Folding bicycle specialist Tern Bicycles has hinted at a future Tern range of non-folding e-bikes as it celebrates its fifth birthday.
The hint comes in a press release that coincides with the company's fifth birthday, and follows the release of the company's first non-folding bike range, the Roji, earlier this year.
While the Rojis appeared to be a parting from Tern's original ethos and production ranges, which, pre-2016 featured folding bikes alone, the Roji range's clear urban focus is in keeping with the company's own understanding of its direction.
If the release of the four-bike Roji range wasn't hint enough that a seperation from what we know as Tern was underway, hints dropped in its birthday press release ahead of Eurobike in August, firmly put a future of non-folding Tern e-bikes within the realms of possibility.
Not only has the company's statement hinted at future non-folding e-bikes, it also released an image teasing a Bosch-powered folding e-bike - which Tern seems to be very confident about ahead of its reveal at Eurobike in August - to join the company's Tern eLink folding bike relased last year.
Josh Hon, founder of Tern, revealed in a press release that “going forward we’re looking to orient the company squarely within the four categories of urban cycling: folding bikes, electric bikes, cargo bikes, and urban lifestyle bikes.”
He also specifically highlighted the as-yet unnamed Bosch folding e-bike as a "game changer".
“Our Bosch bike is a game changer,” Hon said. “With the industry’s leading folding technology, expert manufacturing partners, and one of the best pedelec systems in the business, something of this calibre has never been done before."
Any further speculation of ours about a future non-folding e-bike comes from the rest of Hon's statement about the future of urban transportation and the inclusion of a Tern cargo bike teaser image in the press release.
The Tern founder said: “Riders around the world are increasingly turning to bicycles as their full-service solution to transportation. And that means cargo bikes, dependable daily riders, and electric bikes that can easily tackle 25km commutes are needed. With our expertise in urban cycling, we’re excited to bring fresh design and inspiration to the market.”
If the state of urban transportation continues to follow current trends, and Tern is serious about producing urban bicycles, cargo bicycles, and electric bicycles alongside their folding bike range - of which there will be two motor assisted models by the year's close - maybe we can hope and expect some more electric powered urban bikes from Tern.
