Height/Weight Restrictions & Shopping for the "Perfect Fit"

My daughter just got a bicycle that was paid for by her workplace to encourage exercise. This might be a program that Tern tries to cultivate as a target for bikes to keep at the office for those lunch trips! I realize this is not a new concept to former DaHon folks or should I say the enlightened at Tern but it is a potential market!

I know some makers and distributors front bikes for their employees if they pledge to ride them! This is a great program.

Slim

I have a concern with the joint connecting the handle bar to the bike, my question is how secure is it? I noticed that it does not have a device to hold it in place once it is in the riding position. I don't want it folding down on me if I jump off a curb or make a sharp turn. I am not the guy buying a case for my bike so it wont get scratches, I use and sometimes abuse my bikes. I mostly jump off curbs, also recently the pedals of a dahon bike failed when I was pedaling standing up. I used it like a typical bmx bike. I want to know how much punishment these new bikes can take before a component comes out of place, I'm not looking for style but for performance.

There is a product - the 'safety handlepost latch' or just 'handlepost latch'. Don't know if it's factory or aftermarket but my newly acquired used p8 has it.

I too am trying to ascertain the limits of these bikes after just picking up a folder and having come to the conclusion that these bikes work pretty darn well. My bike is tempting me to take that shortcut over the curb etc. and I'm just not sure if I should go there or not. The worst thing that happens on conventional bikes during conventional misdeeds is a bent rim... A trashed frame sure would hurt for a little exuberance. So now that I'm sold on the folding part and wanting to get a fresh ride (aka Tern), I need to determine the reliability part - Do I get a model that won't tempt me or do I get a jack-of-all-trades that allows for the occassional wild-ride? 

I feel that the image that tern portays so far is an image of freedom, freedom from the urban jungle and hopefully this is reflected well on their bikes not only in looks but in performance in all models. personally I feel that yes, my 400+ bike should be able to handle basic things that a walmart child's bike can, with the added feature of portability. Sometimes I choose to jump curbs out of convenience, the handle bar should stay in place. If I want to pedal fast down an empty street, I should't worry that my pedals are going to fall off. The Frame is solid. It's just the components that worry me. I have high hopes for tern, and am eager to get my hands on a bike as soon as they hit stores. 

Hi Fernzire,

A couple of thoughts:

1. Folding pedals are a weak link of most folding bikes. They just aren’t built to withstand BMX riding although obviously, they shouldn’t break in normal riding. If you need more durability, look at MKS quick release pedals as found on our Verge S11i bike but as usual, quality costs.

2. All of our handlepost joints have a secondary safety mechanism that keeps the latch locked closed while you are riding. You can’t see it because it’s built into our latch and is very low profile.

3. Of all the advantages that our new Tern bikes offer, the greatest advantage is the strength and durability of our frame and handlepost folding joints. They are super strong, really easy to use, very precisely manufactured, and easily serviceable. Of course that doesn’t mean we recommend BMX style riding, but they’ll stand up to hard usage.

The true test is a test ride. Take one for a spin and let us know what you think.

I was eager to add folding pedals or quick release pedals to one of my older Dahons, originally with a folding right crank which I had replaced with a non-folding crank, but found in typical usage that I rarely needed the extra space afforded by folding the pedals. Then I realized that by carrying a wrench with me, I could remove the standard pedal whenever I really needed the extra space. Typically I fold my bike in half and roll it forward and it is sufficiently small and portable for most of the places I visit. Only rarely do I need to make it fully compact, and those times have typically been when I had more time to do the folding (and stuffing into a bag or trunk of a car), so the extra effort to remove a whole pedal was not a problem.

I will note that folding pedals still stick out about half their original lengths, so they save only about two inches, I think. Even quick release pedals still stick out at least one inch. So when I remove a pedal I end up with a still smaller fold, when needed. I noted that at one time early Dahons came with a large circular plastic "wrench" permanently on the inside of the right pedal between it and the crank which could be used to unscrew the pedal; this was after the folding crank approach was abandoned and before folding pedals were added.

I would say that many people might be in the same place as am I, and perhaps prefer to use a standard pedal which is designed to hold up longer rather than a design compromised for folding purposes. However, I guess it is best to sell the bikes with folding pedals, and assume quick optimally compact folds are the primary reason why they chose a folding bike; they can always later trade off to a preferred pedal type, for instance one with toe clips, or clipless pedals and work out what is most important to them then.

The proof is in the ride.