Bikamper bicycle tent?

[badgercat]

I looked around but didn't find any previous mention of this in the forums--has anyone heard of the Topeak Bikamper before? My boyfriend, who has been researching getting into bicycle camping/touring just stumbled upon it on the REI website:
http://www.rei.com/product/732405

A few things strike me as impractical: it lives on your handlebars, where I would imagine you'd want a much more immediately practical handlebar bag (I guess you wouldn't HAVE to keep the tent there while you were riding, but it would still force you to swap it out with your regular handlebar bag), and you can't have a pitched tent and a functional bicycle at the same time. Also, you think if they figured out all that crazy geometry, they could have included a way to keep your chain dry. Regardless, it's still kind of a neat idea... *shrug*

ETA: I'm just now noticing that all the provided pictures have mtb's. I wonder how/if it would work with drop bars. Interesting.

[ridebikeme]

I looked at this tent last year myself. After looking at it a bit, I ended realizing that I could buy a lighter weight tent simply by buying a backpacking tent. (which I already have) Great idea though!

[Tri Girl]

That seems like a really cool idea! I think for mtn biking it would be more practical. Once you set up camp in the wilderness, it's not likely you would need your bike to do much- you could go hiking to explore, play, etc.
However, with a road bike, when you set up camp, you might want to ride to the store, or go explore the area- and your bike would be all tied up (literally).
Plus, for $200, you could get a really light freestanding backpacking tent (like ridebikeme said). I do like the idea, just not sure of the practical use for road touring.
Just my thoughts. Thanks for posting that tho, as that's the first time I'd seen something like that. Pretty clever!

[Ha(m)mer]

If you go to topeak's website, they have a second version of the tent. It's slightly smaller, maybe 10 cm or so smaller... But, it's freestanding. It uses tubes for support. Like a mountain bike tube at one end and a small 16 insh ish one on the other end. You use a pump to inflate it. If you used it while mtn biking then the tube could be a spare for the bike. They say that you could use a patched tube for the tent too. Then it also has a few stakes and cables to tie it down too.

In the images that I've seen illustrating the tent, they show it on the handlebars or on top of a trunk rack.

I think that I too would look for a backpacking tent, though the bikamper models sound cool.

[Zen]

This tent looks interesting. I wonder how much it costs, though...
i just threw a dollar store shower curtain secured by a couple of clothespins over my bike.

[PamNY]

i just threw a dollar store shower curtain secured by a couple of clothespins over my bike.

I hope you didn't have much wind. Guess you didn't have to worry about condensation, though.

Pam

[sfa]

This tent looks interesting. I wonder how much it costs, though...
i just threw a dollar store shower curtain secured by a couple of clothespins over my bike.

Wow, that looks nice. I googled it and found it for $300. Bit more than something from the dollar store, but worth it if you're doing a lot of touring or backpacking!

Sarah