Earlier this week my team launched the Tern Business initiative, a relaunch of Bikes for Business that initially launched at Eurobike 2019. It has been one of the most fulfilling projects I’ve been a part of at Tern.
The concept of #BikesForBusiness is something I was starting at my bike shop before COVID. Helping local businesses see the financial and sustainable business benefits of bikes. This concept is not new but is novel to most of my followers, so I wanted to share my insider views of Tern Business and why we all need to look at our own day-to-day life to be part of the solution.
What is Tern Business?
Tern Business is a curation and celebration of businesses using our products to solve big business challenges with a simple (and typically more affordable) solution – bikes.
Tern is known for folding and electric bikes, and our thoughtfully designed accessory ecosystem. When designing any product, our team has multiple use cases and users we design them around but they are often launched to market in a consumer-focused lense. This is historically where we sell the most product and what the bike industry and media outlets are designed around.
Over the last 4-5 years we have slowly seen a shift in market share of how our end product is being used in “bikes for business” applications. This is everything from bike rental and bike share fleets of both electric and acoustic bikes, to heavy-duty delivery uses with our Tern HSD and GSD bikes, sometimes paired with a Carla Cargo trailer. There are post offices using our bikes to deliver mail, bakeries delivering bread, medics using our bikes to support events, and more. I posted a video a few months ago on how I use my Tern GSD as a filmmaker, and truly prefer it if I can safely bike somewhere.
Be Part of the Solution
The above header is a tagline I’m personally using to talk about Tern Business in North America. This tagline is why I work for Tern and have sold their products proudly for years.
We aim to be part of the solution for so many difficult challenges the world, businesses, and families are facing. Affordable transportation, recreational gateway, health, climate, land use, and more.
Making a bike is one thing, building a bike that is a reliable and safe long-term investment is another thing. Here’s where I think we really shine and why Tern was always my goto product at the bike shop:
We make products that are safe – designed and tested to EFBE and UL safety ratings.
We are testing our products to the needs we are designing them for so you know everything from the frame to the tires and brakes are designed to perform under the stress you may throw at it. Additionally, UL testing for the entire e-bike system means that your e-bike is safe to store inside the garage next to your kid’s bedroom or in your business office next to important computers or money. This also means it is easier to insure, and your local fire department will have fewer worries. If you want the details behind it – EFBE Cargo Bike Testing Standards, How Tern Tests Our Bikes & Why You Want UL Tested Ebikes
We are making products that last – we aren’t taking shortcuts to bring things faster or cheaper to market.
This way you know your investment is serviceable and lasting for years. Our bikes are investments into your future (in more ways than one) and not toys purchased through an Instagram ad and shipped to your house. They are tools, reliable transportation, and designed as such.
We have trusted local Tern dealers around the globe.
We continue to build out the international Tern dealer network so businesses and consumers have on the ground help for service, parts, and local tips on the unique city and community.
We are lobbying and investing in local change.
We know that great bikes are only part of the solution and we are doing our part to push forward other key initiatives. We are part of the conversation internationally in the US, Canada, UK, EU, Asia, and beyond with local Tern employees on the ground advocating daily for e-bikes, legislation, funding, product testing, and safe infrastructure. All of these things need to happen to make it possible for you to feel comfortable choosing a bike for your daily transportation for your family or business.
Be The Change You Want to See
The concept of “Build Back Better” is something we all thought about during lockdown. As many small businesses fought for the Paycheck Protection Program here in the US, we worked on creating more sustainable businesses. Believe me, I owned a small local bike shop through 2020 and this was a major weight on my shoulders.
Bikes for business can give a simpler, sustainable, solution to hard business choices while showing your employees and customers your prioritizes immediately, and we have the case studies to prove it.
What ideas do you have for Bikes for Business? Use the comments below or reach me arleigh.greenwald at ternbicycles.com