Terry Classic questions
 

My youngest goes to college this fall and in Canada (and presumably elsewhere) at the start of the college and university season motor vehicle and bike thefts abound. I was building up a pink Fiore 12 speed for him, figuring that it was rough enough that it wouldn't catch the eye of a thief. I got talking to a fellow who wanted the Fiore desperately and now (N-1 +1 = N). I have a Terry bike, that doesn't fit anyone in my household...

Anyway. I once thought all Terry bikes were 700c/24in but recently saw a 700/700 bike. That bike owner said it was a hand made frame (custom frame?) and since that was the extent of my Terry knowledge I assumed all Terry bikes were made in the USA by Terry, in her shop. Owner presented this one as a Classic 14 speed bike and while I believed that the Classic was a 14 speed I questioned if it was a real Terry. Having recently encountered an MKM faked to appear to be a Pogliaghi I was a little puck shy. This bike had Terry and Classic painted on it and yet the stickers said "Made in Japan", it had drop bars and the only online photos I had seen of the Classic model showed a flat bar bike (I know bars can be switched) but, when presented with the bike, I said, it's a nice bike but it's not a Terry - and got it for a reduced price. Since then I found reference to Terry having frames made in Japan at one point and even if it isn't a Terry it's still a nice bike.

Serial is S8B5689

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5de96695ab.jpg


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5a43e0b0d8.jpg

Made in Japan sticker that confused me

Brakes are Royal Compe 2 (unsure of levers which have a stylized letter A)

Cranks are Deore triple
RD and FD are Deore
Headset is Falcon (haven't checked the BB yet)

Lugs seems neat and clean

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3770c890d8.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7f2559a870.jpg


Frame is tagged Tange 1 double butted tubes but forks are simply marked Tange.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...94d48444ac.jpg

So, is it a Terry? - I can always email her and find out if no one here knows.

If it is a Terry does anyone know what the original specs were (does anyone have a catalog I can reference)? Just wondering what has been switched out.

Lastly, who made it??

Why were you under the impression all Terrys were made in the US? The majority of Terrys were built in Japan and Taiwan under contract.

As far as sizing goes, I believe in larger sizes all the models went to an equal wheel size front and back.

Terry wheel sizes depended on the frame size. The 700C/24" sizing was popular with very small frames, where the smaller front wheel allowed a lower, head tube that could be built with traditional lugs and also provided less toe overlap with a shorter top tube. Larger frames used conventional, equal sized wheels.

Terry did have bicycles contract manufactured in Japan, reportedly by Tano, who also manufactured Centurion. The format is the same as used on the Tano manufactured Centurion, except that the prefix is an 'S', as opposed to an 'N'. I'm not aware that Tano had unique prefixes for each customer but it is possible. Regardless, it appears to be a 1988 model and I have no reason to believe it's not a legitimate Terry.

The fork has a generic Tange CrMo decal because their #1 though #5 tubesets all used the same fork blades.

I used to work for a Terry dealer, and I don't recall ever having seen one that wasn't made in Japan or Taiwan. That was the norm. Looks like a real Terry to me.

There were a few made in USA, at least early on. I'm not sure if she ever made any herself, and always assumed they were all contracted out.

According to Sheldon, there were a couple high end models made in Rochester in the mid to late 80s.

I have seen reference to Panasonic making some of the high end models in the 2000s. After the brand was sold.

Tengrainbread - I had only very limited experience with the brand and based on that I assumed all Terry bikes were customs and so I confidently but wrongly assured the PO that while a very nice bike it couldn't be a Terry. My bad but saved me cash on the deal!

Tom - thank you on the Tano reference. Last night I saw an article on Georgina Terry and in it, it described her having Tano making her 700c/24 frames and then Tano agreeing to make 700c/24 frames for Centurion which effectively cut her feet out from under her for a time. I couldn't find the article again this morning and couldn't recall that name.

As for her making some, in her blogs on her website she said she started with a frame for herself and then others asked for frames and so she began to make then in batches of 5. Presumably she made a good few because she still takes orders. https://georgenaterry.com/order/

I'm tempted to switch out the triple for myself but it seems set up for touring so will leave it and see how it looks cleaned up.

Thanks all WGB

S8B5689

So 8 for 88, B for 2nd fortnight of 1988 (3/4 week of January) 5689th bike made in those weeks?

W = a letter, purpose uncertain, possibly indicates a manufacturer or Centurion; X = a number, indicating the calendar year of manufacture; Y = a letter, indicating the fortnight of manufacture (A = wk 1 & 2, B = wk 3 & 4, etc.) ZZZZ = four digit number, probably indicating frame number during fortnight of manufacture.

Those bikes currently being sold are made by Waterford under contract. I don't think Terry herself has made one of the bikes since the late 80s.
An outside investor bought the company in 2009. Terry is still involved nominally but I think basically just as an advisor.