I’m now a few days into using an electric cargo bike (a Tern GSD) as my primary form of transportation. It’s…awesome.

Paul Cantrell

#BikeDiary Quick build notes for anyone specifically considering a Tern:

- Just get the lockstand extensions
- Just get the wide decks
- Just get the side lights
- Consider the belt drive if you’ll be riding in bad weather
- Consider a battery cover if you'll be riding in the cold
- Consider Tannus Armour inserts (fewer flats)
- All the bag, seat, rack, and passenger shelter choices are good choices, exactly what they seem to be on the web site; go based on expected usage & needs

Paul Cantrell

#BikeDiary Figuring out my locking / security strategy has been a joooouuurrney. I’ll post details on where I ended up later, but one big thing that’s easy to write up now:

There is bicycle insurance that’s a lot like car insurance: theft, yes, but also damage, liability, medical. Who knew? I got this one: https://velosurance.com It was a quick online application, and it will run me ~$33/month. Reasonable enough for what it gives. Hell of a lot cheaper than car insurance!

clew

Davits???

@inthehands

Laura Savino

@inthehands Me too actually (down to the squeals of glee)!! I just got my GSD last week, and I can’t believe how when I arrive at home or work, I feel hopeful and energized just walking in the door. How can a commute be joyful?!

Opposite research experience, though: I heard about a place with month-to-month rentals and ordered the one model that could schlep two kids. I customized nothing and am in love

Paul Cantrell

@clew
Hopefully it doesn’t come to that!!

clew

Ideally davits so reliable that you could load the bike on the porch and GET ON IT and lower away and then bike off pronto.

(Singing chanteys.)

@inthehands

Paul Cantrell

@clew
There once was a Tern in a Twin City
and the name of that Tern was the GSD

Paul Cantrell

@savinola
Great minds think alike!

(Apparently many great minds, since half the models and parts seem to be backordered)

Paul Cantrell

@r343l
The GSD’s vertical storage is brilliant; once it’s in place, it’s great. It’s the steps that are the killer. Doesn’t help that the pedals come so low to the ground at their low point.

If only I had the skill/strength to fully lift the thing up the stairs….

Brian Marick

@dimsumthinking @inthehands You can get these bikes in the US? I idly peeked and it seemed to be a Europe bike.

Paul Cantrell

@marick @dimsumthinking Oh, you can very much get them in the US. They’re based in Taipei IIRC.

dimsumthinking

@marick @inthehands yes - though at times supply is limited. I ordered mine at a local shop and they had to cancel my order so I got mine at REI. I’ve had it for four years and didn’t use it as much this year as others. As Paul said, it was the test ride that sold me. The electric is only an assist - I’m still biking but it smooths out hills and stops. I have the foldable one so I can put it in my car. It is quite heavy

Paul Cantrell

@dimsumthinking @marick I had to wait two months to get the color I wanted, and it was totally worth it.

Still waiting on the front rack.

Honestly, I’m delighted about the wait time. I’d love to see this supply chain scale up, and am happy to see the pressures that might make that happen.

Paul Cantrell

#BikeDiary I just realized that I can take the big, bulky car key off my regular keychain. I don't need to have it in my pocket all the time anymore.

Paul Cantrell

#BikeDiary I notice that I greet people a lot more commuting on the Tern. Just a nod, a smile, a friendly hello — but not a thing I did inside a car. The electric part helps: I'm not out of breath. And again, the upright riding position has a surprisingly large effect. I notice more of the community. I feel like a part of the place I’m riding through.

Paul Cantrell

#BikeDiary I also notice nature. I mean, this seems obvious, we all know that’s part of cycling, but:

Earlier in the week, along the Mississippi, a bald eagle came gliding down fast and silent and plucked a squirrel right out of the middle of the road not 50 feet from me. Full, long view of it — not out a window, no roof, just full view — as it lifted off and sailed away.

Would this have happened if I'd been in a car? Unlikely. Would I have had that view? Definitely not!

Paul Cantrell

(This is not quite as unusual as it sounds! Minneapolis and St. Paul straddle the one and only natural gorge on the Mississippi, and we have bald eagles nesting near the gorge on a regular basis. It’s right in the middle of the city, but 125+ years of conservation have kept the river gorge forested and semi-wild even as the city grew around it. It’s a pretty cool place to live.)

Tim Lavoie

@inthehands Speaking of bad weather, how well-rated are the motors for rain? My riding is mostly fair-weather, but wet on the West coast sometimes. Not a lot of time with cold and snow, but it would suck to kill motors prematurely.

Deb has moved! (see profile) 🇨🇦

@inthehands I gave up biking because the posture gave me migraine (I have neck damage). This makes me a little more optimistic.

Climate Jenny 2.0

@inthehands Yes. When I’m on my e-bike I feel about 30 years younger. I’m supposed to be using it for doing local chores, but once I’m on the bike I keep discovering little side-missions, just to prolong the ride.