Tern Link D8

[PaulM]

I bought one off eBay, by accident - pressed the button when I didn't mean to. The frame had just been replaced under warranty as part of the recall by Tern. I gave it a thorough going over today. Very solidly built, over engineered I'd say. The 8 speed Neos derailleur is brillaint, the N-fold is neat, the handlepost is solid. Time to sell the Brompton I think, except that the Brommie folds much smaller. And the Link is no lighter, at around 28lbs according to my bathroom scales. Perhaps the GF can have the Link and I'll get a Verge with the proceeds from the Brommie.

 

[TheDoctor]

So...the Tern is no lighter and doesn't fold as small?
Doesn't sound like a compelling reason for selling the Brommie!
I'd wait and see how long the new Tern frame lasts.
And do a quick search for 'tern problem' on CC - there's a lot of reading material there.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Keep em both. N+1 an all that.

 

[PaulM]

The Brommie is worth quite a bit, but I don't get on with it so might as well cash it in. I'll keep a close eye on the Tern, particularly the hinges. After inspecting all the welds all I can say is that it looks seriously strong. I've owned three 20" wheeled Dahons previously and not had problems with those and the Tern is like a Dahon on steroids.

 

[TheDoctor]

Not liking a bike is a compelling reason for selling it in my book!

 

[Mr Foldy]

I collected my Tern Link D8 today. I have a Dahon MU 8 speed which I love. But after many miles and years it needs new tyres, cables, stand, brake blocks, the works. The bearing sets all need a good service too. The Tern wasn't much pricier than doing all that.
Accepting the obvious new bike honeymoon period, I love it. The fold is slightly easier that the Dahon, the steering post doesn't need adjusted. The locking mechanisms are well designed. The Tern just looks cool too.
Quibbles would be that it comes with non folding pedals and the brake levers were better quality on the Dahon.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

^^ sounds like the Dahon is going for a long lie down maybe cannibalise the parts you prefer from it onto the Tern and leave the Mu as an emergency reserve????

 

[Mr Foldy]

^^ sounds like the Dahon is going for a long lie down maybe cannibalise the parts you prefer from it onto the Tern and leave the Mu as an emergency reserve????

That's certainly the way I'm thinking.

 

[PaulM]

I weighed my Brompton at 25.5lbs and my Tern D8 at 29.5lbs. The Tern does have a rack and heavy duty tyres. The Brompton is still up for sale.

 

[PaulM]

The Brompton sold - I was staggered at the amount of interest I had for it on gumtree. Could have sold it many times over. Been riding the Tern some good distances recently and the difference is night and day in terms of stability. The Tern is a real bike. Much as I loved the Brompton design and style I could not imagine doing great speed or great distance on it comfortably. The Tern is just so good that I would consider taking it on tour. In other words the Tern seems closer in capabilities to a 700c tourer than the Brommie seems to the Tern.

 

[the_mikey]

I collected my Tern Link D8 today. I have a Dahon MU 8 speed which I love. But after many miles and years it needs new tyres, cables, stand, brake blocks, the works. The bearing sets all need a good service too. The Tern wasn't much pricier than doing all that.
Accepting the obvious new bike honeymoon period, I love it. The fold is slightly easier that the Dahon, the steering post doesn't need adjusted. The locking mechanisms are well designed. The Tern just looks cool too.
Quibbles would be that it comes with non folding pedals and the brake levers were better quality on the Dahon.

I have a Tern Link D8 myself and it does come with folding pedals, my main quibbles are with trying to buy replacement 20 inch tyres that don't foul the mudguards, the original Schwalbe citizen tyres were puncture magnets, now fitted with a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus, much better ride quality but aligning the mudguards to fit was a pain.

Brompton on the other hand won't get me thrown off a train.