Bike Cave Tidy Tent - All Green

I bought this as a replacement for a 5yr-old Bike Cave which has seen better days. The material was eventually weakened by UV sunlight and started to fall apart, repairs with Duct Tape were not successful because the thing lost all it's strength. Until that then I was entirely happy with my Bike Cave - which is why I bought another one! Sadly the design has changed more for the worse than for the better. Good point is the provision of an extra top cover to reduce exposure from the damaging UV light at this vulnerable place, the top covers are replaceable so in theory could extend the life of the tent. Two bad points (IMHO) are that a solid ground sheet is no longer provided, being replaced by a thin nylon mesh. That leaves the contents exposed to any rising moisture if water should seep underneath or you erect the tent on grass. I actually cut out the ground sheet from my old tent and used that in addition to the mesh - however, the edges are not sealed to the sides so it won't work as well. Secondly, in the previous design the 'door' zip sealed the entrance all the way around - including the bottom. This gave a good weatherproof seal stopping wind-driven rain entering. The new version has a zip for top/sides like the old one but the bottom is only held closed by bits of velcro (which don't even line up properly). This is very bad as again, weatherproofing has been compromised. 3 stars is being generous I think, I can't imagine how anyone thought these new design 'features' were an improvement on the old version.

I'm onto my second bike tent. The first one got a bit mildewy from dripping guttering but the main reason for getting a new one is having to constantly clean out cat pooh from the inside due to the zip breaking (a while ago) so we couldn't keep the critter out! The zip broke a few months after getting it so this time I will be taking extra care, so it loses a star for that.Goes up in minutes, so apart from the zip it's a good design. My last one came with bolsters which I filled with sand to anchor it down on the inside. This model did not, however the zip up bag the tent came in could be used for this purpose. The instructions suggest using flagstones, so bear in mind you will need to weigh it down with something. They obviously couldn't afford an illustrator as the instructions are just a sheet of words. Doesn't need them really as there are so few components it's kind of obvious what to do even if you were to lose the instructions. I've been spoiled by Ikea obviously.Now what's with the image of this product? It's a lovely khaki looking tent in the pic, which was my decision to go for this one. However I received a dark green one. Bah, never mind, I suppose it does say 'green' in the description but I was a tad disappointed.UPDATE Feb 2013:Frequently floods in wet weather. Usually involves a mop and bucket. Not sure whether the rain comes in from below or from the stupidly placed vent on the left side of the ground sheet. Maybe if there was another vent on the right the water could drain back out again...sheesh!Overall a good product but don't expect it to last forever.

I bought this to store our bikes in because I couldn't bring myself to spend the money on a wooden shed. Despite the headline though, I do like my bike cave but it does have its limitations.As is pretty obvious, it probably wouldn't be wise to leave this out if you live in a higher-risk crime area - even the most inept of thieves wouldn't have too much trouble cutting a hole in it to nick your bike. On the other hand, if that's not an issue it's a good, cost-effective way of keeping your bikes covered and weatherproofed...mostly.I noticed a small puddle in my 'cave' after a day or two's usage, but as it hasn't happened since I'll assume it wasn't the tent that was flawed but its owner.The other issue is that we fall into 'daren't leave it out front' category so have it set up in our back garden, which makes carting the bikes through the house not quite the 'hop on and go' experience that we'd ideally like. Still, we knew that'd be the case beforehand so can't complain.To summarise, it was a doddle to set up, looks pretty neat in the garden and stores two adults' bikes and one child's bike for a very sensible price.

Having read the previous reviews before buying, we went ahead & bought one as we've only got a small garden in which to keep our bikes. Firstly the construction was a doddle. The instructions are clear & it took us less than 15 minutes to put it up, although it does need two people to thread the fibreglass rods through the tent. Once in place, the tent has plenty of room for two adult bikes plus all the tools that go with them. There is also some room left over for anything else we might want to chuck in there too.The ability to secure the tent to a wall/fence is very helpful. Despite it's apparent flimsy look & feel, it's been pretty secure since installation & feels like it's not going to move. We'd recommend not only securing it in this way but also placing some sturdy planks or concrete slabs in the base, to help secure it further.We've not yet seen what a decent wind will do to this yet but hey, for £40 I'm not going to complain. It does the job, keeps the bikes dry (very well I might add too) and takes up very little space in an already restricted garden.