reasons folks choose Cannondale. If I need to, I can put more air in the fork so it can take the weight. I was concerned more with the weight. I already know I need to do two things to make the bike more tourable. First, the tires on it are great for downhill riding, but they have the most resistance, and are just about the least efficient tires I could possibly use. I'll need tires with less rolling resistance, and probably significantly less wide.

Secondly, the saddle on the bike is notriously uncomfortable, and I am finding out why it has the reputation. I did a four hour ride, and simply couldn't continue because my butt was hurting so much. It hurt for a few days thereafter. There are a few causes aside from the saddle that caused that. First, it was only my fifth ride in about 13 years, and by far my longest. Second, I weigh 265, and am losing rapidly, but that is a lot of extra weight to carry. I should really weight about 200 to 210. Third, it simply isn't the best saddle out there. I'm hoping a touring saddle will make things much better. Maybe a B-17 or something along those lines.

Beyond that, is has the reputation of a good climber, and I would have to agree with that. It's AWESOME at downhills. The Lefty fork has only one side, but a very big, bulky, built up side. It actually makes for a plusher, stiffer fork, and also saves a lot of weight. For an All Mountian bike, it is pretty light at about 30 pounds.

One other thing to bring up. I won't start touring until probably next year, and by then I will be considerably lighter. Considering I started riding this bike when I was 300 lbs, I'm pretty sure the fork and the bike can handle a heavy load. I'm looking at weight around 200 lbs, and possibly carrying like 60 pounds worth of gear total. This isn't some weak bike. Believe me, this thing can take a tremendous beating. I love this bike.

Listen to Jay H.

Use any tent you wish, and set up a tarp as a vestibule.

I use a Eureka Zeus Exo 2, and a silicone nylon tarp from a Hennessy Hamock. Works dandy, and is lightweight (3lb's or so).

you can carry a tent and a tarp or two and still have less than half the weight of the MSR velo - a nice tent for bicycle expeditions but largely overkill for the weekend, long week or even transam tour unless you had company. ten pounds is a LOT of tent.

here's one that weighs two pounds and change. its big enough to park a bike inside with you.

http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/epages/terranova.storefront/451285890048224e2741ac10014005ec/Product/View/43LLG2G

Try looking at the Terra Nova Laserlarge 2 (or 3). At 2.15kg (4.7lb) I don't think you'll find a lighter 2-skin tent that can take a bike (feel free to prove me wrong).

I toured for seven months last year with a Laser (same range, but smaller) and can honestly say the quality and durability is excellent despite the apparently paper thin fabric.

That Terra Nova is real nice, but darn pricey!

I could carry a two person, four feet of headroom Black Diamond tent with mesh and full door and window plus awning, the green pyramid tent to park a couple of bikes in, AND a tarp for cooking and covering the picnic table with, and still be at a couple of pounds less weight than the MSR Velo.

That Terra Nova is Really nice, i wonder how spacious it is inside? The total fabric content must be low, because even ultralite fabrics are weighty as the square yards add up....

seems close to some of the Hillebergs but almost a kilo lighter than a comprable Nallo or whichever model is similar..... wow, expensive, yes. but for an expedition quality tent that is not unreasonable.

I've done a fair amount of touring with smaller tents, always leaving my bicycle outside to face the elements. I'm with some of the other people that have replied here, don't bother wasting your money on a big tent with a vestibule large enough to stow your bike, just leave it outside, locked up if you like. And carry a light tarp to cover it in inclement weather if you are really concerned about it. If you do much touring you'll inevitably run into days when you have to ride your bike in the rain. Riding in a downpour will put a lot more wear and tear on your bike than will leaving it out at night, so I don't see any reason to purchase such a big tent just to protect your bike

the main advantage of having a separate piece of sheet goods to cover your bike is that it's usable for other purposes, as well - groundsheet, emergency blanket, big bag to keep things dry while crossing rivers, etc. - where a vestibule only has one thing it can do.

Yes, but a closed vestibule "hides" a bicycle, whereas a cover sheet advertises you have a bike valuable enough to worry about keeping it out of the elements. The OP also wants a tent vestibule for theft protection purposes. People don't steal what they don't know is there.

Get a camoflage tarp to cover your bike, it will be covered and no one will see it !

Amanda and I spent the past summer cycling down the West Coast with an MSR Velo Tent. It rained nearly every day for the first month of the trip through Canada and around the Olympic Peninsula. The tent performed flawlessly.

http://vwvagabonds.com/Bike/BikeTent0001.jpg

The Velo was so comfortable we were able to camp every night but two on the three month trip.
Even in rain we had enough room to move... room to live.

http://vwvagabonds.com/Bike/BikeTent0002.jpg

We often felt sorry for those ultra-light folks who had nowhere to go for a little personal space when rain set in. They would sheepishly admit to getting a hotel room every third or forth night... and that's OK... but generally they wanted to save money by using the hiker/biker campsite but just needed to get out of their tent for a little sanity.

http://vwvagabonds.com/Bike/BikeTent0003.jpg

Granted, the Velo is heavy. With all things there are trade offs. Ultra-light folks would pass us on the road and speed ahead to the campground. We would trudge along with our heavy loads and arrive an hour later. But, it would take that extra hour to string up the tarps... and doing so in the rain, as this person did, is no fun.

http://vwvagabonds.com/Bike/BikeTent0004.jpg

There are many different types of cycle travelers... from the 120 mile a day "push on through" folks to the "spend four days getting to know every state park and town" group. In the end there is no right way.

As a rule of thumb, the longer your trip, the more weight you carry.

We were very happy with the MSR Velo. It never leaked. Not even a little. It gave us enough room to live and stow our gear. It even survived being torched by a misguided fireworks display (http://www.vwvagabonds.com/Bike/BikeTales8.html).

Right now there are a few selling on eBay at a good price.

My thinking exactly. I don't want to advertise my bike. I don't neccessarily want people to KNOW I have a bike. I paid a lot for my bike, and I want it to last for at least the next 10 years. I'm willing to carry the extra weight to make this possible.

That Velo looks perfect!!! for your wants..

but

Where are you planning on camping every night?? I camped for weeks and only two or three times was my site visible to onlookers unless they were hiking into the brush. I guess if youre camping at public campgrounds, you may have a point, but are you going to be able to hit such public places every 50, 60, 70 miles? The one time my tent was going to be in view of the public, I walked my bike two feet into the woods and threw a lock through it. If you're in bed by nightfall and up by 8-9 am, unless youre in a heavily populated area I wouldnt worry too much about bike theft. And rain is jsut water, it doesn't hurt anything.

I vote for a lighter tent and if you reeeeally want to, a thin green tarp for protection/camo. Keep your bike trek as light and minimal as possible, you're doing it to get away right?

i got one of these recently ... still in two minds about it ... only 3.7kg, so not that much more than my usual tent, but a little more trickier to set up ...
i normally take a cheap cut off of blue tarp, and i use my bungy cords to hold this over my bike to protect it from any rain ...

http://www.stoneycreekshop.co.nz/tents/outer-limits-tents.htm ... scroll down to bottom of page

http://www.stoneycreekshop.co.nz/images/tents/pro-bike-l.jpg

i always wonder HOW the H**k you get in those tents after you put your bike in.
or am i just plain stupid?

have a nice day
jurjan

They have 2 doors.

ah, of course...
that explains it all.

thanks
Jurjan