Over50's Tern GSD Chronicles - Gen 1 and Gen 2 R14

[Over50]

The GSD is home with its new Abus cafe lock. There isn't a cafe lock that fits the rear tire from what I've been told. For some reason the Tern mounts are not uniform. So I only have a 5750 Shield Plus locking the front wheel. The key-alike concept worked well. The two GSD batteries, the Abus cafe lock, my new Abus Bordo alarm lock and the Bordo that came with my Riese and Muller as well as the Riese and Muller batteries are all now keyed-alike. I'm pleased with the outcome. In the pics are the Abus Shield 5750. But when guard cat is on duty, I don't need the cafe lock. Well, maybe I do since the first chipmunk to come along with distract her from her duties:

 

[Over50]

My wife and I are moving soon (new house) so I've been organizing, packing, donating to charity etc. Attached is a picture looking down on the GSD's panniers loaded with books and some educational dvds. Quite a heavy load. I've taken two loads like this and dropped the books at the local library's donation box. The heavy loads are noticeable when trying to roll the bike off of the kickstand but not very noticeable when riding (as long as the load is balanced). Also made a run with bags of clothes and shoes for the Goodwill donation box but that load was a bit lighter than the book loads. Our new house is only 1/2 mile from the current house so I plan to use the GSD a lot during the move.

 

[Over50]

My front rack finally arrived and I picked it up today at the LBS and mounted the Bordo alarm lock. Here are some pics after a grocery run. At the Container Store I managed to find a tote that has collapsible sides and will lay flat inside the basket or I can throw it in a pannier. It is a perfect fit for the rack:

 

[Over50]

Today we had a freakish 50F day so I got out early on the Tern GSD to run some errands. What could be safer than a Sunday morning ride in a residential neighborhood? Right next to a middle school I came the closest I've ever come to becoming roadkill. I stopped completely at a 4-way stop next to the school. Black Jeep SUV coming as I was already stopped. I wrongly assumed female driver would stop and I proceeded to pedal through. Not only did she not stop but she was accelerating as she neared the stop sign. I heard the roaring of the engine as she almost mowed me down. Did you see that video out on CNN and other sites of the cyclist in the Netherlands that was missed by the train by inches? I was missed by the accelerating SUV by inches. Stop signs mean nothing around here ...

 

[Over50]

Had my year-end maintenance/software update at the LBS this week. My Bosch stats:
555 miles (took delivery mid-year)
Distance in mode: Turbo 24, Sport 3, Tour 80, Eco 285, no assist 163
Energy consumed by motor in mode: Turbo 12%, Sport 2%, Tour 35%, Eco 51%

Did a 14 mile trip today stopping at 3 stores for various items. Returned with about 4 bags of groceries and stuff.

 

[Over50]

Put about 60 miles on the bike in a couple of days and will probably put another 40 tomorrow. Here are the Terns returning from flower shopping at the farmer's market. A lot of people stopped me to ask about the bike once it was loaded down. I was waiting for the quip "you taking your Morning Glory out for a bike ride"?. But it never came.

 

[stuckat1]

Interesting. I have a single battery GSD. Just did a 35 mile bicycle tour around State Island, New York. My battery almost completely died around 25 mile mark. I didn't expect many hills so I was completely unprepared. I was in Turbo mode for hills and used Tour mode on flat levels just to keep pace with the other riders. Probably didn't help that I had my 60 lb son in the back seat. The last 10 miles on zero electric was sooooo painful.

BTW, how much weight do you think you can put in your front rack before it becomes too heavy to steer?

 

[Over50]

...BTW, how much weight do you think you can put in your front rack before it becomes too heavy to steer?

Tern's specs are loads up to 44 pounds for the front rack but I haven't tested those claims. Saturday, I loaded a 20 lb bag of potting soil and pushed the bike around the flower market. But I moved it to a pannier after purchasing the bag so I didn't ride home with the weight in the front. I carried a 14 lb jug of cat litter and didn't notice any steering degradation - that was only a couple of miles however. After that its just been small loads of groceries. I usually put the lighter stuff up front. Today I commuted home 17 miles with about 6 lbs in the front (shoes, gardening gloves, a change of clothes...).

 

[Over50]

There was another thread going wherein we were posting our experiences of being stopped or chased down by folks wanting to ask questions about our e-bikes. I thought I would post this experience in my GSD thread: of all my bikes, the one that by far has attracted the most attention is the GSD. And apart from the many times I've been stopped by folks who dare to ask me about the bike, there have been many who haven't spoken to me but whom I've overheard commenting to their companions or who have just stopped and stared.

But yesterday, a gentleman made a comment to me that really kind of sums up what I feel about the GSD so I thought it worthy of posting. I headed off for a grocery run and I first stopped at a local outdoor arts and crafts fair and walked the bike through the booths. I purchased a couple of items for the garden along the way. I noticed the bike was often getting more attention than the arts and crafts. I would see folks scanning the items of a particular exhibitor and as they became aware of me walking past with the bike I would notice their attention shifting from the art to the bike. Finally a gentleman stopped me and fired off a half-dozen or so questions in very polite fashion. At the end he said "I've seen quite a few electric bikes but this is the first I've seen that I can see myself owning". And that's what resonates with me about this bike. I guess if I could only own one e-bike, it would be the GSD because of its all around usefulness and practicality. it stores small, my wife can ride it, I can ride it, I can haul things of various types and shapes and, if it comes down to it, it isn't all that bad to commute on. I suppose too that some day-tripping/long-weekend-trekking is also a great use for the bike although I haven't had the opportunity to test that.

 

[Over50]

I rode the GSD to work today and rode home in office clothes. I thought I would trip the odometer to 1,000 miles but ended my ride at 999. The bike goes into the LBS tomorrow for a new chain.

I commuted 3 days consecutively and the weather conditions were consistent over the 3 days. Here are some comparisons:
Tern Vektron Gen 2: 22 miles average speed 15 mph
Haibike XDuro 4.0 unrestricted: 35.5 miles average speed 17 mph
Tern GSD: 35.5 miles average speed 14.5 mph

Definitely more of a time commitment on the class 1 bikes but they sure are fun. On the Vektron, I had a young man yell "cool bike dude!" from a passing car.

 

[Over50]

I purchased the new Cargo Hold 37 bags for the HSD - they are compatible with the GSD. Similar capacity but tall rather than long. I wanted a shorter bag to allow easier access to the rear battery. I like that they seem to be rugged and have an easier latch design vs the GSD bags. But what I dislike is they do not have a lower attachment point. The Cargo Hold panniers for the GSD have 4 velcro attachments at the top and 2 at the bottom. The newer HSD bags have 3 at the top and none at the bottom. I don't want bags flopping around. They do however have some fabric loops at the bottom and I ran a velcro strap through one of these and secured the bottom of the bag to the frame. A zip tie would work well if one wasn't planning to remove that bags that frequently.

 

[bradl]

Thanks for this, including the photos. I have the GSD bags and they are very capacious and very secure in their mounting. So much so that they are a something of a pain to take on and off. I leave one velcro unlatched just so I can peel the bag back to get at the rear battery. I like the cinch strap on that HSD bag.

 

[Menik]

Hi, I'm new here. A few weeks ago I bought a second-hand GSD (like new) and I'm in love with it. I have two small children and now I can go with them everywhere without depending on the car. I have pending taking some photos and uploading them.
I have three important questions, I don't know if anyone can help me with this:
1st - The chain, when buying the bike was fully stretched, I did not count the number of links and now I do not know what chain I have to buy, I mean the number of links it must have.
2nd - Security, here in Spain there are many bicycle thefts and I would like to enjoy my bike for a long time. I have thought about buying a foldable abus granit, but I don't know if there is any way to protect the front and rear wheels using some anti-theft axle system. And the battery, is there any way to protect it better so that nobody can take it?

Thanks in advance to everyone, I hope to share some photos and more experiences soon.

Greetings from Zaragoza, Spain!

 

[Over50]

Hi, I'm new here. A few weeks ago I bought a second-hand GSD ...
I have three important questions, I don't know if anyone can help me with this:
1st - The chain, when buying the bike was fully stretched, I did not count the number of links and now I do not know what chain I have to buy, I mean the number of links it must have.
2nd - Security, here in Spain there are many bicycle thefts and I would like to enjoy my bike for a long time. I have thought about buying a foldable abus granit, but I don't know if there is any way to protect the front and rear wheels using some anti-theft axle system. And the battery, is there any way to protect it better so that nobody can take it?

Greetings and congrats on finding a slightly used GSD. The GSD is my favorite of my various e-bikes.

I had my chain replaced and I believe the shop used the KMC e-bike chain. If I recall correctly, the GSD is a 10 speed thus they shop would have used the version of the KMC specified for a 10 speed such as the E10 (which I believe determines the width rather than length). As for number of links, I think the chain will come as one length and links would be removed to adjust to the proper length. I'm not sure if there are variations of the KMC chains by length. Anyway, on the first attempt the shop technician thought he had measured properly but when I rode the bike the chain was slapping a bit. I took it back and they determined there were two links too many and they removed two links. Since then, it has been absolutely perfect in its shifting. I will not have time to do so until this weekend but I can make an attempt at counting the links and post an update here with the exact count.

As for security. I do not have locking thru-axles but I believe someone can post whether Hexlocks or someone similar has a product compatible with the GSD. On my front wheel, I have the Abus cafe lock which the GSD frame is designed to use. It might be the Abus 5100 but I would need to check to confirm. It is keyed-alike to the battery. I carry an Abus folding lock, also keyed-alike, mounted to the front rack. If I'm parking the bike at work which is a higher security risk, I carry a second lock - sometimes a 9" Abus u-lock and sometimes another Abus folding lock that uses a different key. But very essential for use with the GSD are cables such as this:

I carry a thicker one for securing the rear wheel or for attaching to a fixed object and I carry a thinner one to run through the seat rails. They come in varying widths and lengths. One of the challenges with the GSD or any cargo bike is sometimes you cannot fit the bike in standard bike racks or you cannot get the bike close enough to an object to get a folding lock around. The cables are handy for those instances. Also, I have the cargo rails on the rear of my GSD and they make it more difficult to get a folding lock or a u-lock through the back wheel and frame at the same time. The cable is also handy for that case. But it really is essential that you immobilize the bike separately from its attachment to a fixed object. Thus, one lock securing the frame to a fixed object and another to secure the wheels whether with cables or just the lock. The GSD is rather heavy so it would be a challenge for a thief to carry should that thief defeat the lock attaching the bike to a fixed object. By using two and immobilizing the bike, you are presenting the thief with a double challenge. Hope this helps.

 

[Over50]

In September I had my GSD serviced and software updated. The bike is at about 1,750 miles. I also replaced the stock kickstand with the Atlas. The initial batches of GSD had a kickstand that I suspect might have failed under heavy loads or allowed the bike to tip. They rolled out the Atlas sometime after the initial GSD rollout. I can report that the Atlas, while beefier, is much easier to disengage (by rolling) when the bike is loaded. It also wide and strong enough to keep the bike from tipping with an unbalanced load (at least to 50 pounds unbalanced). With the original kickstand, the bike would start to tip at about 30 pounds of unbalanced load. Yesterday, I went to the hardware store and bought one 50 pound bag of sand. The bike didn't tip after loading. I then rode to the grocery store and partially balanced the load with two bags of groceries. But it was impressive to me that with 50 pounds unbalanced that small bike didn't tip over. The Atlas is a good upgrade if you still have the old kickstand.

 

[Over50]

I posted in my Specialized Vado 5.0 SL EQ thread and my Allant 9.9s thread about some motor efficiency metrics. It seemed intuitive to me to think about Miles per WH as a motor efficiency metric (like if I had a battery of only 1WH, how far could I go?). I had two examples from rides on the Allant 9.9s using average assistance of 67 and 79%. And for both rides I calculated .11 Miles/WH. For the Vado SL, on rides most similar to the Allant rides, I obtained about .13 Miles/WH.

In late Sept, I took my GSD in for its annual software update and diagnostics. I noticed that the Bosch readout gave WH/Mile - so perhaps that is a standard or better metric? Anyway, flipping around the WH/Mile on the Bosch readout, I get .13 Miles/WH for 1,849 miles on the GSD riding with around 88% average assistance. The Bosch readout shows I've ridden the GSD 56% in Eco, 39% in Tour, 5% in Sport and nothing in Turbo. It is the older Performance Line motor.

Other stats for 1,849 miles. Total operating time 182 hours. My Powerpack 400 which I swap between bikes is only showing 22 full charge cycles - doesn't seem like that could be right given the battery 2+ years old. Min and Max battery temps over lifetime are 44F and 93F respectively.

 

[bradl]

Do you mind if I ask how much the Atlas upgrade was?

 

[Over50]

Do you mind if I ask how much the Atlas upgrade was?

I don't mind at all but I may not be able to give an exact answer because I don't have the receipt handy. I think I paid around $175 with labor. And you've reminded me that I need to call the LBS and perhaps request a partial refund. Because I was recently reminded via an email from Tern that they have a swap program for GSD owners who have the original kickstand. I think they are subsidizing the cost - I can only guess it is because the original kickstand is prone to failure and presents a liability problem. Tern's website says the Atlas retails for $150 but you can get a special price through your dealer with the upgrade. I'll check with my LBS tomorrow and find out exactly what I paid and whether I paid full retail - and I'll post an update.

Atlas Upgrade Program | Tern Folding Bikes | Worldwide

We've put together a plan that will make it easier for current GSD owners to get the Atlas. Here's all you need to know. What The Atlas is a new kickstand that was designed for the GSD. We're always listening to your feedback, so we've developed a kickstand that is more durable, more stable, and...

www.ternbicycles.com

 

[bradl]

Thanks. You've motivated me to call *my* LBS to see about getting the upgrade. Appreciate the link.

 

[Over50]

An R14 with a eye-popping red Rohloff hub has been spotted in my backyard: