enfilade

i dont like the idea of leaving my bike outside the tent, wherever i decide to camp. do any of you store your touring bikes inside your tents whilst you get some sleep? i've never heard about anyone keeping their bike in their tent, but it seems like a much safer option.. i've read some horror stories about people waking up in campgrounds to find that their bikes have disappeared.

is it simply a case of not having enough room in the tent for all your bags and your bike.. or is there some other reason why this isn't a good idea?

Tom Stormcrowe

It's often lighter to carry a good lock and a small tent than to carry a big tent?

enfilade

ah i see.
i've already bought the tent, so i'll do a short tour with it first and see if i can carry the weight comfortably, if not i'll try a few weight saving strategies

10 Wheels

What tent did you get.

enfilade

how much do your touring tents weigh then? my bulky 2 man tent is 2.25KG

enfilade

its a cheapish Mountain Warehouse one, designed for festivals i think!

Wogster

I'm new here and just thinking, what about carrying an extra tarp, put that over the bike, tie it down with a few extra tent pegs and some rope, after installing the lock. Covered nobody could tell whether it's a $5,000 touring bike or $50 wallyworld mountain bike. Would also have the advantage in that you could keep your saddle and bar tape dry....

10 Wheels

Let us know how it works.

enfilade

i'll have to do a short tour first and see how everything copes.
im not sure id want to take a tarp as well though.

Tom Stormcrowe

+ having an emergency rain fly if your tent develops a leak.

wrk101

Most two man tents really only fit one man. No room for a bike, at least if you are my size. A lock sounds prudent.

bwgride

Bringing bike (and panniers, etc.) in tent would require a large tent if you also plan to sleep in the tent. Bike would also make tent dirtier given filth on tires and frame.

You seem worried about your bicycle being stolen. That's always a possibility, but I think a good cable lock and hanging a bell or two on your bike would be better than storing bike in tent. Lock the bike near your tent and if the bike is disturbed during the night, hopefully the loose hanging bells would ring to alert you.

Thasiet

my new 10x10 tarp is palatial for 1+gear+bike. I had it custom made in all black silnylon. the advantage of this is that I can stealth camp with my entire campsite hidden inside my stealth tarp. I could be near a busy road with headlights passing along the thing and it simply will not stand out.

For others, just lock the wheel to the frame if nothing fixed is available, and always trust your intuitions.

vik 

I tend to leave my bike leaning up against a tree or picnic table when I'm camping. I leave all the panniers on it and just take out what I need in my tent incl my handle bar bag with my valuables in it. If the situation warrants I'm lock up the bike.

I like having a light tent so I couldn't imagine carrying a tent big/heavy enough that it would fit my bike.

I've never been camping any place I was so paranoid about that I thought my bike would get stolen. I wouldn't tour in an area like that intentionally. If I accidentally found myself in such an area I'd first try and get a hotel room and if that wasn't possible I'd stealth camp where nobody would know I was.

AsanaCycles

kifaru 4 man tipi with wood burning stove
fits me, visitors, and the surly big dummy

or use a tarp as a lean too, and sleep with your head on your front wheel
of course, lay the bike down...

John Nelson

I think if I really wanted my bike inside, I'd either get a tent made for bike camping, such as the Topeak BikeKamper, or I'd get a large tarp tent, such as the Black Diamond Megamid. The Megamid is large and light, but it offers little to no bug protection. But at least it would be easy to get the bike in and out of, and the bike wouldn't get your tent dirty.

stevage

Hmm, I was going to post this picture but I can't find it. Anyone know it? There's a guy lying in his tent with his bike, and his girlfriend is sitting outside. Caption: "Cuddling: You're doing it wrong."

AsanaCycles

i had seen that pic posted on www.Mtbr.com

AsanaCycles

my bike fits under this shelter when not using poles
Kifaru ParaTarp
of course the tarp is easy to use as a lean-to
or you can use part of the bike as a support, i.e. tip of ParaTarp to saddle of bike.
a multitude of variations...

aenlaasu

Mountain Hardwear makes a tent that has a little side garage for a bike. It weighs three pounds, but is definitely a one person tent.

https://www.mountainhardwear.com/Prod...&viewAll=False

I have a different model of their tents and I love it. It packs tiny and is very light weight. I didn't get the bike touring tent because it wouldn't fit my recumbent trike.

rodar y rodar

I love that picture! My wife probably feels some empathy for the girl at times!

AsanaCycles

para tarp
11oz
https://www.kifaru.net/paratarp2009.html

imi

Has anyone had their locked bike stolen while sleeping next to it in a tent? In an organized campsite or while stealth camping?

This scenario seems a bit far fetched imo, but heh what do I know?

The Impossipede

I agree. And as for those who run a guyline or whatever through their frame, why? I'm not sure I want to stumble from my sleep half-asleep and tangled in my bag to confront a gang of thieves. I guess if someone wants to boost my ride in the middle of the night, I'd rather they just do it quietly and leave me altogether alone.

Metzinger

If I were deathly afraid of someone riding off on my bike, I'd lock it or bring the skewers in the tent with me.