Project Road Warrior

An exciting prospect..

I was on the lookout for a folding bike that is perfect for the purpose of touring and long distance overland trips.
Last year at Eurobike, Tern Bicycles announced their latest 24" bikes: The Tern Node and Eclipse P18 and S18. With that, the Eclipse P9 was dropped from the line-up.
In March this year, I saw for myself the first time: An Eclipse S18. 
This bike is built like a tank and the guys at Tern really worked hard on getting it right.

The two-tone coloured S18

The Road Warrior

Replacing our Dahon Speed P8 and TR

I've had my Dahon Speed P8 for more than six years.
Its been used for social rides and touring around the country and Thailand.
As far as the Dahons are concerned, they are the best 20" folding bikes we ever had.
There's little to worry about its hardiness and reliability.
In short, the Speed P8 hardly failed me.
But the technology is old. In six years, a lot has happened.
That said, I found that the Tern Eclipse S18 is a worthy successor of the Dahon Speed P8 and TR.
So, we retired it from active rides for the time being.

A bike that fits the bill

The Tern Eclipse S18 is an all-inclusive bike.
It comes with a set of racks and all you need to do, is to mount your panniers and you are good to go. There's no need to worry about lighting as it came complete with a set of headlight and rear lights.
And speaking of Green energy, the lights are powered by the very efficient Biologic Joule 3 Dynamo hub that I have tested extensively.
For me, it's the perfect bike for touring.
This totally eliminates the need of getting a Surly Troll or Long Haul Trucker for our future excursions.

Waiting time and delivery

I was informed by Kevin Foong of K2 Asia that the bikes are here along with the Eclipse P18s that were shipped from Taiwan. From late last year till now, the wait was not too long.
To secure the purchase, I paid up front and the remaining balance when I collected the bikes.
We bought two S18s for our tours and future project.
I am pretty happy with the quality, fit and finish of the bike and after unboxing them, I had the bikes tuned by Master Johnny Ng of My Bicycle Shop.
I trust him to set up the bikes as he is very experienced with folding bicycles especially with Dahons and Terns.
The first upgrade I carried out was replacing the S18s stock saddles to a Selle Royal and a Kore saddle.
After doing that, I am very happy with how the bikes are set up.
The next thing is to run it in and there's plenty of opportunity to do it over the next few months before we embark of our Tour of Langkawi in August.