Rock & Rolla
Bike review
Flight of the Eclipse
Tern Bicycle's flagship 24" folding bike is one mean machine with enough elegance and grace on the road. It's the perfect commuter's bike incorporating the finest components one would expect on a prestigious set-up
The Circus Bear syndrome
A lot of guys whom I've met are skeptical about riding a folding bicycle with small wheels.
They said it felt like a Circus Bear.
The Eclipse S11i dispels this fear.
A 24" wheelbase is slightly smaller than any standard mountain bike and being a heavy guy myself and standing at a height of 5' 11", the Tern Eclipse 'fitted like a glove'.
As a matter of fact, it looked great!
Ride handling and performance
I took the bike to the Subang Jaya Cycle Fest at USJ5.
This is a short ride from my home in USJ26 and after making the proper seatpost adjustments as well as the right steering height on the Andros stem, I was able to ride upright in total comfort.
Now, like I said earlier about fitting the bike correctly, I've added a saddlebag, rear blinkers and a Minoura water bottle cage holder on the handlebar stem.
For navigation, I've mounted an EDGE800 GPS on the handlebar.
This enable me to track my route as well as clock-in the required mileage to break-in the hub gear.
And additional gadget that I've bolted on the left handlebar was the Biologic Android Phone case.
The built-quality for this mount was awesome!
At 6:45am, I set the Eclipse S11i's dynamo hub to power-up the Valo light which is integrated onto the Andros stem. This is a wonderful feature and yield's clean power.
Since I am no stranger to the Andros and Valo system, I was really impressed with the brightness and efficiency of the dynamo-powered light.
Getting the bike to roll while cranking it was effortless with the Shimano Alfine-11 Internal Hub Gear (IHG).
It was smooth and seamless.
As for the Avid Elixir hydraulic disk brakes, some adjustments are needed for the rear brakes as its not really rolling smoothly. Other than that, no issues on the stopping power..