I like using poles when I set tarps up but I understand that not everyone does, some people would much rather use their bike to support the tarp instead. This tends to involve standing the bike upsidedown which I've always felt can cause a few issues. Firstly it never tends to be very stable, secondly it makes it difficult to access the kit that's on the bike and thirdly it can be a bit of a faff.

I wondered if there might be a way of employing the bike in place of a pole, that would keep it tyre side down, stable and still allow you to pack/unpack, etc ... this is the first prototype. The bikes amazingly stable (the brakes are held on) and it adjusts so you can raise or lower the support height as required. There's a QR lineloc on the front so you can leave half attached to your tarp and just clip the trap to the harness which makes set up very quick.

I've still a few alterations and adjustments to make.

Nice idea Stu. Not related I know but what's the top cap bracket used for?

Not related I know but what's the top cap bracket used for?

Light, gps, computer, etc Ray

Very good Stu, the good thing with the bike being perpendicular to tarp is that entry into it is more dignified!

Here's my preferred setup which keeps bike upright, plus it free's up wheel for supporting other end. Excuse the myriad of guys, they're overkill but I was experimenting with foul weather pitching, and this sure is very stable!

once again an unrelated enquiry...

What are those massively wide flat bars Anthony?

The very new Thomson Ti flat bar

730mm so not overly huge, feel lovely though. A birthday present to myself!

Ridiculously heavy and horrendous £££ but the Cotic build is more trail happy than trail fast :!:

Back on topic, Stuart is that a rectangular tarp and what's holding the other end up?

Sorry to continue the off-topic side conversation but.....

Below is a shot of some nice wide flat bars that I've now got three sets of as I like 'em that much ad they're not massively expensive:



Funny that's they're also on a Solaris (in the best colour) too!

They're a pair of Nukeproof 'Warhead 800 Flat Bars' and only cost £30 from CRC (and only weight just over 300g for the 760mm wide version).

Worth a look if you're interested.

Ok, back on topic - yeah Stuart, what's holding the other end up?

Anthony, I like the look of your set-up and am going to try something similar with my silly little tarp in the next week or so.

Cheers, Gairy.

Back on topic, Stuart is that a rectangular tarp and what's holding the other end up?

Yep, rectangular 2.3M x 1.3M ... other end propped up with a handy stick that fell on me as I was setting the thing up :?

..similar to Rick's tarp support last summer. Worked well, I've been intending to figure out a similar pitch for my tarp rather than 'adapting to the situation' ie making it up as I go and a different bodge each time..