Tern Eclipse P20 folder, or Ribble CGR electric ? :-/

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Hi. I am thinking about getting a bike, but I'm struggling to find the right thing.
I thought a folder would be good because then I could:
  • Go and collect my car the next day after being at the pub (put bike in boot).
  • Go out somewhere in the car to go for a cycle ride (put bike in the boot...)
I realise most folders have small wheels and heavy weight, but the Tern Eclipse P20 looks OK at ~12.5kgs and 26" wheels. It will just about fit in my BMW 6-series boot.

but I would really like electric assistance in case I decide to try to do some 'free miles' as I see it. i.e. cheap and easy transport. So that brings me to the Ribble CGR AL e or their Hybrid styled bike. A bit more money than the Tern folder, but same weight (remarkably!) at 12.5kgs, and with electric assistance if needed. but it doesn't fold - so it'd never go in my boot. Actually, my rear seats do fold down, so it might just about be possible to get it in anyway with the seats down. My seats are white though so it's a scary thought.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Carl
 

I like Skol

A Minging Manc...
I haven't ridden the folder but can say riding that in comparison to the road bike the difference will be night & day, chalk & cheese, wine & vinegar, etc.

Try them both first, I don't expect the folder to give the kind of riding experience you are looking for, but I might be wrong.

As far as getting your bike in the boot, the road bike should go in quite easily with the front wheel off and maybe the seatpost lowered or removed. To protect your car get an old duvet to hang over the back bumper and protect the interior.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
Get the Tern and put an electric kit on it. It'll cost you about three hundred quid for the kit and battery.
Be careful about the pub thing as the law considers you are still in charge of the car if you even just open the door although the cops will likely wait until you drive to be sure of a conviction.
 

icowden

Veteran
Location
Surrey
The Tern will be pretty solid as a road bike (I have the Eclipse's big brother, the Joe).
There is a folding electric Tern (Vektron) but it's flippin expensive!
 
OP
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carl0s

carl0s

Member
Hi. Thanks for the replies.
The thing is that the Ribble weighs the same as the Tern, with all the electrics already in place.
Adding electrics to the Tern would add ~4kg at least wouldn't it?
It's a tempting option though. Wouldn't I have to swap the rear rim for the cheapy that comes with the electric kit though?

Regarding the Tern folder not riding like the Ribble bike, why is that? This one has proper 26" rims, not 18 - 20". It looks like a proper bike. and has similar weight.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
I would have thought the ride would have been very similar. That weight for the Ribble sounds very light for an electric bike. Are you sure it includes the battery? Maybe check it.
You could go for a crank conversion but I don't know how that might affect the fold.
 
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carl0s

carl0s

Member
I would have thought the ride would have been very similar. That weight for the Ribble sounds very light for an electric bike. Are you sure it includes the battery? Maybe check it.
You could go for a crank conversion but I don't know how that might affect the fold.
It does sound a bit too light that doesn't it. I'll go check and confirm.
I have just been looking at mid drive conversions. Hmmm. :smile:
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
It's a 250wh battery so you won't go very far on that. Take any given range figures with a pinch of salt.
I'm not much of an expert but @Pale Rider is, perhaps a he could comment.
 

icowden

Veteran
Location
Surrey
From experience, the Tern will feel as solid as a road bike, albeit a heavy one. They are prone to issues with the main hinge over time (mine goes every 2 years ,but I commute 6 miles on it every day and fold 4 or 5 times per day), but the hinge is easily serviced with a £30 hinge pack.

The Vektron is a small wheeled tern, so I don't know what the ride would be like on that.

In terms of adding a motor to the Eclipse I would have thought the main difficulty would be in placing the battery pack (assuming a separate battery pack not mounted on the wheel) as the tern doesn't have conventional frame geometry and the eclipse has a folding handlebar stem.

I found this one which has a reasonable budget, large wheels and folds:

https://www.nitrotek.co.uk/z4-21-speed-folding-electric-mountain-bike-26-white.html?fee=28&fep=8993

also this;

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?zephyr-2017

and this:

http://www.electric-bike-factory.co.uk/acatalog/LegendEtnaElectricBike.html
 
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carl0s

carl0s

Member
From experience, the Tern will feel as solid as a road bike, albeit a heavy one. They are prone to issues with the main hinge over time (mine goes every 2 years ,but I commute 6 miles on it every day and fold 4 or 5 times per day), but the hinge is easily serviced with a £30 hinge pack.

The Vektron is a small wheeled tern, so I don't know what the ride would be like on that.

In terms of adding a motor to the Eclipse I would have thought the main difficulty would be in placing the battery pack (assuming a separate battery pack not mounted on the wheel) as the tern doesn't have conventional frame geometry and the eclipse has a folding handlebar stem.

I found this one which has a reasonable budget, large wheels and folds:

https://www.nitrotek.co.uk/z4-21-speed-folding-electric-mountain-bike-26-white.html?fee=28&fep=8993

also this;

http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?zephyr-2017

and this:

http://www.electric-bike-factory.co.uk/acatalog/LegendEtnaElectricBike.html

Hi! Thanks very much for all of your advice. Some of those bikes look quite interesting. £750 for a full suspension electric folder! I was originally hoping for at least some sort of front dampening (perhaps even something clever like the duolever-ish thing on the Birdy), but I've kind of realised that most bikes apart from heavy MTBs don't have any. That one is interesting anyway, as is the Woosh. I have been all over AliExpress and Alibabba and I can see that these are all imported from there. I suppose I wonder how the overall quality of the bike might be, and whether a £30 hinge repair is available for those bikes.

Anyway, the more I look and read (too much.. I need a break), I am turning more to the idea of a DIY. I did an LPG conversion on my previous-previous car (a BMW 545i), so I'm not averse to DIY alternate-fuelling type projects.

I kind of really fancy the idea of a light, fast, and slightly multi-terrain capable bike (mostly used on bad Manchester roads), i.e like a road bike but maybe slightly wider tyres. I was looking at non-folding used examples on eBay last night, 'til about 3am. Full carbon road / gravel bikes, but there aren't any decent used options in my size (55-56 frame I think) right now.

Back to folders, current top of my list is the Airnimal Chameleon, due to the way it folds vertically rather than horizontally. I realise you have to remove the front rim but that's OK. I may actually look at those non-folder-separable things that I initially disregarded, and see if there are any similar. The Airnimal is just too expensive for me at ~£1900 even before electrification, and the battery location would be a weird one. I'm happy to do my own cell pack though from 18650 cells.
 
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I have a tern folding bike - and for beating the car park and traffic its brilliant. - As folders go the ride is pretty good - But I am only ever on it for 10 mins at a time.
But then again I have road bikes for my longer rides - I wouldn't imagine a folder as my only bike
 

gaijintendo

Veteran
Location
Scotchland
Hi. I am thinking about getting a bike, but I'm struggling to find the right thing.
I thought a folder would be good because then I could:
  • Go and collect my car the next day after being at the pub (put bike in boot).
  • Go out somewhere in the car to go for a cycle ride (put bike in the boot...)
I realise most folders have small wheels and heavy weight, but the Tern Eclipse P20 looks OK at ~12.5kgs and 26" wheels. It will just about fit in my BMW 6-series boot.

but I would really like electric assistance in case I decide to try to do some 'free miles' as I see it. i.e. cheap and easy transport. So that brings me to the Ribble CGR AL e or their Hybrid styled bike. A bit more money than the Tern folder, but same weight (remarkably!) at 12.5kgs, and with electric assistance if needed. but it doesn't fold - so it'd never go in my boot. Actually, my rear seats do fold down, so it might just about be possible to get it in anyway with the seats down. My seats are white though so it's a scary thought.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Carl
"Free miles"! Love it.
White seats though...
 

mythste

Veteran
Location
Manchester
I can't help but suppose you might need to be clearer about your intended use of the bike before making a decision as we are looking at real extreme ends of the spectrum here.

If you're looking for a portable pub bike, speed certainly isn't going to be a priority so get a brompton or other small wheeled folder so you're not hogging all your boot space. With a small enough chainring and the small wheels you'll be able to spin comfortably up most hills without the need to race (Or indeed re-visit the last pint you downed).

If you're looking for an e-bike, I'm afraid I have less to offer. But would suspect that unless you're looking at a heavy utility bike, something like that Ribble might be the difference between a 50 mile ride and a 70 mile ride, but less practical in the sub 10 mile catagory.
 

Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
Go and test ride a few different types of bikes and have a good think about your requirements before looking at individual models. Find out what type of riding you like and therefore what type of bike you need. At the moment you are looking too detailed at individual models of bikes without actually knowing what type of bicycle you even think you need and what works for you.
 
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