Tern (company)
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| Industry | Manufacturing |
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| Headquarters | Taipei, Taiwan |
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Key people
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Florence Shen (general manager), Joshua Hon (vice president) |
| Products | Folding bicycles and cycling accessories |
| Website | ternbicycles |
Tern is a privately held company that designs, manufactures, markets, and sells versatile bikes 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 and cycling accessories, which are currently sold in 65 countries. Though founded only in 2011, the company's bikes have already received a number of international design awards, including iF and Red Dot awards.
In 2013, the company secured from private investors US$4.3 million in funding, which the company will use to accelerate global expansion and to ramp up its product development.
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.
Tern held a "rock concert style launch" on June 18, 2011 at an international press conference in Taipei, Taiwan that was attended by bicycle media from around the world. Reception to the new bikes and brand were overwhelmingly positive with one reporter commenting that the test bikes at the launch "weren't compromised by having a pivot in the middle, and didn't feel like folders. The ride was responsive and comfortable.” 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 graphic symbol is of an origami tern taking flight.
Tern debuted its products to the general public at the Eurobike trade show in August 2011 in Friedrichshafen, Germany to much industry and public interest. The company used up-cycled shipping containers for its booth, avoiding one-time-use booths made out of wood, as part of its environmentally-conscientious philosophy.
Tern showcased its 2013 product lineup, which included the award-winning Eclipse X20 and the new Swoop series (Swoop Duo and Swoop D7i), at Eurobike 2012.
The Tern lineup has bicycle models with 20”, 24”, and 26” tires. The 20” bikes include the Link, Verge, and Swoop series, while the 24” models features the Eclipse, and Node bikes. The Joe series are the only Tern bikes to use 26” tires. In August 2014, Tern announced its first electric bike, the eLink. The eLink weighs 21 kg 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. The bike uses a 250W Bafang mid-motor with four levels of power support. The 36V lithium battery with 374Wh allows for a range of up to 50 kilometers and retails for 1699 Euros.
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