[Closed] Opinions on this instead of a Brompton...?

Tern are a newish manufacturer, a breakaway from Dahon, the worlds largest manufacturer of folding bikes.
The Brompton is brillaint at folding into a very neat package, the Tern should be a good ride thanks to it's larger wheels, but it lacks the spring in the middle of the Brompton.
I'd try both for fit and ride and then make the decission.

It gets a great review [url= http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/gear/category/bikes/folding/product/review-tern-verge-x10-folding-bike-13-47098/ ]here. [/url] I'd say its worth a punt!

Are you sure about the weight difference though? It weighs about the same as my Brompton (S2)

I've got a very basic tern, the equivalent of that dahon you had. It is good but the clamps needs constant adjustment to keep it tight. It's a strange system whereby you screw a connected bar to increase the tension in the clamp. There is loctite on there but it doesn't seem to do a lot and if i'm honest i have been slack in getting some more to douse the tension bars in. You also have to grease the contact points up a bit otherwise they creak when you ride. Based on the brompton i hired and the tern i own, the brompton clamp system is far better but the tern is a much better ride, clamp foibles aside. Like you i don't need a super small fold as its just to go in the back of the car.

Oh and whilst i'm moaning, the fold system is a bit daft as the bike is held in two by a poxy little magnet system which is on front and rear wheels. Fine if you pick it up by the side that swings open as you can sort of brace it against your leg but if you grab it the other way round it has a tendency to swing open. I think people that use them on trains etc just carry a short bungee which is abit of a bodge.

If you're still looking at tern and don't need a small fold then they do one which is a slightly bigger wheel again, the eclipse X20 from memory which might be worth a look.

Also, if it is a concern i would imagine the residual on the brommie will be far better.

Why don't you use the overview tab? Then you can view bike and chat on same page?

The bike will be my main bike, in daily use for around 10-20ml rides.

As is often repeated here, but still very valid;

[b]Folding[/b] bike = Brompton
Folding [b]bike[/b] = Airnimal

That Tern looks OK, but if you're tooling around town on a folder, and doing that sort of distances, mudguards are your friend, so get some fitted! I'd also be a little wary of the strength of those wheels. Ickle wheels take a beating from the (not exactly paved with gold) streets of That London.

I have a Brompton S6L, but if you want a bike as a main bike i'd deffo get the Tern. In fact, buy it before i do (if you're looking at the cheap Evans one?)

Yes the hinges need tightening, but the Brompton feels more flexy, the hub gear is quite draggy, and the shifting system isn't great (its like an mtb with a shifter for both 3 chainrings, and 2 cogs on the cassette).

I had similar wheels on a Dahon Speed Pro, they were fine in London.

Airnimals are meant to ride better than Brompton and Moulton even better.

^^^^That tern looks nicer than a Brompton as well.

It's not everyones cup of tea but I've had an Airnimal Joey for a few years and will never get rid of it. It's been on fully-loaded tours and daily commutes.Yes it doesn't fold as small as a Brompton but that is the only negative. Slightly slower fold is more than compensated by the riding experience as you overtake that Brommie commuter who got off the platform before you.

Goes off-road too with exotic carbon forks and plenty of tyre clearance.

What's the situation with spares? IIRC pivots etc wear more quickly than Bromptons?

If you need to take it on a train you may need to check on the wheel size and the train operators rules.

When I last did it South West Trains didn't allow wheels bigger than a Bromptoms - don't know how enforced it was as I got away with it the few times I tried

I really want the Tern, but I think I'm going to play it safe and go with the brompton due to resale values & build quality etc.

Get the L with mudguards if you go for the Brompton, amazing how much shite the small wheels throw up without them.

Pointless thread really. There are now so many foldies out there that are way above the build quality and spec than a Brommie to make you wonder quite why people even consider old guard Brommies. I suspect your choice is based around a Brand Name/Image than if the bike rides in a straight line without bending 30 deg at the rear each time you stomp on the peddles...

Why a hater bikebuoy?

It's indisputable that Brompton folds smallest and most quickly, and if you are looking for performance, well, that's a bit silly, isn't it?

Do you have some really limiting factor in life if that's to be your main bike for 10-20 miles a day? Not what I'd pick unless I lived in a cupboard on a narrowboat with a grumpy landlord with a complex about shared space.

Why a folding bike if you aren't going to fold it down

Not got bike storage at home except for loft which is where the mtb lives. But too much of a pain to stick a bike up there every day and the wife is fed of bikes in the hall/kitchen/dining room so need a folder so it can live in kitchen without irking the wife. Plus I need a folder so I can take it in shops/supermarkets etc.
also needs to be able to stick in works vehicle from time to time so needs to be a folder for sure.

I do like the Tern and loved riding the Dahon Mu Uno I had for a bit. Bromton resale values must be good for a reason though...

The bike will be my main bike, in daily use for around 10-20ml rides.

You'll really be wanting mudguards then - can you fir them on the Tern?

Yup, SKS make the Tern ones.

If you want a folder that rides better than a Brompton have you tried a Birdy?
Tried them both back to back and preferred the Birdy for it's more positive handling.

See if you can get a go on a Birdy. I Have a brompton but, if I had the sort of use you're talking about, I'd have a Birdy. Good fun and rode really well though they're not cheap

Birdy over budget. Gonna be getting it tomorrow sky is gonna have to be one of the above.

Looks a good 'un. I have a Brompton S2. It was an S3 - managed to break a total of three pawls in the Sturmey Archer hub over about 3,600 - 4,000 miles. I use South West Trains and do about 14 miles a day, five days a week. A bunch of us get off at the same stop to avoid carrying the bikes through barriers. Most have Bromptons, and the rest are Terns or Dahons. The Bromptons are always ready to go first - quicker fold.

One of the guys rides a shorter distance in central London (about 6-7 miles a day) on the Dahon lookie-likey to that Tern, and it's a good bike. *However* - he is on his second bike in two years.
I'd suggest mudguards, and a test ride. If the folded size or speed of fold isn't an issue, then the Tern is probably worthwhile.

I always found my Dahon folded noticeably quicker than the Brompton. Not as compact, but quicker to fold and unfold. The Brompton rode a little better, but they're all a pretty awful shape when you're 6'5". YMMV.

Plus I need a folder so I can take it in shops/supermarkets etc.

You're going to carry it around a supermarket?

Do you know what it's like to carry even a Brompton?

Use a trolley...

For clarification purposes...

Ride to supermarket

Stick bike in trolley

Buy whatever I went in for

Ride home again.

Still can't decide. I guess I'll have to know by the morning one way or another...

Not sure you'll fit the Tern in a supermarket trolley all that easily. Even a brompton takes up a surprising amount of space in one. If you ever have to move it while folded then get the Brompton. I have one, and it's ok for what it is. My girlfriend has a Dahon and the ride is no better, but the fold is a pain, and even getting it in and out the door while folded is a pain as it constantly unfolds, and all sorts of bits stick out just far enough to catch on you or bump into things. The brompton is a far neater package when folded.

Yeah you wouldn't get the Tern in a trolley, not with shopping as well.

This is how much space the Brompton takes up...
[img] [/img]
Dahon...
[img] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9TbLoAKT9GM/SxufUENeeaI/AAAAAAAAAUI/Z4mB8GJPfqo/s1600/091202-BikeShoppingCart [/img]

I've put my Brompton in the space beneath the basket on a shopping trolley before, that worked

Just saw on the tern website that the Verge 'X' models won't take mudguards. Defo gonna be the brompton now.

Pointless thread really. There are now so many foldies out there that are way above the build quality and spec than a Brommie to make you wonder quite why people even consider old guard Brommies. I suspect your choice is based around a Brand Name/Image than if the bike rides in a straight line without bending 30 deg at the rear each time you stomp on the peddles...

Agreed. I can't understand why people buy Bromptoms apart from their folded size. Having ridden one back to back with a Dahon they're harsh, twitchy and flexy in comparison all at the same time. I've ridden quite a few folders and Bromptons are easily the worst IMO.
Oh, it's also worth checking out what happens when the main fold pivot on a Bromptons wears. It has a Brompton-specific bush which must be milled (not knocked) out with a special tool that only Bromptons dealers can buy. (I know, I rang them about it) To get a dealer to do it, it's around £150-£180 job, so I'm led to believe. You can drill the bush out by hand, but get it wrong and it's bye-bye frame.
Just be aware of that, OK?

10-20ml rides

You should drink more pal 😉

Terns are an affordable way to pass the folding bike rule for commuters but they're bulky, awkward to carry and not finished to the same standards as the Brompton. If you just have to handle it on the platform then they're not bad but it sounds like you'd be folding the thing more often.

Moulton's are iconic (broke a record donchaknow) but they don't seem to shrink down so well.

So, flat bar single speed ti seatpost yeah?

I've used a combination of folders over the past 16yrs for my regular commutes (dahon, brompton & birdy)

never had a hinge problem on a brompton, I've had a Dahon that it was impossible to get original forks replaced (failed after 18months) the alternative was £300.....

Both the Birdy and Dahons were the best to ride however the Birdy is stupidly expensive (only significant fault)and the Dahons were poorly built and had folding mechanisms that must have been designed as part of a school project

I'm no haterz of the Brommie, don't get confused with Form and Function and Brand and Image.
I just think that the Brommie is trading on it's name and has been looking to the past for probably 8 years or so since new foldies (and better constructed/kitted out foldies) have apeared on the market.
I liken the Brommie image to that of the Jag X Type. Sort of cobbled together when there wasn't much around, fitted with crap second rate parts out of a bucket from manufacturers who couldn't shift the parts (then badged as genuine Brommie) trading on an aged Image because thats the type of person they could only appeal to and lets face it back then there were few foldies on the market. You can harp on about it's folding mechanism until all the oil runs out, how fast it is, neat it is, but who actually times themselves unfolding/folding as they step out of the train? Who? It's an old argument lost in the noise of rattling and squeeking back ends and brakes that barely work to the point of a shrill and shudder.
Now, well we have a vast array of upto date, clean, functional, light, impressively well built, convertable (racks, bars, groupsets etc.) for what ever type of riding you may do now or in the future.
I would be happy to see a new Brommie on the market, they can keep the design and ethos of the folding mechanism, but make it stronger, put decent quality parts on it and not charge anymore for it than they do now and I too would take another look at them, as is I see them as an antique a bit like an Aga Iron, nice to look at, was once pretty essential, but now best for propping up swinging doors.

As ever the best way to assess any bike is to ride one back to back with another type.

Old skool ain't always cool, often just old.

I would be happy to see a new Brommie on the market, they can keep the design and ethos of the folding mechanism, but make it stronger, put decent quality parts on it and not charge anymore for it than they do now and I too would take another look at them

Best you go take a look at them as that is exactly what has happened. I'm on a latest model Brompton now and it's way better than my old one that I've had for 6/7 years. The old one is still functional, but has reached the stage were it needs a lot more love and attention than I'm prepared to give it as I use it daily for commuting duties.

The improvements are many, some small, some not so small, but the overall result is a much sharper, less flexy, more responsive and very sharply braking bike. Oh and the fold is still the best

Ok, decision made. I went for the Tern.

bikebuoy - it's still folds way smaller. Just because there is other newer stuff out there, does not make it better (which seems to be your argument).

loddrik - Member
Defo gonna be the brompton now.

😛

The improvements are many, some small, some not so small, but the overall result is a much sharper, less flexy, more responsive and very sharply braking bike. Oh and the fold is still the best

Hear, hear! Mine is sitting in my office alongside me, and that description is spot on.

I know I know. It was the weight and tyre size what did it in the end. Gonna bodge some mudguards as they very near fit but just rub on the brake cable ever so slightly apparently.

Moulton's are iconic (broke a record donchaknow) but they don't seem to shrink down so well.

Not all Moultons have separable frames, and the ones that do are more like a normal bike with S&S Couplings than they are to any folding bike.

I'd have gone with the Brommie personally, simply because of the size of the fold, but next to the Tern they do look like something from the victorian era.

"The New One" 😆

Most deffo a coffee over keyboard moment there sonny, and I ain't done that in some while reading off here.

The Brommie shop in Long Acre (Lunjon) is a couple of doors away from one of my fave restaurants in Lunjon and I always pop in, I always take a look at the bikes and thier pretty colours. I quite like the shop, I ached for it to be open for months. So, I am informed, the current bike is the old bike I was aluding too... 😉

Again the argument rests on the Luverz "it folds nice and unfolds nice and quick" So, so you see thats one of the very very few positive points they have, but that comes with it's limits namely a wobbly arse, squeeky brakes, shuddery headstock and flexable levers that are great pretenders of controlling mechanisms.

Hard to see past "shake rattle and roll" when you are in Luv I suppose.

I don't critise lightly. I do feel they've passed thier sell by date 8 years ago, trade only as a marketing segment to those with rose tinted eyes who endure, sorry enjoy being seen as some crowd pleaser.

To note: I've been using a foldie for 4 1/2 years, bought my first Brommie as the first step into under desk reassurance then sold it within 9mths for something more sturdy that rides better that looks better and is cheaper and waaaaaay more reliable.

But my logic clearly doesn't follow suit (cough) to those Luverz, my suit follows a different cut, modern, tailored, clean, efficient.

😉

limits namely a wobbly arse, squeeky brakes, shuddery headstock and flexable levers that are great pretenders of controlling mechanisms.

I don't know what you thought you were looking at, but these have all been sorted now.

The main reason I have a Brompton is for the fold as I take on a train twice a day. I regularly see other 'folding' bikes that barely fold in half and take up loads of space. Obviously the fold, ingenious as it is, will compromise some other aspects. A bit like singlespeeds being 'maintenance free' will never be as quick as something that has a full chainset on it.

Don't get the idea of a folder over a standard bike unless you are traveling on a train or bus ,as for buying a bike for resale value surely you would buy it because it is the one you want to ride

Don't get the idea of a folder over a standard bike unless you are traveling on a train or bus

If you only do short journeys in and around a city, it makes a massive amount of sense. No need to lock your bike up anywhere, just fold and put it under your desk. Unfold, ride to the Royal Opera House and check it in to the cloakroom*, then unfold and ride home.

*Example used as I tried it once. Turns out that they only accept Bromptons. 8)

^^ I agree with CFH, I've carried mine around many shops in that Lonjon with no hassle whatsoever.

They really are an exceptional tool for the job of hop on, hop off, fold, unfold, hop on..

aaaannnnnd repeat.

Tried a few , find them very unstable ...rather have a hack I can lock anywhere

I really enjoyed riding the Dahon Mu Uno I had briefly. In fact I'd say tte only thing it needed was some gears.

My lack of bike storage at home meant that, in the interests of marital harmony, a folder was my only option.

Had about one brompton back with issues over the years, had lots of other folders back in the same period of time. And thats with selling substantially more bromptons in the first place.

Bikes in shopping trolleys? Do you people not have locks?

Keep an eye on that frame hinge and try to get to know it and how it works so you can check it and keep it tensioned right.

Melted wax from a candle can be used for a lube on the hinge in case it starts creaking.

Could never really figure out the relationship between creaks and how my hinge was set up on my dahon.

Speed of fold? The difference between a Brompton and most other folders is that you will store the Brompton folded, but lean the others aside unfolded when possible.

I'd love to see a new Brompton, bigger wheels, lighter frame. But I suspect the tooling for production is prohibitive.

Want flexy? I had an Airframe - now THAT was a flexy bike. Amazingly light though. Quite like a Bickerton next. Or a Mezzo.

Speed of fold? The difference between a Brompton and most other folders is that you will store the Brompton folded, but lean the others aside unfolded when possible.

you can fold a birdy faster than a brompton and it sits upright fine. Plus it rides an awful lot better. Bromptons only advantage is the size of the folded package.

wheel size restrictions on trains are often 18inches, which includes bromptons, mezzos and birdys, but not Dahons...

I've had my S2SL for nearly 4 years now and it's the bike I actually ride the most. It's not noticeably flexy, the brakes are fine, and its only squeaked for a couple of weeks after riding home in heavy rain (sorted by spraying a tiny amount of WD40 on the suspension block bolt).
It folds quickly, goes on trains and the Tube, comes into shops and other people's offices and the pub.
3 years ago I used it to train for the Maratona - train from Richmond to Waterloo, cycle into Canary Wharf, work 10 hours, cycle all the way home.

fitted with crap second rate parts out of a bucket from manufacturers who couldn't shift the parts (then badged as genuine Brommie)

Speed of fold? The difference between a Brompton and most other folders is that you will store the Brompton folded, but lean the others aside unfolded when possible

Do you people not have locks?

Or a Mezzo.

A friend has one and it's just not as good as a brompton. Rattles like crazy. Feels like it's pulling to one side under power. Chain exposed when folded (bromptons ends up hidden inside - don't underestimate that), and luggage not as good (the brompton front bags just make sense on a folder. Really wanted to like it more than I do.

I love my Brompton had it for years, used it daily for my commute to London, I don't think I would swap it out for one of those, just to convenient a fold.

As a long time lurker I thought I would finally put up a post as I think my latest accessory for my Brompton is worth sharing, its a hand made in the UK carry handle by RAW from www.bikefrenzy.co.uk.

My brompton is tricked out with ti forks and rear triangle with lots of bits from my mtb.

The Raw handle I bought a few months ago is just awesome and really complements the looks and function of my bike, it also has the Brooks saddle and grips so this leather accessory really fits in.

After using the handle daily for a few months its is standing up really well to the abuse I have thrown at it, its made of very thick saddle leather so hasn't stretched or gone out of shape.

A bit of a design fault on the Brompton is the folding pedal, it scratches the frame which really p1sses me off, however with the Raw handle fitted it stops that which is an added bonus.

Any way enough witering heres a pic with the handle in toe.:

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A bit of a design fault on the Brompton is the folding pedal, it scratches the frame which really p1sses me off,

Recent cranks (last 3-4 years) have got knobbles on the back which stop the pedal folding so far that it hits the frame.