New bike day! Tern Rally retro-chic flat bar roadie
 

I guess you’d probably call it a modified club racer style bike, for the flat bar and 1x divetrain, but in any case, I loved the neoclassical styling of this new rig from Tern’s Roji collection, the Rally.

It’s inexpensive, listing at $750, and so the components aren’t top-line, but they look great on this metallic ivory paint. The overall quality is better than I expected, though, and this 58cm size seems to be under 30lbs. It’s got a thunbshifted Claris 8spd derailleur, a cromo frame, pretty polished rims, and leather grips. Most bits are polished aluminum, so the look is really tied together nicely.

The ride quality is pretty nice, too; it’s smooth, quiet, shifts and brakes wheel, and responds nicely to pedal input. It has a full set of braze-ons for a rack, too. The laser cut, metal top tube Tern badge is nice.

I got this to replace an actually vintage version, a flat bar ‘78 Motebecane Gran Jubilée, whose inefficiency was wearing on me. It looks cool, but I wanted something that shifted and braked better, had fenders, and which I didn’t dread working on. This fit the bill so well, it also replaced my front basket equipped cafe bike, a Schwinn Collegiate, which I was tired of for the same reasons I am of the Motobecane...plus the seat springs constantly groaned under my, um, “substantial” mass.

Apparently there are very few of these Roji bikes available; I think there are four models in all, each a special collaboration with another company. The Rally is done with Kitt Designs, whoever they are. Anyway, I grabbed this from forum member ThorUSA , who is a Tern dealer. I recommend hitting him up and gettin’ you one, because it’s a really cool bike!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d206c4869.jpeg

Very nice! Over the past two riding seasons I have converted my bikes to flatbar 1x drivetrains. That setup works great for me so I understand the appeal of it to others.

That's a great looking bike. Enjoy your new ride.

P.S. The quick release needs to be flipped to the non drive side for aesthetics only.

That looks great. I always enjoy seeing shiny silver parts whenever possible.

Really pretty bike. Super clean and classic styling.



One small question .... is it an optical illusion or are those crank arms about as long as a grown man's arm?

I like it...I like it a lot

That's really sweet, I like everything about it. Would ride. But don't make me come over and adjust your front brake pads! :)

Thanks, everyone! I did hastily assemble it in my blazing hot garage today, failing to go over it and make sure it was right...as with the loose brake pads and disoriented skewer. They have been corrected. 🤓

Maelochs , I did not look at crankarm length, but I’m guessing their 175s and just look long given the chainring is probably a 46T or 48T for the 1x setup. I didn’t investigate that, either. If this all makes it sound like I bought the bike just because it’s pretty, well....

Having gotten over my initial excitement, ridden a handful of miles, and looked at it with a clearer eye, I do have a couple-or-three nitpicks. First, the paint appears to be two-stage, with a bit of unevenness in one of the layers. A couple of areas seem to be thin on the tan hue, appearing more pearly white. Not readily noticeable, and it mind of depends on the lighting, but it’s there. Another thing is that the wound leather grips are very hard, and there is little shock damping going on there. Lastly, the front rim doesn’t quite have the lustrous, mirror-like polish as the rear rim. Also a small variance, but once you see it, you cannot un-see it, if you get what I’m saying.

I’m still satisfied with it as a $750 outlay, realizing I’ve paid maybe a $100-$150 premium for style. I wanted ready-to-ride style, and that’s what I got. Provided the wheels don’t disintegrate, the brake levers don‘t rust, or the pedal cages crack, I’ll be happy! A buddy came over to check it out and resolved to get one for himself. Hey, ThorUSA , at least sell him one a different color!

Super good looking. Love the color scheme (and price).

It is a bit steep for a 1x claris bike with quill stem.It does have a vintage flair to it which is neat but for what you get it seems a little gougey.

That's a very good looking bike.

That's nice! :thumb: I like the silver components and dressing.

What kind of comps do you have in mind? I was thinking of the Linus Pronto as being a good comp; it's a Claris 1x with flat bar and fenders, and lists at $699. For the $50 premium, it's a no-brainer to go with the Tern for the way better styling, IMO.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aa3e3aac12.jpg
The $600 Public V7 would be a comp, too, I suppose, but again, I'm good with the $100 premium for sportier styling and an extra gear:


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...50a1608a19.jpg

I'd be surprised if you could find something as nice for less. Besides the frame, the OP's Tern Rally has a nicer fork than the others posted above.

I didn't look thoroughly since I fell in love with the Rally as soon as I saw it, but I've tried to keep notes on cool bikes in that use and styling realm, and yeah, I haven't found anything to compete which didn't cost more. Little touches like the downtube shifter braze-on cable stops, the quill stem, lugged fork, polished rims, and the Microshift thumbshifter really make it seem like a resto-custom rather than a modern hommage, which I think is neat.

Keep in mind too that bike prices are up across the board for a multitude of reasons. People who think this is over priced at $750 may still be living in the good old days of yore. My only nit pick has nothing to do with quality or value... that black derailleur looks badly out of place! I'd consider doing something about that if it were mine.

Can you post a close up of that shifter? What do you think of it so far? Thanks.

Yeah, I actually did think about replacing the rear derailleur, and even dove into the expensive world of Campagnolo Euclid for a second before coming to my proper senses! One of the reasons I like the bike is that it's new and modern, so putting old, used junk on it doesn't make any sense! If I could find a new 8spd derailleur in silver, I would be interested in that, but admittedly I ought not be spending more and more on this bike, because it's supposed to be a ute bike.

I'm not sure which elements of the Microshift 8spd thumbie you're looking to see, but here's a shot. Function has been excellent so far, but I'm only on two days of riding, maybe 5 miles total, so nothing really demanding, although I did make some under load, uphill shifts this afternoon, and they went off crisply and almost as quickly as my modern 11 speed stuff.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a8d946498.jpeg

Nice! I like the clean looks.

You could compare to those but I would want something a little nicer for that price. I can get a 3x8 with hydraulic disc brakes for the price if not less these days and even some 9 speed stuff as well. I am not saying that will be a bike of quality or hung with great components but just saying while the Tern looks good and probably ride a little nicer it isn't exceptionally well appointed for that price. Also 650c is a pretty dead size for wheels occasionally tires can be found but not much these days and as a commuter that would work. 26 (ISO:559) or 650b would have been a much better choice.

If the bike were 100-150 less I could see it. At the $750 if it had a nicer derailleur or maybe an IGH or was using Nitto stem, seatpost and bars.

Because you don’t provide even a single example to support your view, I can only assume that’s just a *feeling* you have, nothing based on reality.

Never mind that buying used makes no sense when I can afford to buy new exactly what I want, Surly are some dime-a-dozen, “basic bro sh*t.” Sorry, but that ain’t me.

I mean, seriously, the aesthetic is completely different:


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d45bbc517.jpeg

Indeed it is. :thumb: Muchos nicer-os.

Haters gonna hate.

Beautiful bike, BTW.

Be careful about trash talking Surly, though, lest some LHT or Ogre decides to punch your pretty-boy Roji’s lights out. They don’t mind getting scratched up and they ain’t afraid to scrap.

Yeah, you’re right, and I don’t hate on Surly, though I did make it sound that way. Respect due to Ogre and Karate Monkey, especially; I’d love a Monkey to bash around on. As a brand, too, Surly came out of the gate with a really cool concept, bringing functionality and affordability to classical simplicity. They were one of the first brands to bring volume to that niche, IIRC. So yeah...thanks for checkin’ me.