antsjack

Ok, so I am thinking of buying a Dahon , then came accross the new Tern bikes that are to be sold. What's the low down? Is there really a difference in quality? Anyone know anything or tried them?

keke

Quick search: Tern/Dahon discussion

Other mentions:

Josh Hon starts new...

About to buy a Dahon, should I wait for tern...

Plus many. many others on the web.

HTH

brakemeister

what bike are you interested in
I think that for example a Mu P 8 or Speed P 8 offer a good value and are great bikes, same as the Link d7 or Link P9
if you are in a hurry than you need to go with Dahons, as the Terns are getting close but not quite here yet

If you have time ..I might want to invite you for a testride .... side by side and you can see for yourself

otherwise I keep myself out of the "versus" discussion.... to me its about the bikes and not the corporate BS ...

thor

vik 

If you are looking for a folder with unique proprietary parts and you have some comparable options/costs to choose from I would add into the decision mix which company is more likely to be offering me parts and customer service in 4-6yrs when I need spare?

antsjack

That is very kind Thor. Unfortunately I won't have a chance to pop in. Good advice though!

antsjack

Not sure where you are going with these questions Vik.

Derailed

I can't speak for Vik, but as a consumer in the market for a fairly expensive folder, I currently have reservations regarding both Tern and Dahon due to the shakeup. I sincerely hope that both companies thrive, but I'd be nervous buying from either until the lawsuits are settled and they're both steadily supplying bikes.

pacificcyclist

I am not sure where Vik's question is leading to. Lawsuits settled?!? Apple Inc. has been engaging in multiple lawsuits (still is till this day) to defend its product. Not to mention Steve Job's dying wish is to kill Android! I think Apple vs Android is a much serious problem than Tern vs Dahon. Yet, Apple stock kept climbing up, revenues up and iPhone 4s sales better than expected. Where's RIMM? Mired in its lawsuit from customers that lost their BBM service. So should we dump our RIMM or Apple phones because these companies are now flaky?

Having said that, Dahon and Tern will still be around as long as they provide innovative products and services. Tern is selling bikes that are addressing the shortcomings of some high performance Dahon line. Unless you are a truly strong or heavy rider, it is difficult to be flexing the hinges of the latest Dahon bikes. Tern is the upgrade. Much the same that current carbon frames are better and stiffer than a carbon frame made 7 or 8 years ago. Does that make a 7 or 8 year old Trek 5200 OCLV 110 any worse than a Cervelo R5?
Not to a common fitness cyclist who only do recreational rides. It does so for most CAT riders who races professionally or ride seriously for many miles.

Hope this helps.

Derailed

I'll leave it to Vik to elaborate on his message, if he is so inclined, but my intention was not to knock either Tern or Dahon -- I was just expressing something that is in the back of my mind as I'm shopping. Unlike Apple or Google, I suppose I really could see either of the companies folding (no pun intended!). I'm certainly not arguing that that will happen, or even that it's likely (I have zero legal expertise), but I can't quite shake that fear from the back of mind.

brakemeister

what parts you need Vic
I might be helpfull ....:-)
thor

Transformer

All of this is a mess for the consumer.

I don't think it's fair to compare Apple vs. Google (or BlackBerry) with Tern vs. Dahon. The former are separate competitors engaged in typical competition. The latter are family members engaged in a very unresolved corporate split. The legal issues are significant and could result in quickly dissolving one of the entities, leaving its customers unsupported.

keke

To the OP, please do a search or click on the links in my post, hopefully there's a bit of actual bike info in them. These kinda threads always seem to end up involving opinions about the split.

Not sure if anyone has actually ridden a Tern bike yet though, lots of user opinions about Dahon...

brakemeister

pacificcyclist

Apple Inc. has proven that leaving customers with an iOS device with no native support for Adobe Flash seemed to "have not" deterred a bit on sales.

Most Dahon bikes should come with a user and maintenance manual. It contains a lot of information about handle post and hinges. A good dealer should hand this to you when you buy the bike. It should come with your Dahon bikes (at least on both Mu and Speed that I own). You can do what Million Mile Joe does to his Honda and maintain the bike yourself or let the dealer maintain that for you. But how rigorous most owners do this? This will make the bike last longer. The support comes from the dealer. Somehow, it's a difficult concept to grasp for some enthusiasts who do their own maintenance. However, the majority of folder users depend on their dealers to provide service and support. And sales hinges around the sales performance and attitude of the bike owner and staff members.

vik 

My REAL Dahon problem is that I can't my Speed D7 shifting properly. The problem has defied two bike shops and my buddy who is a pro bike mechanic. If the Speed was a more expensive bike I'd just start swapping out parts and so on, but it's low cost enough that it's hard to justify replacing drivetrain parts in the hope it will solve the problem.

For the time being I got in working in 1 gear and treat it like a single speed!

vik 

It seems pretty clear to me. If you are looking at two comparable bikes and one or both has proprietary parts it seems prudent to consider the ability to get service and replacement parts for the like down the road as part of your decision - particularly if it is on the higher end of the cost spectrum.

Will Tern be around in 5yrs making bikes and providing replacement parts? I don't know and I'm not trying to suggest an answer to you, but it's something to consider. New bike companies come and go...some stick around a long time and have a reliable track record.

If you buy a Surly Pugsley snow bike [which uses a bunch of special parts] you have little doubt that Surly and it's parent company QBP will be in the game when you need spares and they've got a history of supporting their customers well.

Rick@OCRR

DaHon vs. Tern?

I finally had time (3rd day) to stop by the DaHon and Tern booths at Interbike. My impressions: The DaHon booth was a lot more "complete" with bikes of wheel sizes from 16" through 24" plus accessories whereas the Tern booth was a beautiful design, all their bikes were visually appealing, i.e. lovely color paint/decal variations but fewer bikes (and no 16").

I was also able to see many of the Tern bikes on the Folder Frolic ride (Thurs. morning of the show), as well as quite a lot of DaHons, a multitude of Bromptons, a Moulten, Bike Friday, Mini-Velo and probably a few more I've forgotten. Quite fun in any case, and yes, the Tern bikes really stand out in the looks department. I haven't ridden one, so can't comment on that, though they certainly look very good, and the Tern employees on the ride were more enthusiastic (in general) than the DaHon riders/employees . . . though the award for "commitment to the brand" has to go to the Brompton riders.

Great to see so many folders out on the ride, and so many different brands too. And, even though I ride a DaHon Curve and the 16" wheel size works best for me (smaller fold than the 20"), I would certainly consider a Tern if they come out with a 16" in the future (don't know if that's in the plans or not . . . I should have asked, but didn't).

Rick / OCRR

kamtsa

When people say 'Dahon' here do they mean Dahon China or a mix of Dahon China (Dr Hon) and Dahon Taiwan (Josh Hon at al, the Tern faction)? Dahon Taiwan is the one controlling dahon.com and offering Dahon bikes there (read the fine print at the bottom of dahon.com). The distinction between Dahon and Tern is not as clear as some people may think.

kamtsa

Tern is not a company, it is a brand name. Like Biologic.

brakemeister

Kamtsa.... ??? we have been there before.. why the confusion ...
forget the names, the percentages the owners or investors, holdings, etc etc all that legaleze and in the end :

Two different companies .... with slightly different visions, ideas, bikes, parts, service and and and


Vic ...
the only real difficult propriety part on the newer speeds is the rear derailleur. The Neos is great and the Neos 2 is even better, but it demands its specific place on the frame. Making it impossible to mount regular rear derailleurs .... BUT like so many other things ThorUSA has the answer to this as well....


with that you can replace the Neos with a regular derailleur.... Having said that, The NEos is a pain to adjust, ( if actually needed ) and I mean the high and low set screws only, easy to do if you take the darn thing off the frame... lol other than that its the crispiest, sharpest rear derailleur on all of my bikes, MUCH nicer than an XTR from acouple years back on the MTB ...( sorry dont have a newer version xtr which might be better )

Rick
Dahon has indeed a big palette of great bikes.... from 16 to 26 and everything inbetween
Tern has a model politik to not change their bikes for at least 3 years. They might introduce one or two new models every year but the base models stay the same. Plus their plattforms are very much the same as far as special parts is concerned. That makes it easier for spare parts for example. At this time they have no plans for a 16 inch bike ... but eventually they might, just not in the near future.

keke
nobody has ridden a Tern ? look at the pic ... those are all Terns .... and they actually have been ridden by quite a fe folks since quite some time :-) The pic also demonstrates that their bikes can handle the heat , or weight pretty good ...( my Malaysian friend and the great guy from Australia might excuse my little punch :-)

thor

kamtsa

Thor, you must be kidding, it's the same Josh Hon in both dahon.com and tern.com. Tern is not a company, it is a brand. Saying that Tern is a company is like saying that Biologic is a company.

Dynocoaster 

If Tern were just a brand like Biologic then why isnt it listed on the Dahon.com website? It seems to me that it has its own website because it is the brand for that company ternbicycles.com.

kamtsa

From Josh Hon filling to the court: "Tern is a brand name not a corporate entity".



Check their web site, it is (C) Mobility Holding Ltd.

There is a lot of smoke thrown around.

brakemeister

Kamtsa you are confusing website domain names with actual companies...
Dahon.com is an old website which is basically dead, and when Josh gets the next invoice for it than I would bet that he doesnt pay it and it dissapears all by itself ... but in any case dahon.com is not a company its a website domain

The website for Dahon is www.dahonbikes.com
The website for Tern is www.ternbicycles.com

okidokee ?

kamtsa

I see, a dead site that looks to the layman like a live site of a competitor, until the domain expiration on 04-May-2017.

Ingenious! ;-)