sweeks

I'm not in the bicycle industry, so I don't know about shipping and distribution issues. But it wouldn't surprise me if some of those bikes that had the frame defect were not all sold within 6 months of manufacture.
To my knowledge, there have been no failures associated with the new design. My only source of information is the Tern Forum, but that's where most (If not all) of the failures were reported. The OP could (should, maybe?) have checked the serial number registry to see if that particular frame was affected by the recall.
Steve

sweeks

Depends on when the frame was manufactured, not when it was bought.
Steve
(Oops... sort of a duplicate post. Sorry!)

dahoneezz

Ok thank you for explaining in detail.

dahoneezz

Yup. The Tern frame seems to have the front portion ripped off the hinges. I guess, mid frame is where the max bending occurs. Putting a gusset plate on the bottom tube will strengthen the pulling apart due to bending tension.

Adding gusset plate is, design change. The recall with certain serial numbers implied bad welding for limited runs at the factory.

tmesis

If what you're saying is the case, Tern bikes with these catastrophic problems should have been recalled and disposed of, out of the reach of consumers.

ThorUSA

and they have


in this case back to the OP the pins failed, most likely due to loose clamp and allowing the frame to move and put undue force of the pins.
But its all good as Tern has replaced the whole frame at no cost ( actually almost twice as the color choice was not available at the time for a speedy solution ) the new frame in correct color will be forthcoming, if it hasn't yet.


Abu
as far as correspondence with a singular Tern Importer, and lack of speedy and possibly not expected positive answers, or lack theroff altogether. One can hardly blame Tern for that. Did you contact Tern directly and let them know that there would be an improvement possible ?
Otherwise contact me and I will relay the info to the peeps in charge.


Thanks Thor

tcs

And since the OP owned this bike just 3 (winter-time) months, I'm sure you and/or Mr. Bickerton have subsequently contacted the factory concerning their clamp mechanism assembly process.

Mark Bickerton

If anyone needs to have confirmation about a specific bike or frame, then the first thing to do is to ask the dealer who supplied the bike, as they should be aware of any issues.... or at least they can check through their supplying national distributor.

If that isn't enough contact Tern directly through the global website ( ternbicycles.com ), and the enquiry will be routed to people who can give a definitive answer.

Lastly, and primarily for the UK, I am happy to be contacted as a last resort.... and will always do my best to help get answers and action where required.

mark . bickerton at tern bicycles . com No spaces and use an @ sign, of course!

Mark

danthem

Interestingly enough just two days ago I noticed my bike was getting wobbly as well. Upon closer inspection I noticed that my hinge bolt had broken off half-way through, so similar to yours.

I bought my bike in August 2015 though, I'm not sure if they've made any new version of the Tern link since.. I'll contact my dealership tomorrow, I'm based in Ireland but it was imported from UK.

I don't know know if there's any warranty though considering it's 1½ year old.. But it sucks to have this happen to early.. I know it's a "cheap" bike but I would expect it to last me longer than this.


Edit: Just checked, I have the Tern Link C7 gen. 3.. Is that the same as you have?

berlinonaut

I own a Bickerton Mk X which is to my knowlege based on a Tern Link frame. When the initial frame failures of the Tern link became public Tern set up a webpage to check if a given serial was affected. This did of course not work for the Bickerton Mk X (as it was officially a different brand) but probably the Mk X was produced roughly at the time when the problematic frames left the factory. Therefor in June 2014 I wrote a mail to the address that was provided as official contact address on the bickerton webpage https://www.bickertonportables.co.uk/ at this time which was mark . bickerton at bickertonbikes . co . uk (obviously with an @ and w/o the spaces) asking for advice. I never got a reply... I've sent you the inquiry as to the mail-address you provided in your posting here and would be happy to get an answer on the question, even if it is three years late.

dahoneezz

I found a video on hinge bolt replacement. Says Dahon IOS/Tern Eclipse. Similar to your Tern Link? Are your hinge bolts shearing at the threaded area? That would make sense since the shear area is less than the neck area. Also if the threaded part is broken and stuck in the back frame, that makes it quite difficult to remove, basically almost a frame replacement. (I know you can buy the "special reverse screw" bolt removal tap thingy, but the hinge screws are small.)

dahoneezz

Tightening OCL Hinge Shaft | Tern Folding Bikes | Worldwide

This is for a Tern OCL shaft. I don't know if its applicable to the Tern Link. It says to tighten the hinge shaft bolts to a torque of 10-12 Nm or more. So the hinge bolts are already prestresses by that torque. Add to that any additional forces due to bending, vibration etc. when riding. This could be the reason you see bolt shearing.

Mark Bickerton

Hi berlinonaut,

I have your email in my inbox and will respond via email.

Everyone... please get proper advice from your Tern or Bickerton dealer or contact Tern or Bickerton through the tern websites to get reliable advice. Always quote Frame serial number and Service Tag (QR or Barcode) so that Tern or Bickerton can check exactly what needs to be done.

Forums are great for discussion but for service please use the Tern or Bicketon Service networks!

Best regards

Mark Bickerton (Tern and Bickerton in the UK)

Mark Bickerton

You can find official Tern Videos here: youtube.com/user/ternbicycles/videos

Here is the one for adjusting the OCL joint: youtube.com/watch?v=Yo1Yy_KZvc0

There are other videos that are only available to dealers as well.... so please take the bike to a Tern dealer for service, unless it is covered by a consumer targeted video from Tern.

Best

Mark

as I am a newbie... it wouldn't let me post the urls properly.... sorry!!!

Mark Bickerton

Hi Danthem,

Please email me with all the details of your bike so I can try to get things moving ASAP:

Proof of purchase including Date and place:
Dealer name and contact info:
Model of bike:
Frame Serial number from the Bottom Bracket:
Service Tag number (Bar code) if it is present:
Picture of the bike from the chainwheel side:
Pictures of fault(s)

Best regards,

Mark
mark . bickerton @ ternbicycles . com (no spaces!)

EdEllis

Dan
Yes it is. I brought mine in December 16.
I have been given a new frame. Out of interest it was the R/H bolt that sheared on the joint. The new frame has one bolt only. So far a month in it seems to be holding up.
The bike was purchased in Dublin, although the distributor was from the UK. I brought mine from Freewheeling Pease St.

Good luck with getting it fixed. I think it took about 6 weeks to sort mine out. Although I am still two bottle holder bolt missing. Minor issue, but I brought the bike with them in the first place so would like them replaced.

Ed

Snoraa

I had a frame failure on my Verge P9 in May, bike snapped in two from the weld which connects to the hinge! I don't think Tern have sorted this issue out! Left me with quite bad injuries and thank god I was on a quiet road when it happened!

jur

When and where did you buy the bike? Which year manufacture was it? Did you check on the Tern page if it was part of the recall? Pictures?

PS Bad form to post 3 identical posts on all related threads you could find. Once was enough.

PPS Welcome

ThorUSA

lets keep this thread and try to help Snoraa sorting this out ...
Where are you located, did you contact your dealer? Did Dealer get you a new bike? Did Dealer inform Tern to make sure what the failure is ( well you dmight not know that ) If dealer was unresponsive did you contact the Importer ( like Mark if it is in the UK ) if Importer didn't do anything did u contact Tern direct ?
Were you the original owner ? with a bike which was recalled and nobody contacted you ? Did you buy the bike used ? And former owner didn't follow through wit the recall?


Thor

Joe Remi

This person is new to the forum so we can pass on the "bad form" comments. They obviously just discovered this topic while searching Tern frame failures, and we need to determine exactly what happened and what the manufacturer is going to do about it. If this is a real event, Tern needs to seriously consider their continued presence as a bicycle company.

sweeks

Before we jump to hasty conclusions, it would be a good idea to have the facts in hand. Thor's questions a few posts back would be a good starting point. Also, an inspection of the frame will show whether it was the old design in which the failures occurred. See this post for some images of the re-designed frame: https://www.bikeforums.net/19546066-post26.html.
Steve

Mtroup

Joe Remi

Well that was fun. Our newest Tern rider/breaker seems to have disappeared.

Snoraa

So...

Bike was 13 months old bought from Evans Cycles Uk. Is was returned to them for an inspection to see why a frame should snap at a weld point! BTW it's the same weld point as all the others plastered over the net!!

Evans found nothing that I add done which could of caused this frame failure! They offered me a new bike + 25% for my troubles! I naturally wasn't happy with this and I am pursuing this through there liability insurance.

Frame number is not part of any recall.

I have written to Tern but haven't heard anything to date!!

These bikes should not be on the road. Far to many have failed. I wish I had known about the issue prior to me buying the bike!

Any thoughts on this. Do you know anyone that has successfully claimed for compensation?

Thanks
Alex

Mark Bickerton

Hi Alex,
I am sorry to hear that you are disappointed in your Tern bike and the service you have had.
If you think I can be of any help please email me directly and I will do what I can.
My email is "mark . bickerton @ ternbicycles . com" (no spaces)
Thanks
Mark Bickerton
UK Representation for Tern Bicycles