MJBikes99

I have been a Dahon dealer for many years, I know Tern's history and the long story with Dahon. But I have never sold Tern in my store and not paid much attention to Tern bikes. Can I use the Dahon parts to upgrade Tern bikes? like the Crank Set, Handlebar, Seat Post etc, are they using the size for parts?thanks.

badmother

Why would you do that? The weak part of the Tern is the frame so why "uppgrade" with other parts? Also, what parts? It is like asking if you can us the wheels from a Ford on a Skoda....

sweeks

Contact Thor (Thorusa.com) for definitive information on Dahons. Seatposts are the same, at least for the 20" models. Cranksets are probably interchangeable depending on the BB type. Handlebars... maybe not so much. Ask Thor.

That's old news. The frames have been re-designed and are no more likely to have problems than other high-quality frames.
Steve
(Tern owner since 2013)

Joe Remi

The handleposts don't swap. I tried it.

badmother

I wish... The fact that YOUR bike did not break is (to me) not proof that Tern bikes is worth buying and spending money on.

sweeks

My frame was recalled and replaced. I am satisfied with the new frame design. Unfortunately for Tern, this was a rough start for a new brand. I think they'll recover, in spite of persistent negative comments long after the problem was addressed. I'm not trying to prove anything to you. YMMV.
Steve

badmother

Lets hope you are right.

sweeks

I'm not worried.
Steve

ThorUSA

most parts are interchangeable ..... Handleposts can be rigged as long as you also use a 20 mm higher fork from tern... Dahon has 120 and tern 140 steerer tubes.
Handlebars for Andros stems must have a wider middle section to clamp properly
front carrier from tern does not fit as Tern has the brake in the back and Dahon in the front
other than that nothing comes to mind

Bonzo Banana

Didn't the recall give evidence to the fact than Tern aren't manufacturing the frames themselves but using various companies presumably with the keenest prices to supply their frames. This is common for many manufacturers where its really just a brand and recipe of third party parts but future quality is unknown in such a situation as the level of workmanship will vary. I've seen threads where someone bought year ### version of a bike and was more than satisfied with the bike and someone else bought year ### version and the frame welds were poor and the paint easily chipped. In such a situation it will not be surprising to hear how satisfied some people are with their Tern's and others may be disappointed. Clearly entry level models are under greatest pressure to resource parts cheaply but also constantly pushing for lighter bikes and frames makes manufacturing more quality critical.

You buy a Giant folding bike (not saying you should) but you know it will be made in their own state of the art frame manufacturing facility and with a rider weight capacity of 136kg and total load capacity over 160kg plus a lifetime guarantee on the frame. Unlike the situation of a Tern frame breaking despite only being ridden by a young child with the saddle and handlebars set to a low height and other events that were reported related to the tern frame recalls.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/_uplo...%20--%20EN.pdf

No one can really make a single statement on Tern frame quality because you'd actually have to know who made the frame itself and know the quality level of that manufacturer and end consumers don't get that information. Being a heavy person myself I always get a bit irritated by companies who set low weight limits take huge gambles with people's safety and then claim to be a quality manufacturer. Tern is more fashion house than actual bike manufacturer and like many fashion houses despite the clothes costing huge money the product itself is often made in low cost sweatshop factories.

sweeks

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that multiple factories are involved in the manufacture of frames for Tern and probably other manufacturers. Actually, I seem to remember that early in the frame failure issue period there was a factory that was dropped as a Tern frame source. I'm not privy to the details as they apply to Tern, but I suspect that many kinds of products (or their parts) including bicycles are made in different locations based on a variety of factors. Economics is probably one of these, but I would hope not the only one. It is possible to delegate manufacturing (of, say, bike frames) to different sources while requiring all of them to meet certain specifications for the product. Quality assurance doesn't necessarily require that a given component be manufactured at only one venue.
Steve

Bonzo Banana

I totally accept that and lets face it if you buy a frame from a external frame manufacturer it could actually be superior to a frame made in-house but ultimately as end consumers we cannot know the actual quality of that brand of bike because of this. If you buy a Birdy bike you know the frame is only made by one manufacturer, Pacific I think they are called in Taiwan, A Brompton is obviously nowadays only made at the Brompton factory in London. The reality with Tern is just like the past some models have not been effected by recalls and others have. Buying a Tern today still has a certain amount of risk I feel especially if you are close to the weight limits of the bike. They state a 110kg weight limit but that is everything you put on the bike including fitted accessories, luggage, the clothes you wear etc. That's 50kg less than a Giant folding bike. The warranty of the Tern frame is 5 years compared to lifetime for Giant. That's a significant difference when not only is one frame capable of far higher loads but they are also willing to guarantee that frame for a much longer period of time. You might think the Giant bike would have to be significantly more expensive because of this but in fact its competitive in price with Tern. The main thing that strikes you between the Giant and Tern bikes is the Tern bikes for me at least are much more stylish and desirable on face value when you see them. This thread is about upgrading a Tern but for me I wouldn't start from here. The core component is the frame and I'd be looking to have a better frame at the heart of the bike. As you can see from the Giant below while the frame looks very strongly designed with decent welds and reinforcing the actual components on the bike look fairly poor. You have a basic freewheel and the handlebar stem looks a poor design. That to me is a bike worth upgrading with better components.






I guess my point is if I had £400-600 to spend on a folding bike. I could get a unknown brand bike probably with a frame of unknown quality with great quality components and get a lot of bike for my money especially if a direct seller or a shop brand bike. Alternatively I could get a Giant folding bike with a state of the art quality frame but pretty dire components all round but it could be upgraded over time into a much better bike as components wear out and I customise it to my tastes, a bike of fantastic quality all round in the end or I could buy a Tern or dare I say Dahon and end up with a frame of unknown quality and dire components with limited rider weight capacity and warranty. To me the first 2 choices are far superior.

sweeks

I think it is possible to have a reasonable idea of the quality of frames made in "satellite" factories *if* good quality assurance protocols are in place. This is a big *if*, of course. There is an element of "trust" here. I suspect that most bike purchasers know little, and care less, about where exactly their bike was actually made, unless the "trust" has been disturbed. This happened with Tern in its early years with the frame breakage issue, and will take some time to be repaired. I personally think it's happening. I'm quite satisfied with the design changes in my replacement frame, and I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade any components if I wanted to.

You may "feel" this; others may not. This is the public relations "hole" that Tern has had to escape from after the frame breakage disaster, which Josh Hon described as a "black eye" on the company. As in many areas, a reputation can be damaged instantly, but takes time to restore. Black eyes heal under the right circumstances. The challenge for Tern is to create and maintain these circumstances. While I am not privy to the details of these measures, I've seen some of the products in development and I'm optimistic that the future is bright for Tern.

A large amount of subjectivity is possible here. I'm pretty much favorable to Tern based on my experiences. Everyone is entitled to a point of view.
Steve

Bonzo Banana

It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. I think another recall would pretty much be the final nail in the coffin of credibility. I'm sure even Tern supporters would find it hard to support Tern if we had another range of recalls in 2018 for example. Not that I'm expecting we will but it just seems a brand with very little respect currently with regard frame quality which isn't surprising given the history.