Hi everyone, and welcome to my review of the YardStash. The YardStash is an outdoor storage tent that can be used to store bikes, gardening equipment, pool supplies, or anything that will fit into it. For our purposes it’s a bike storage tent.
Note that the YardStash does have grommets all around the back so that it can be bolted, screwed, or locked to a wall or fence. Again, for our purposes we’ll be running a lock through the ‘window’ in the back and locking the YardStash to a tree or pole in most cases.
I’ll also have to set it up every time we go to a new campground. Of course we won’t use it for overnight stops – it will be more for 1+ week trips.
I made the video review below so you can get a better idea if the YardStash is right for you:
Here are the products mentioned in the video on Amazon.com:
Topeak Lineup Stand Review
The Topeak Lineup stands weren’t our first choice. We looked at several other bike stands first, but every other stand was either too large, too heavy, or not easily broken down to fit in our RV for travel. The other problem is that some stands require specific wheel and tire sizes to hold a bike securely.
My bike is a 29er, which means it has 29inch wheels, plus I have disc brakes. ‘Standard’ mountain bikes have 26inch wheels, and a lot of new bikes have 27.5inch wheels. The Topeak Lineup Stand fits all of the above – with or without disc brakes.
Kathy’s bike is a hybrid with 700c Wheels and a very slightly knobby tire. The Lineup Stand has different grooves in the adjustable guide for different sized tires, so it holds her bike no problem as well.
My only complaint is that it’s a little bit awkward to place the bikes in the Topeak Lineup Stand while they’re inside of the yardstash. This is partly because my bike is giant. It’s an XL frame with 29″ wheels, so it’s about as large as a bike can get. More ‘normal’ sized bikes will be much easier to fit.
The Lineup Stand is a little pricey, however when I ordered it on Amazon I got a surprise discount in my cart. I think I paid less than $80 shipped for both of them, and for me that’s worth it. It’s easy to do more than $80 worth of damage to a bike by leaning them on their side and having them fall. A bent brake disc or derailer would do it.
In closing, If you’re looking for a lightweight bike stand for your home, garage, RV, or YardStash, I think the Topeak Lineup Stand is an excellent choice. They’re very well made, easy to collapse, lightweight, and strong – plus they fit just about any size bike.
A Note About Bike Security
I discussed bike security in my video and I want to follow up here. First, just to get this out of the way, it’s impossible to 100% protect a bicycle from a determined thief. Even the best U-Bolt locks can be opened. Chains can be cut. I recommend checking with your homeowners, renters, or RV insurance to see if they can cover your bikes too – especially if your bikes are expensive.
Second, I’m not trying to suggest that putting something ‘out of sight’ in the YardStash makes it un-stealable. What I’m saying is that there’s a difference between locking a bike to a tree where anyone walking by can see it and locking a bike to a tree while it’s inside the YardStash.
Sure someone can open the YardStash and look inside, but most thieves are opportunistic and are more likely to target something that’s clearly visible. That said, I would never suggest leaving anything in the YardStash in a campground without also locking at least the door – and preferably using U-bolts and security cables to lock things into place.
As far as our setup goes, it’s only ok from a security standpoint, but we have one big thing going for us: We’re usually in a campground, and campgrounds are usually located in out-of-the-way places. Far more bikes are stolen in city downtowns, colleges, and schools, although I do know of people that have had a bike stolen in a campground.
Of course the YardStash if good for more than just security. It also protects your bikes and other stuff from weather, animals, falling debris, etc…
To learn more about the YardStash including specs & dimensions:
Note – we did not receive any of these items for free or as promotional items. We researched and bought everything ourselves, so this review is (relatively) unbiased – or as unbiased as I could make it.
That’s it for today. This is my first ‘accessory’ post, and I will be sharing more as we go, but won’t bog you down with them (I promise!), although I will be going over RV stuff for the next couple months until we get back on the road. Until next time, Happy Trekking!
