The Best Bike Storage Tents for Adult Tricycles: Check the Width First

The PZT's main upgrade is a rain cover over the top, added to stop the fabric tearing under the load of standing water and wind. The shell is 210D silver-plated Oxford fabric in three layers with a PU 4000 waterproof coating, and the inside seams are covered with heat-sealed tape to stop leaks. The zipper has a wind shield flap so rain does not blow through it, and there is a small window for ventilation and a storage pocket for small tools or a lock.

It measures 79 inches long, 32 deep and 65 high, and the maker describes it as holding two standard bikes or one electric bicycle. That tells you what you need to know for a trike: it is one trike at most, and only if the trike fits in 32 inches. The frame is 9 mm fiberglass poles with six extended ground stakes, which is the best anchoring package among the narrow tents. Compared with the Happy Travel, it is shorter but has stronger weather features. Compared with the Housolution, it is far narrower.

It suits a rider with a narrower, upright trike who lives somewhere that sees rain and wind and who wants a better-sealed shell. The caveat is the 32 inch depth: a trike with a wide basket or fenders will not fit without pressing against the walls, so lay a tape measure across the widest point of your trike first.

At 86.5 inches long and 73 high, the Happy Travel has the most length and headroom of the six, which matters for a long upright trike or a recumbent with a tall flag pole. The maker describes a vertical-sided design that gives about 30 percent more space than the previous version, and a new clip system that cuts setup to about three minutes. The 210D double silver-plated Oxford fabric has taped seams, and a full-length two-way zipper opens the door wide, with a large window for light and air.

The depth is the same 31.5 inches as most of its rivals, which is the main limit for a trike. The tent packs down to 17.5 by 6 by 6 inches, which is small enough for a closet. Compared with the PZT, it is longer and quicker to set up but has no separate roof cover; compared with the Housolution, it is far narrower. It has the longest owner record of the tents here.

It suits a rider whose trike is long and narrow, or who wants to put the tent up and take it down often. The caveat is the same depth: check the width of your trike at the basket and fenders against 31.5 inches before you commit, and expect a tight squeeze with any basket.

The PROLEE is the plainest of the narrow tents: 79 inches long, 31.5 deep and 65 high, in Oxford cloth with a waterproof construction and a UV coating against fading. It comes with a spare long rod, a small thing that matters because a snapped pole in a windstorm is the usual way these tents fail, and a spare turns a ruined tent into a repair. It folds and packs for carrying, and the maker also pitches it for camping and seasonal use.

It has a lighter weather package than the PZT, which adds a separate roof rain cover and extended stakes. Compared with the Happy Travel, it is shorter and slower to set up; compared with the PZT, it is simpler and has a spare pole instead of a rain cover. It also has a long owner record.

It suits a rider who wants a straightforward tent for occasional use, with a spare pole as insurance. The caveat is the 31.5 inch depth, which suits a narrow trike only, and the lack of extra weatherproofing means it needs good anchoring and a sheltered spot to stay put.

The Housolution is the tent to look at first if your trike is wide, because its depth is 59.1 inches rather than the 31.5 or 32 of the others. The vertical sides add roughly 30 percent more space, and the arched roof is meant to shed water rather than let it pool. The fabric is 210D silver-coated Oxford over three layers with a PU 4000 coating, and the poles are 8 mm fiberglass, slightly thinner than the 9 mm poles on the PZT and the Happy Travel.

The frame needs four ground pegs plus windproof ropes, and the setup is like a camping tent, with each pole threaded through a sleeve in turn, which takes about eight minutes. There is a small window for ventilation and a built-in storage pocket. Compared with the PZT, it is far deeper but has thinner poles and a smaller owner record. Compared with the others, it gives you the room to wheel a trike in and step around it.

It suits a rider with a wide trike, a basket and fenders, or who wants space to work on it. The caveat is wind: a wider shell catches more wind and has thinner poles, so use every peg and rope, and pitch it with the narrow end facing the prevailing wind.

The TACXO's coating is PU 5000, a step up from the PU 4000 on most rivals, on 210D silver-coated Oxford with a triple-layer rip-resistant weave and waterproof tape over the stitching. The poles are 9 mm fiberglass, and the door has a two-way zipper. It assembles in three steps without tools, packs to 17.8 by 6 by 6 inches and weighs 6.5 lb, which is light enough to carry in one hand.

At 78.7 by 31.5 by 67 inches, it shares the narrow depth of the PZT and the PROLEE, with a little more headroom. Compared with the PZT, it has a higher coating number but no separate rain cover. Compared with the Housolution, it is much narrower but has thicker poles. A higher coating number helps in a long rain, but a coating is only as good as the seams and the zipper.

It suits a rider in a wet climate with a narrow trike who wants a lighter tent. The rating for this one could not be verified, so judge it on its design and take three steps before buying: read recent reviews for pole breakage and zipper failure, check the return window, and test the seams with a hose on the first day. The depth is the same limit as the others, so measure your trike first.

The UNP is cut for one or two bicycles, which is a more honest capacity for a 31.5 inch deep tent than the two or three claimed by its rivals. It uses 210D Oxford with a PU 4000 coating and a silver coating for UV, 9 mm fiberglass poles and stakes, a two-way zipper that seals the door and a small window. Setup is under ten minutes without tools: you slide the poles through their sleeves, bend the frame into an arch and spread the width with the shorter frame.

It packs to 17 by 5.5 by 5.5 inches and weighs 8 lb, the heaviest of the light tents here. Compared with the TACXO, it has a lower coating number and a heavier pack. Compared with the PZT, it has no separate roof cover and fewer anchoring accessories, but a clearer capacity statement. Next to the Housolution, it is about half the depth.

It suits a rider with one narrow trike and no plans to share the space. The rating could not be verified, so judge it on its design and check three things before buying: recent reviews for pole snaps and zipper wear, the return policy, and whether your trike clears 31.5 inches at the basket. The depth is the main limit, so measure before you order.