# Tern folding bikes



## doginabag (30 Apr 2014)

Hi guys. 

New user here, considering getting my first folding bike.

I have been looking at Tern bikes sold by Evans, as an alternative to a Brompton which unfortunately is out of my price range.

Does anyone have any general experiance of them, are they worth looking at? I know they don't fold anywhere near as small, but does anyone use them for commuting and are there any issues getting them on a train?
At first look they look well enough made, but in the long term, how do they fare?

From the reviews and other forums I have read so far,t he Tern bikes seem to be quite well regarded. However I popped into an Evans store to take a look and I was steered towards the bromptons by the salesman several times. Having done my time working in retail many years ago, I know to take advice from a salesman with a pinch of salt as it can sometimes be influenced by what products have the greater mark-up. So looking for advice from reall users.

Thanks

Dave


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## Kies (30 Apr 2014)

The Terns are good bikes and i found them better for me being a tall (5ft 11) rider. The fold is bigger than the Brompton, and it came down to what is more important to you, fold or ride. 
I was about to buy the P24h as it has an adjustable handlebar which allows for a good fit .... In the end i bought a Dahon (2nd hand Ebay) and havn't regretted the purchase.
The trains and tubes have no issue with folding bikes ... Some allow me to keep the bike open all the way onto the platform, and others insist i fold it before going through the gates (jobsworth).


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## doginabag (1 May 2014)

Sounds promissing. I was looking at either the Link P9 or the Link D7i.

I like the idea of hub hears for commuting, no greasy chains and being able to change gears while stopped. But there is a 3kg increase in the D7i over the P9!
I have always had deralliers in the past on full size bikes, so no issue with adjustment/maintanaince etc, and from what I understand they are more efficient.

Is it also correct that in general hub gears are more expensive than derraliers? If so, with these two bikes being the same price, would that suggest a lower spec in other components on the D7i?


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## Kies (1 May 2014)

hub geared bikes have a different way of removing the rear wheel, so i stuck with what i know and went for an 8 speed cassette. it also meant i can change the cassette (within spec) to suit my riding. 3kg weight penalty sounds like a lot - i guess it depends on what type of rider you are and the loads that will be put on the bike


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## doginabag (1 May 2014)

I am tempted to stick with what I know too. Can't see me suddenly having problems just because someone has come and stuck an elaborate door hing on my bike. 

Just need to find somewhere with stock to try one out now.


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## T4tomo (1 May 2014)

The spec is virtually equal - looking at Evans website, bar the gears, but the Di7 comes with rear rack and mudguards.

I see rear rack as just a weight penalty, but some prefer panniers to rucksacks or messenger bags (my preference). Mudguards are useful on commuter especially if you have to occasionally or regularly commute in work clothes / trousers.

Hub gears are great for low maintenance etc, that said the Shimano Nexus isn't the most robust, a few report problems with it. Sturmey archer have better reputation or shimano Alfine.

Hub gears are heavier but suggest rear rack is adding to that weight difference, but it is quite a penalty.

Brompton is around a better bike but then you pay much more for it.


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## shouldbeinbed (1 May 2014)

Tern and Dahon are the two at that price point and have had their Apple v Samsung moments. When I've had a little sit on a Tern it seemed comfy and we'll put together. I can't recall seeing a bad review of one. On mobile so not clicked the links but if you're in the 3-500 range you may do well to have a look at the Decathlon B'twin tilt range. Similar fold size to the terns and a few variants in gearing , chain or belt drive etc. nice comfy and as ever with Decathlon seem well specced for the price. The hinge is a bit of an acquired taste under braking but worthy of consideration IMO


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## byegad (1 May 2014)

Remember you need to buy two. As one good Tern deserves another.



I'll get my coat.


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## morrisman (2 May 2014)

I have a D8 and find it fine, happy to do 30 mile rides around London for a bit of sightseeing. Folds well enough to easily go on the train down to the city.


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## Kies (3 May 2014)

Tern (via Dahon), Dahon & Brompton have been around long enough to build good quality folders with minimal issues with the folding mech .... Try a few and decide


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## doginabag (8 May 2014)

Thank you guys. Managed to find a few terns in stock and was pretty impressed with the quality. I've bitten the bullet and did go for the Link P9 in the end. Just waiting for my cycle scheme voucher to arrive so I can go pick it up. I don't like waiting!


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## Mr Foldy (14 May 2014)

doginabag said:


> Thank you guys. Managed to find a few terns in stock and was pretty impressed with the quality. I've bitten the bullet and did go for the Link P9 in the end. Just waiting for my cycle scheme voucher to arrive so I can go pick it up. I don't like waiting!


Is it here yet? Hope you love it. Review please?!


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## Kies (14 May 2014)

Excellent choice!


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## Rager (15 May 2014)

Hi, I'm posting as an owner of a Link D8 bought in 2013. Have a look at the Forum on the Tern website - i'm afraid you'll see there has been a spate of broken frames over the last 6 months. 

Regards.


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## the_mikey (16 May 2014)

I have a link D8 also, I bought mine early in 2013, checked the frame with no damage at the weld on the hinge, and it's well used. As with all bicycle frames, some vigilance is necessary to avoid any unpleasant surprises.


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## Rager (16 May 2014)

Checking the welds for damage is obviously sensible. However, if you read the reports, you'll see that all failures were sudden with no warning signs.


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## doginabag (20 May 2014)

Mr Foldy said:


> Is it here yet? Hope you love it. Review please?!


 


Kies said:


> Excellent choice!


 
Yes I have it now. I picked the bike up on my lunch break last week. the moment I got out of the store to ride it back to my office the heavens oppened and I was pelted by hail stones all the way back. But still, it was some of the most fun I have had on two wheels in a long time.

The first time I got on it, the small wheels took a little getting used to, but by day two riding it was like second nature. The manouverability is great being able to weave in and out of traffit to get to the front of the lights, I couldn't immagine doing the same ona full size bike.

It's alslo rather quick, I often find myself flying by all but the most serious of cyclists on my short dash between the station and my office. What used to be a 30-35 minute walk now only takes me 8 minutes so I'm happy with that.

I am impressed with the fold. Not having owned any other folders I have nothing to compare it to, but it is a very quick and easy operation. It doesn't fold as small as a Brompton, but I knew that was the case before hand, so I can't knock that. Where as a Brompton will fit in the void between the seat backs on the train, unfortunately this does not. The space itself is just about big enough by the looks of it, but the aisle is too narrow to be able to turn the bike to fit it in, a bit disappointing, but that's more a fault of the train company not providing any luggage space than a fault of the bike itself.
Instead, I leave the bike folded in the vestible and take a seat opposite where I can keep an eye on it. I understand there is some new carrigaes on the way eventually which will address that, if you believe that the trains will ever recieve any investment!

This particualar model doesn't come with mud guards or rear rack, but as per a couple of other comments on the Evenas website, mine did. The rack came of straight away to free up a bit of weight as I prefer a back pack personally, but mud guards are a must for commuting, so that saved me having to fork out for those too.
The only down side is that the bike itself is white. That itself, I actually like, but witht he bud guards being the same colour, it kind of looks like a little old ladies shopping bike. The frame itself is very BMX-esque, all be it with raised seat post and handle bars so looks really quit cool without the guards, but impractical. So the first thing I did was take them off, strip them down and re-paint them black with some flexible paint. Now they kind of dissapear against the tryes and looks much better!

Still early days so can't say much about reliability or build quality, but if anything come up I shall update.


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## Kies (20 May 2014)

They are great bikes - glad you are enjoying it


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## Kempston (20 Jun 2014)

To touch on Bromptons, I was going to buy one as my budget would stretch to it, I went into Evans with the specific intention of doing this last year. However, I'm quite a big bloke (6'2") and, after numerous test rides on different bikes, I honestly found the Tern I eventually bought to be the better ride of the two. The Brompton folded up fantastically, and as a design it's hard to fault despite the age. But it appeared to have far more flex to it to me and to get the required amount of gears made the cost stupid. I could afford it, but I didn't see the point when I could get a 7 geared upper range Tern for less money than a 3 geared bottom of the range Brompton. 

You made a good decision with you purchase.


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## doginabag (30 Sep 2014)

Well, I have had a bit of a problem.
Last weekend doing a bit of routine maintenance I went to check the hinge bolts were tight and found that one had actually sheared.
Took the bike into evans who have confirmed it is a valid warranty claim. However, there are no Link P9's in stock and they don't know when they are getting any. To add to that, the "mechanic" who tried to get the rest of the bolt out drilled out the whole diameter knackering the thread in the frame, so now the whole bike is written off. Wish I had done it myself now, but thought best not due to it being under warranty.

Here is my problem. As it was the last of the 2013 models, I got it for £450 down from £600. As there are no 2014 models available they are offering me anything of the same value, suggesting a Link D8 which I am not really happy about. As a warranty replacement that the manufacturer have accepted, they should replace like for like, not by equivalent value, I'm not happy to take a lower spec bike than what I originally chose just because I had the misfortune of mine breaking.

The next one up they have is the Verge P9, but that is £750! Evans have offered to do it for the £600 that my P9 was originally set at, but that means I still need to stump up another £150 which I don't have.

I'm not really sure what to do. There is a link P7i up at £600, so I could probably negotiate that, but it seems a bit utilitarian, I know I decided against it in favour of the P9 originally. Or the D7i, again, it's not what I chose last time round.....
Other than that, there are Bickertons. What are they like? They seem to have more of a passing resemblance to the Terns.

Failing that, do I take my £450 refund and go else where? It's more hassle, and I don't really know where to go.


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## Luke Redpath (6 Oct 2014)

The Link D8 is a good bike (I used to have one but it was replaced with a Link P9 due to the recall several months back) but I certainly wouldn't accept it as a replacement for a P9 - not without some financial reimbursement.

Evans don't seem to be stocking quite as many Tern models anymore, they seem to be pushing Bickerton bikes which are actually rebranded Tern bikes. It might be worth seeing if one of these is an equivalent to the P9:

http://www.bickertonportables.co.uk

You'd have to compare specs but this one looks like it could be a rebadged P9 (but with a Brooks saddle!):
http://www.bickertonportables.co.uk/bikes/junction/junction-1909-country/

Edit: rebadged, and more expensive!
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bickerton/junction-1909-country-folding-bike-ec065995


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## Johnxalo (23 Jan 2015)

I've just bought a Tern link24 folding bike, with hybridi internal/external change gear but I'm sorry to say that I regret it. I have problems with squeaking / creaking of the handlepost and the internal change gear. Although I have contacted the dealer, the Spanish distributor and the manufacturer I'm still hoping them resolve these problems, that seems to be intrinsecal to this model.


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## Luke Redpath (23 Jan 2015)

If your handle post is creaking you need to apply a small amount of bike grease to the OCL joint.


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## doginabag (29 Sep 2015)

Hi guys. Back after a long absence, thought I would give a little update on how I am getting with the Tern.

To put it simply, I would never buy another Tern bike and certainly wouldn't recommend them to anyone else.

As you can see from my last post here, at just 5 months old the hinge bolt sheared which in tern (pardon the pun) wrote of the entire frame. The outcome of that was that Evans were able to source a replacement frame albeit in a different colour, so with the original forks and wheels it looks like a right mish mash of parts.

So 18 months on from the original purchase on top of the new frame there are other issues I have with it.

The seat post rotates easily when being ridden, despite the QR being f-tight.

The chain constantly falls off the front sprocket. This may be simply because that 9 gears is too much lateral travel to take on a single front sprocket so may be ok on other models with less gears. But it is bloody annoying and happens so regularly that I have actually developed a knack of getting the chain back on with my foot while still moving. Maybe 2-3 times per every 2 mile trip.

Most of the fixings are starting to rust. Not a huge issue yet, but is an indicator of general quality when cheap plated mild steel fixings are using in place of stainless steel ones. Not what I would expect when laying out £500 on a bike.

And the cherry on top, last night leaving work the left pedal removed itself from the pedal arm. The pedal bolt sheared (yep, another failed fixing) while I was pulling away from some lights. I was very lucky as I only just kept my balance, otherwise I could have very easily ended up under the bus behind me.


So overall, not a great experience. In my opinion, what should be a good bike let down by the use of cheap low grade components.


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## Shortmember (29 Sep 2015)

Quality control seems to be quite lax in some Taiwanese cycle factories and their products seem to be deliberately built to look 'cool' at a bargain price, but not manufactured with robustness and long term hard usage in mind. It is probably best to pay a bit extra and purchase a European model if the bike is intended for serious mileage and everyday use.


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## Kell (30 Sep 2015)

I feel your pain.

I had a Dahon full-size folder that developed a crack near one of the welds. It didn't look structural, but as part of my commute contains a 44 mph downhill, I didn't want to risk it.

This was just about the time that Dahon ceased trading, but the bike was still within its 5-year frame warranty. Which left me with a problem.

Evans weren't really interested in helping as they'd dropped the range and at that point no one was importing them. Advice online was to send the frame to Dahon myself and wait for assessment and possible replacement, but this wasn't really sensible as I was also told this would take upwards of 3 months to complete.

As riding a bike saves me around £200 a month in parking and tube fares, 3 months (at least) without a bike would have meant I could buy a new one for the same cost.

As it happens, I knew someone with an older Dahon they'd ridden only a handful of times, so I bought that for £150.

After a year, that also developed a crack in the seat tube - this one was serious however and the entire top of the post moved about an inch laterally.

So I binned that bike, and started using my other one. After a couple of months, the tiny crack became a big crack. And that too, was binned.

In the end, I bought a Brompton as I've never heard of these types of problems. And, because of their popularity and localness, I figure I'm in with a better shout if anything does go wrong.

Buy cheap, buy twice, as they say. Or in my case, three times.

I'd not touch a Dahon again. And I bought my Brompton from a local independent rather than give any more money to Evans. Massively disappointed with the whole experience.


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## TheDoctor (1 Oct 2015)

Hmmm. I had been thinking of getting a Dahon Jack frame and forks (for just £80!) but maybe I'll not bother. I'll stick with the M6R.


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## shouldbeinbed (1 Oct 2015)

Sympathies @doginabag & @Kell 

My v old Dahon is still rolling along ok, maybe increased popularity saw decreased standards.


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## StuAff (1 Oct 2015)

Nowt wrong with my Dahon (2010 frame), and the first two frames I owned were fine too (hinges replaced on both though). Given the number of bikes they build both under their own name and for others it's sadly unsurprising they build lemons now and again. The constant changes in the model line and inconsistent to appalling parts distribution (certainly in the UK) certainly doesn't help. Needed a new chain catcher for my TT, had to get it from Germany....


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## Kell (5 Oct 2015)

shouldbeinbed said:


> Sympathies @doginabag & @Kell
> 
> My v old Dahon is still rolling along ok, maybe increased popularity saw decreased standards.



Or maybe I'm just too fat.


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