Description
What it is
A longtail that carries two children without being a big bike. It is roughly the length of an ordinary bike, so it fits through a side gate and down a normal hallway, and it stands upright on its back end when you park it. For a lot of north London houses, that last part decides the whole question.
What you get
- Bosch Cargo Line motor. The same family of motor as the bikes costing considerably more. Hills with a full load are not an event.
- 190 kg rated. Two children, you, and whatever the day involves.
- Low step-through. Easy to get on and off with a loaded bike, which you do more often than you expect.
- The Tern Accessory System. Child seats, rails, boxes, bags. The same ecosystem as the GSD, so you are not buying into a dead end.
The GSD question
On paper, this bike does everything. It is a Tern, so it carries the same warranty and takes the same accessories as the rest of the range. It carries two children. It has a Bosch Cargo Line motor, an older version of it, but the same family. And it is light, which you feel every time you move it about.
When it launched we assumed it would stop anyone buying a GSD. It did not, and the reasons turned out to be more interesting than the spec sheet suggests.
For most people the GSD is the better bike, and specifically:
- It handles better with a load on, and feels more settled when that load is two children.
- Suspension, better brakes, and better wheels that last longer and need servicing less often.
- Built in security features.
- A locking kickstand, which sounds like a detail until you have loaded a child onto a bike that wanted to roll away.
None of that makes the Quick Haul Long a lesser buy. It is a lot of bike for £3,500 and plenty of families ride one for years without ever wishing they had spent more.
What it does mean is that the two are worth riding back to back, with someone who knows both. Come in, take them up the hill, and we will talk you through where the difference actually shows up for the riding you do.
Living with one
It is lighter than a full-size longtail, which you notice when you are wheeling it out of a shed or lifting the front over a kerb. It takes the same seats and boxes as the rest of the Tern range, so you can start simple and add as the children grow.
Available in Satin Black, Satin Ice Grey and Satin Traffic Red.
Come and ride it
We keep one built and charged in Crouch End. Ring 020 8347 5534 or book a test ride and we will have a GSD ready alongside it.
Cycle to Work accepted. We are an official Tern Platinum dealer, so servicing and warranty stay with us.
