Tern (company)

Last updated
Tern Bicycles
Industry Manufacturing
Founded2011
FounderFlorence Shen, Joshua Hon
Headquarters Taipei, Taiwan
Key people
Florence Shen (general manager), Joshua Hon (vice president)
Products Folding bicycles
Electric bicycles
Cycling accessories
Website ternbicycles.com

Tern is a privately held company that designs, manufactures, markets, and sells bicycles for everyday use. The company is based in Taipei, Taiwan and has offices in the US, China, Finland, and the UK. The company's primary products include folding bicycles, electric bicycles, and cycling accessories which are currently sold in 65 countries. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

Tern's public debut at Eurobike 2011 Tern-eurobike.jpg
Tern's public debut at Eurobike 2011
A folded Link D8 Tern-bicycles-link-d8-folded.jpg
A folded Link D8

Tern was founded by Florence Shen and Joshua Hon, wife and son of David T. Hon, founder of the established Dahon brand of folding bicycles. Initially the company was the subject of litigation between Dahon and the founders, but a settlement was reached in 2013. The Arctic tern was the inspiration for the company name, due to the fact that it travels the longest distance of all migratory animals and is light and small, qualities the company attributes to its bicycles. The company's website favicon is of an origami tern taking flight. [4]

Products

Tern currently has ten bike lines: GSD, HSD, Quick Haul, NBD, Vektron, Short Haul, BYB, Verge, Link, Eclipse, Node, and Roji. Each bike line offers different models with different specifications. Tern also has an accessory lineup, which includes its sister brand BioLogic. [5] In August 2014, Tern announced its first electric bike, the eLink. The eLink weighs 21 kilograms (46 lb) and folds in under 10 seconds. It is equipped with mudguards, rack, chainguard, lights, and features a Shimano Nexus 8 internal hub and Schwalbe Big Apple tyres.

Tern partnered with cargo bike specialist Xtracycles to create the Cargo Node, a folding cargo bike that uses the Tern Node bicycle and Xtracycles' rear cargo extension attachment. The companies announced the product via a Kickstarter campaign on September 17, 2015, and raised US$153,638 to help fund the project. [6]

Dahon lawsuit

From 2011, Tern was the subject of litigation between Dahon North America Inc. and Joshua and Florence Hon. Specifically, the lawsuit charged that Joshua Hon and Florence Hon breached their fiduciary duties as officers of Dahon to start the competing companies Mobility Holdings and Tern. [7] On April 2, 2013, industry media reported that Dahon unilaterally declared its legal disputes with Tern were settled. [8]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">A-bike</span> British Folding Bicycle

The A-bike is a folding bicycle released by Sir Clive Sinclair in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2006. It was designed by Hong Kong design agency Daka, in collaboration with Sinclair Research, over a 5-year period. It was announced to the public in 2004. Clive Sinclair envisioned the A-bike, and Alex Kalogroulis was the main designer. It weighs 5.7 kilograms (13 lb) and folds to 67×30×16 centimetres (26.4×11.8×6.3 in), small enough to fit in a rucksack. The first version had 6-inch (15 cm) wheels, which was increased to 8 inches (20 cm) in later models. In 2015, an electric version, the A-Bike Electric, was introduced to the public as part of a Kickstarter campaign.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folding bicycle</span> Bicycle designed to fold into a compact form

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References

  1. "About Us" . Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  2. "Tern Growing Steadily into First Full Year". Bike Europe. March 31, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  3. "Tern grows international distribution". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. January 7, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
  4. "Tern: A new folding bike brand takes flight". BikeRadar.com. July 2, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  5. "Bikes". Tern.
  6. "Cargo Node: World's most useful bike now fits in your closet". Kickstarter. September 17, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  7. "Dahon Files Lawsuit Against former Officers Joshua Hon and Florence Hon". Bike Europe. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
  8. Jack Oortwijn. "Tern on Dispute with Dahon: 'Agreement Reached'". Bike Europe. Retrieved 2013-04-16.