Taipei Tony

A Tern Vergen that is. After months of waiting, I am finally in possession of a Tern Verge Duo.

I had placed an order(and a deposit) for the bike all the way back in March. At the time, the guy told me that the bike would arrive next week. And of course it didn't. The week after that, it still hadn't arrived yet. At which point, the guy loaned me a demo model(which was provided by Tern) to ride while I waited for my bike to arrive. Three months later, my bike has finally arrived!

Since I have been riding the bike for three months already, I guess I could do a mini review. Let me start off by saying that I use my bike purely for commuting purposes. My work is located a very short distance away from my house so 2 speeds is plenty for me. However, one thing I noticed is that I rarely ever hit 2nd gear on my commute. A lot of times I'll be spinning and I feel like I should be in 2nd but it doesn't shift. I guess it's more of a power issue, you have to exert some force to put it into 2nd. My wish is to be able to hit 2nd gear more often which is why I wish the whole gearing set were lower. Maybe lower both speeds by about 5% to 10%, that would be perfect. First gear would be lower so I could start off faster, and 2nd gear would be lower so I could hit it at lower speeds. This would involve replacing the rear cog or chain-ring. I don't really wanna spend extra money and mess with that right now, maybe in the future.

You can manually put it into 2nd by standing up and giving it a short forceful kick. However, this presents it's own minor issue. Sometimes when I stand up to accelerate, it'll mis-shift into 2nd. But that doesn't happen too often so it's not a big deal.

The frame is very stiff so consequently the ride is stiff as well. You can feel the road as you ride but I like that feeling of being one with the machine.

The fold is super fast which is why I love this bike. Fold the bike, fold the stem, and you're done. Snap, snap, it's that quick. The hinges and movements are silky smooth. If the hinges are too tight or too loose, you can actually adjust them by hand.

The bike rolls quite well when folded, you extend the seatpost, tilt the bike back, and push it like a stroller. You really can't feel any unevenness or lopsidedness as the two wheels are almost parallel to each other, I guess that's due to the N-fold? One minor gripe I have is that it doesn't have a bottom bracket which is very annoying. When it's folded, the seatpost has to be all the way down in order for the bike to stand by itself. When you want to roll it, you need to extend the seatpost. Sometimes when you are rolling it, you need to set it down for a few seconds(open a door, grab your wallet, check you phone, etc.) but in order to set it down, you have to put the seatpost down. And then when you're ready to roll again a few seconds later, you need to extend the seatpost again. This is very annoying and inconvenient. This problem could be easily and cheaply resolved with a simple bottom bracket that's standard on many folders. Here's an example on a Citizen, notice the triangular bottom bracket under the frame: https://www.citizenbike.com/images/ci...details_01.jpg

I guess that's about it for the review. I'm not a bike expert nor am I a serious bike rider so I can't get too technical on anything lol.

And finally here are the pics from the day I picked it up. I actually wanted to wait and take pics with Taipei 101 in the background but the weather here has been very uncooperative so we'll have to settle with pics from my ride home that day. The guy in the pics is not me, he's the shopd guy. The bottle holder is not standard equipment, I managed to haggle that. I was actually hoping to get more free stuff like maybe an airpump with a gauge or a front light but I'll settle for a simple bottle holder even though it probably costs them nothing lol. Can't get too greedy.

The pink scheme is a really beautiful color. The black and pink contrast is sexy as hell I think. And it's not only the frame that's pink, but the seat and grips also contain pink coloration. I think I'll be the only guy with this color lol. Pretty in pink(I'm not gay btw lol). Here's a pic from the Tern site: https://cdn.ternbicycles.com/sites/de...k-pink-web.jpg

Notice the fixie hipsters in the 5th pic lol.

DVC45

You got pics, you got proof!



Congrats!

violini

Dahon Mu Uno + 1 = Tern Due (an over-priced basic commuter bike 陽春車)

Unfortunately, one would have to pay triple the price for one extra speed. I think the old and the young Hons have very different arithematic skills.

Nightdiver

Maybe you could give us a lesson. Where are you finding a Mu Uno for 1/3 the price of a Verge Duo? The places I've looked, the Mu Uno is roughly $800, and the Verge Duo $1000. Hardly a three fold increase in price.

Dynocoaster 

I like the pink, I have a tshirt that says "real men wear pink". Now you can get a tshirt that says"real men ride pink'.

badmother

Great bike, congrats!

I need to show my son this thread. I got him a pink Miyata 912 and he is worryed about that pink...

Quiwi

Maybe you should call it a bottom bracket bracket I got really confused when you said it doesn't have a bottom bracket!

4.11

They are all overpriced. An $800 single speed??, $1,000 2 speed?? a Tern X10 is $1,800 ?? There is not $1,800 of anything in that bike. Oh wait, it has a hydro formed frame and hinge, yep, there is $1,000 worth of engineering right there.

Not bashing on all folders, I am currently in the market one but refuse to pay the EXCESSIVE prices some of these manufacturers ask. I used to think non folding bikes were expensive, compared to folders they are a downright bargain.

brakemeister

ah ja ..???? Show me the non folder .... with the same components as the Dahon or Tern and than lets compare prices.......

Dahon Speed Uno 399 ......But sold out at the moment
Tern Uno 550 dlr or with trolley rack 650 dlr
Mu Uno regular price 889 ..special this week only 800
Tern Verge Duo 1000 dlr
......
Now.... the 2 speed is automatic .... shifts at 8.5 miles.. doesnt make any difference how hard you pedal, backpedal or anything ....
There are quite a few folks who would prefer a higher shift point...... I like the 8.5
If your bike actually does what you describe, you probably should visit the dealer and have him take a look at it

Bottom bracket is the shell and the actual axle which holds your crankset .....
I hear what you are saying but ......I hate to have something hanging that low under the bike and prevent me to ride up or down curbs or go into uneven terrain .... ( riding SLOWLY .... Im not hopping curbs or logs or anything ..lol ) plus its another chunk of metal to haul around with you at all times....

Best Thor

Azreal911

if you think that's costly you might want to look into a single speed brompton!

number of gears itself isn't the entire cost of the bike, and there actually is other parts and ALOT more engineering that goes into a folding bike frame instead of simple welds. the main bar and the hinges have to be carefully designed and go through rigorous testing to make sure it can handle the stresses of daily riding. Fixed frame bikes don't have to go through the same stringent tests as a folder since they have redundancy when one bar cracks. On a folder you are looking for some serious hurt, so yeah it does actually cost more to develop a folder frame compared to any fixed frame.

Another way that you can see it's cheaper is that I can ride my good folding bike with the nice components that I want on there to work, put it under my desk and at the end of the day it's still there! While in major cities you roll the dice with any full framed good bike locked outside which you might have to end up buying AGAIN anytime, there goes your cost savings! Also I don't have to ride some crappy department store bike to work so it doesn't get stolen again makes all the difference in cost to me since i'm actually using the bike I like daily instead of weekends only gives me a better cost/use ratio.

A

kegoguinness

This kind of information about the fold/unfold/roll capabilities is very valuable. Thanks for sharing it so we can all be informed. I commute multi-modal, so how the bike folds and/if it rolls are top of my list of characteristics. That and cup holders.

pacificcyclist

Dahon Mu Uno's $800 price is a deal. In a fixed non-folding bike, the Masi CX SS and their fixies start at $655 up to $900+. The Tern X10 isn't a bad deal either, especially when you are comparing at the component level. I'll be hard pressed to get a non-folding bike with exceptionally good components for under $1000 unless sold at clearance, because anything less than that are bolted with cheaper lower end components. The North American sales of Dahon are very small compared to sales of Trek and Specialized bikes (shocking low), so you also need to look at the economic of scale here too as well as the market share of folding bikes in general, which is in the very low single digit. Obviously, when sales amount is low, your bargaining power with Shimano and SRAM for parts pricing are going to be less than say Trek. Trek probably gets a better price with Shimano compared to Bike Friday for example. What you are buying into is a niche market and you are paying a niche price. You have the right to bash folding bike prices. When I was in the bike business then, that's exactly what I get from ill-informed customers.

Cheers.

Ozonation

Most *quality* non-folding bikes range from $700 to a second-mortgage price of $10,000, with a lot between the $1000 to $3000 range. Most folding bikes compare quite favourably in terms of quality vs cost.

Basic rule of engineering: good, fast, cheap - pick any two. If you're on a folder on a regular basis, cheap is the last thing you want.

jur

Compare apples with apples - a road bike with similar level componentry would cost a similar amount or more. Don't stumble over the number of gears - look at the quality of the overall package.

iFold

Thanks Tony! great review of my favorite Tern bike!

Taipei Tony

Haha sounds like something I would wear. But fear not, I have my own matching pink attire! Check it out, matching hot pink t-shirt plus matching pink sunglasses!

Taipei Tony

lol my bad, I told you I'm not a bike expert! It looks like a bracket and it's located at the bottom of the bike so I naturally called it a 'bottom bracket' haha.

Taipei Tony

No problem, it's my pleasure. Feel free to ask me questions.

Taipei Tony

Thanks!

Taipei Tony

I don't know how we got so side tracked with all this Mu Uno talk but I had no idea it was so expensive($800) in the U.S. Here in Taiwan, they are selling for ONLY 11,500nt, ~$385. Less than half the price in the U.S., pretty crazy difference.
https://tw.search.bid.yahoo.com/searc...UTF-8&p=mu+uno
https://search.ruten.com.tw/search/s0...adbar&k=mu+uno

It should also be noted that the list price of the Verge Duo in Taiwan is cheaper than the U.S. price of $1000.

Anyways, today was a very beautiful day here in Taipei(albeit VERY HOT!), so as promised, pics with the Taipei 101 in the background!

On my way home from work:


Also I took some pics at work. Check out that bling bling with the flash, man those reflector strips sure do light up:


Another one for perspective:


I also took pics of the little details on the bike which aren't immediately obvious.

Verge Duo in pink:


Tern in pink:


Pink seat:


Pink grips:

violini

The Tern frame is very well made. When I was in Taipei, I had the opportunity to look at a copy by Irland (Camaro). I wouldn't buy this copy simply because of the ugly weld at the seat tube. Another copy by Bandito looked a little better, but the main frame tube was curved too much at the front. Their newer copy, Bandito FS18 made of magnesium-rare earth alloy, is a lot better bike. I plan to get one when I go to Taipei later this year.

alfaman2

Hello Tony,
I will be in Taipei come Aug.
Want to go bike hunting?
Cheers!

Taipei Tony

You wanna buy a bike in Taipei?

Quiwi

I'll be in Taipei next week, you still going bike shopping? :-P

mulleady

Like A Vergen, touched for the very first time


I was beat incomplete
Id been had, I was sad and blue
But you made me feel
Yeah, you made me feel
Shiny and new

You Terned me for the very first time!