Tern GSD Gen 2 S10 LX

I bought my gen 2 GSD just over 2 years ago and have ridden 12,400km at time of writing. The TLDR is that after 6 months of ownership we sold the family Volvo as it was sitting unused on the road, it’s that good.

The GSD is super fun to ride, stable at any speed and extremely capable as a cargo bike, I’ve hauled everything from 3 seater sofas to kitchen tables on the back as well as completing the weekly family grocery shop with both kids towed behind in a trailer (the tow hitch was very easy to fit with the pre drilled holes in the rear frame) It’s also taken all kinda of environmental abuse from salty British roads to muddy forest tracks (my daily commute is through a reasonably rough forest) it’s been through rain, sleet and snow and has been ridden nearly every day for the last 2+ years.
Needless to say we love the bike and due to the flexibility of terns cargo bikes both me and my wife can ride it, even though there’s a foot difference in our heights.

This is the second GSD that I’ve owned as I previously had the Gen 1 GSD. We loved our Gen 1 GSD, but now that our oldest was getting bigger and I sometimes ended up hauling three kids at once, we needed to upgrade to a bike with more hauling capability. And if our decision was solely based on capacity and ride quality we would have upgraded to a Yuba Spicy Curry or Yuba Mundo, which are all larger and more comfortable for older passengers. However, we live in San Francisco and the bike is our primary form of transportation and so we also need a bike that is relatively easy to lock up, store in a crowded garage, and occasionally bring on to commuter trains. The Riese & Muller Multitinker was considered, but its passenger capacity was even lower than the Gen 1 GSD.

All in all, we are very happy with the GSD. It’s the not the perfect cargo bike, but It’s the optimal large enough cargo bike. We can easily haul 2 or 3 kids and all their belongings. The motor is strong enough to get us all around San Francisco. It’s compact enough that I can bring it onto the commuter train within regulaton. It fits into a space in our garage that the Yubas would not fit into. And it’s pretty easy to lockup around town on racks, street signs, and parking meters.

We are no2 1500 miles into our Gen 2 GSD and it’s the only bike that fits into our life. That said we like the ride feel of the more nimble Gen 1 GSD and our Quick Haul for carrying one child.
As for the drivetrain, we did not consider the Enviolo (too inefficient) and Rohloff (too expensive). We test rode the Enviolo and it is noticeably less powerful going up steep hills with a full load of passengers. Also, routine maintenance is something I’m good and quick at and it’s really not a big deal. We’ve had one rear wheel flat so far and I’m very glad that we did not have the Enviolo. I repaired the flat in less than 10 minutes (always carry a spare tube), of which a good amount of time was removing the Cargo Hold bags. The

Our setup:
– Dual Battery. If you live in a hilly area the Bosch motor will operate better. The dual battery isn’t just about capacity, but heat management. The bike noticeably sustains max assist up a long steep hill with two batteries than with one.
– For passengers we have the Clubhouse+ with two pads with backrests. LED Stringlight also adorn the clubhouse. The bike came with the Clubhouse, but I would definitely prefer the Rolling Jackass Passenger Rail system which is much more versatile and customizable.
– Cargo Hold 52 Panniers
– Transporteur Rack with Weathertop Bag. This setup can’t be beat for the front. We’ve tried crates and boxes, but the Weathertop is the most versatile.
– Redshift Arclight Pedals
– Hiplok DX1000 angle resistant lock. My favorite bike lock that I’ve ever owned. The locking action is so smooth.
– Spare tube & CO2 inflater. It’s a cargo bike–I want the shortest roadside repairs possible.