I think the only problem with tern and many of that ilk is they’re one size fits all, when in fact as we all know, it doesn’t.

I’m a 6’1” and the GSD fits me fine. It’s quite short in terms of ‘cockpit’ but not uncomfortably so. I sat on it for 3 hours today and was very comfy.

Getting it on the upright stand isn’t easy & if you have room to do it, you’ve probably room to store it normally.

Its a bit of a nack but when you get used to it you can do it in a small space; like the corridor of a local train!

I’m sounding like a Tern fanboi now… which wasn’t my intention. All I can say is that the two bikes we have aren’t perfect but are pretty good. The GSD and the Quick Haul are quite different and the QH is much lighter and more manageable and less than £3k… and some shops like Surge give you a load of accessories for that price.

I did look at the Radwagon but I decided to jump in the deep end price wise as I knew I’d use it lots and I live up the top of a steep hill.

I did wonder for a moment about getting a Short Haul for my daughter and converting it to save a bit of cash… but I thought the savings weren’t enough to justify the hassle and possibly compromised result.

Not as compact, but…

I was looking at Tern GSDs etc, excellent bike (though have seen some with terrible frame alignment issues), but decided against one as though it would not be as flexible long term.

I went with a non-assisted Circe Helios – it has gone from kid/cargo carry now into kid also pedalling! mostly.

There is a Steps version available and whilst there has always been separable option, Circle has expanded this out to be even more flexible – think they make the Helios a much better long term option.

Though you don’t have to have the separable option and can also be retrofitted, ideal if you pick a Helios up 2nd hand

More info:

https://www.circecycles.com/products/helios/

as another option, though not sure when available.

The people behind the Vello folder (The lightweight folding bike – with / without electric assist – VELLO BIKE), are launching this:

VELLO SUB Smart Utility Bike | Indiegogo

So…

In my quest to buy something that wasn’t a Tern, I’ve ended up with … drumroll…

A Tern!

Decided to follow the crowd and get a GSD, 1 week in and I’m very happy with it.

With 2 kids we realised there wasn’t much point in buying a bike that we’d soon outgrow.

Over half term we went to London and hired a GSD to get around on. Never thought I’d say this, but it made going to London a fantastic family holiday.

But, as expected storage is the main issue and for the time being it’s in the hallway, but I’ll look into getting a shed for it.

I did look at some of the other brands, but liked the idea of small wheels and belt drive.

I bought it from Surge and with their 10% deal it came in at roughly £6k all in, doubling my record for amount spent on a bike!