Motor and battery
The Tern Quick Haul Long is equipped with Bosch’s Cargo Line motor. Like other Bosch mid-drive motors, the Bosch Cargo Line motor produces 250W, and it provides a notable boost in torque compared to most other Bosch motors, a very muscular 85Nm. Tern chose a 500Wh Bosch PowerPack battery to power it.
We’ve done some initial testing and in turbo mode, we covered 37 mi.—enough for most people to get to work and back, plus run a few errands. In eco mode, while we haven’t conducted a long-range test yet, we expect that riders can anticipate mileage exceeding 60 mi. per charge.
One thing potential buyers should keep in mind is that loading a cargo e-bike up with a couple of kids and a few bags of groceries will change the range of the Quick Haul Long dramatically. That’s one of the reasons it was equipped with a battery that is relatively large for an e-bike based on a 250W mid-drive motor.
This is a Class 1 e-bike with a maximum-assist speed of 20 mph. There is no throttle. The Bosch system is certified to UL’s 2849 standard.
Componentry
Tern includes a long (350mm) seatpost to try to fit a broad range of riders. They say that the Quick Haul Long should fit riders as petite as 5 feet 1 and as tall as 6 feet 1. They also spec’d an unusual stem that allows the rider to raise or lower the handlebar height with a simple quick-release clamp.
The rear rack offers a second unusual function aside from a place to mounts seats or a basket. To save space when parking the Quick Haul Long, the rider can tip it up so that it rests on the two small feet that extend from the rear of the rack and a pad mounted at the back of the frame. It’s a pretty genius setup. The Quick Haul Long is also designed to allow a trailer to be mounted to the rear of the frame, so you can bring the whole fam on the ride, including Fido. .
The riding position on the Tern Quick Haul Long is a bit more forward-leaning than we typically see with city e-bikes or other cargo e-bikes, but this helps give the handling on the Quick Haul Long a calmer, more assured feeling thanks to extra weight on the front wheel.
Tern includes a motorcycle-style, dual-leg, heavy duty kickstand (176-lb. weight capacity), which means parents can load the kids before while the e-bike is perfectly stable.
The Quick Haul Long also includes an Abus ring lock attached to the fork.
Drivetrain, brakes and wheels
Tern does a fine job of balancing a pick of quality components while maintaining affordability. The Quick Haul Long D9 has been announced with an MSRP of $3,799, which is about what we expected given the prestige and track record of the parts they’ve used (their own frame engineering included).
The brakes are Shimano hydraulic disc brakes combined with 180mm rotors, which will give terrific braking power thanks to the relatively small 20-in. wheels.
The folks at Tern selected new-to-us Tektro drivetrain components for the Quick Haul Long. It features a Tektro 9-speed rear derailleur, trigger shifter and an 11-42t cassette (that’s a nearly 400 percent gear range) to give a wide range of gears for both hills and flats.
