I'm going on a cycling weekend in France and we are booked into various campsites (bring your own tent).
Now, I can be a wimp and elect to find a chambre d'hote (B&B) or join in the fun and carry my own tent. I don't think you can get a rear rack for full sussers so I am thinking about investing in a trailer.
Has anyone any experience of them or tips on finding lightweight tents?

Check out Field and Trek or Cotswold for tents they usually tell you how much eact tent weighs.

many people do rate the BOB trailers so they are probably pretty good

Thanks Anne, I've seen stuff on BOB but I've never spoken to anyone who has used one.

There are racks available for full sussers, but they tend to have a very high centre of gravity, and they are not strong enough for a lot of kit. www.oldmanmountain.com has a range of racks for mtbs.

There is no real competition - the BoB Yak is the trailer of choice for any off-road work. There is a new version with a shock, apparently it makes it handle a bit better, but most go for the original version. The only problem with them is that they tend to be awkward on deeply rutted tracks or on technical trails. It is quite a bit of weight though (around 7kg I think), if you are only bringing a weekends worth of kit with you. Trailers are really 'optimal' if you are carrying 15 km+ of kit.

An option if you can keep things very light is a Carradice saddlebag with seatpost attachment, combined with front panniers (oldmanmountain do racks for front sus forks - Carradice Limpets are also designed for sus forks). That combination should allow for 10-15 kg of kit without any major problems. Any heavier, go for the trailer.

*15kg+ of kit

I've got a seatpost rack that just clamps on and I've got a decent camelback rucksack. The trouble then is a very high centre of gravity.
My problem is the sheer bulk of carrying a tent as well as weight.
And, to be honest, if I'm buying a tent and a trailer, it is an expensive mistake if I get it wrong.

Blimey, those tent prices vary a bit - for a 3 man tent, what's the equivalent of the 500 quid MTB (or do I have to face the slings and arrows of outdoormagic)

a question i was too shy to ask

The Coleman Cobra is a pretty decent budget 2-man (in a tight squeeze) tent for carrying on a bike. Its 2.5 kg and it was £125 when I bought it 2 years ago -I've seen it sold in sales for less. There are more sophisticated and lighter designs out there, but its done me fine on various trips.

Any ideas on a 2 or 3 man tent where I can keep the bike inside (for security -not obsession)

I've heard the Hilleberg Nallo 2GT is a very good bike touring tent. Its very light and has the advantage of a vestibule so you can keep your bike inside (very handy for security). its pricy though - around the £350 mark I think.

The Vanga Micro is also supposed to be pretty good.

There is some advice here http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/tent.htm

I don't think you'd fit a bike in any 2-3 man tent.

Maybe you could pitch the small awning some of them have over part of your bike, peg it through the frame and to steal it they'd need to take down part of your tent. With you asleep in it, it should be reasonably secure.

The Hilleberg Nallo GT is a 2-person tent with a vestibule. Total weight is 2.5 kg according to their website. http://www.hilleberg.se/default-e.HTM

I think Vango have roughly equivelent tents.

This looks amazing value but its probably crap quality (sorry, I keep forgetting how to do the little links).

http://www.a1camping.com/bikvesten.html

Although you get what you pay for with tents, sometimes cheap ones can be fine for summer camping. I had a very light little tent I bought for £25 in a YHA shop a few years back. So long as it didn't rain it was great - as I bought it for a desert camping trip that wasn't a problem!

"With you asleep in it, it should be reasonably secure"

Anne, I would love to think that I will be sleeping. Unfortunately, I will be pretty comatose as I will be undertaking a comprehensive survey of the local wines and beers. I'd have to chain the bike to myself.
I could practice self control but I tried it once and I didn't like it.

Reminds me of the Sherlock Holmes joke when Holmes says to Watson after waking him n the middle of the night during a camping trip...

Holmes: "Watson, my dear fellow -tell me what you can see and what you deduce from it".

Watson: "Holmes, I can see the Milky Way, Jupiter, Mars and Venus. I see the new Moon and every now and then I see a shooting Star.
From this I deduce that the Universe is infinite, that we are not the only inhabitants of the Universe and that we can expect to meet visitors from another planet or galaxy at some time during mankinds stewardship of this wonderful planet".

Holmes:












"You fool, -someones stolen our tent while we were asleep".

Phil,
Thanks, I checked the link. I suspect carriage from USA will be more than the tent though.

LOL I did think of suggesting you use a cable lock, one end around the bike the other around a foot or wrist.

Thats true, but with a bit of haggling it can be reduced. I ordered some bar ends from Cane Creek in North Carolina a few weeks ago. The carriage cost quoted was pretty much the same as the cost of the bar ends (around $50). I e-mailed them and asked them to send it regular mail - They agreed after I confirmed to them in writing that I'd accept the 'risk'. The final cost was less than half - $21.

get a 1 man tent from argos they are light and compact and get 2 dog tie screws from a camping shops screw them 6" appart lay the rear wheel and chain stays and slot a D lock through and get on of those motion alarms that fit in your handle bars that they reviewed in what MTB this month