All good things must come to an end, and such did our 10-day cycle tour around the deep south of Hokkaido. We bundled the bikes back onto the train, and that train whisked us back to Chitose, ready to face another semester at university.
Thermarest posted on Instagram and Facebook this picture of Haidee snoozing in our tent on the shores of Lake Onuma, with the caption: “When you’re awake but you’re still dreaming”. On the final morning of the cycle tour, I couldn’t have put it better myself.
It really was a glorious morning, and with little other to do but to pack up camp, ride 5km to the train station, and catch a train at 11am, we took our time in the morning.
Once we finally got to the train station, the small township of Onuma was bustling with tourists. It was interesting to see a new pop-up bike store on the main drag. I bought a couple of bottle cages that I had been meaning to get for the Tern. The owner-operator has a 9-5 job during the week in Hakodate, and is only at the store in the weekends.
And thus the trip concluded as it started. Bikes packed away in their covers, ready for the train to whisk us back home.
Hi Rob, Thank you for doing the Hokkaido series tours. I hope one day I would be able to explore this island with such natural beauty as depicted in your photographs. I have noticed here that you have changed your bike. I first noticed it when I saw that you are no longer using your belt drive and your kickstand is no longer the one you replaced. The adjustable stem is also the newer version in the Verge Tour. May I ask why? Was there an issue with the previous model? Thank you. ~ Peter
Hey Peter. I’ve never used a belt drive – what you may be referring to is the Hebie Chainglider I originally had on the bike. I think I prefer no chain cover now…the bike itself is now the Tern Verge Tour. The previous versions of the Tern Verge S27h had issues with the hinge bolts breaking (I broke two), but the new hinge is much stronger it seems. See this comment thread for more info: http://14degrees.org/tern-verge-s27h-folding-touring-bicycle-gravel-road-review/#comment-941235. My bike was replaced free of charge – full points to Tern!
Hi Rob,
Thank you for your reply. You are right I was referring to the Hebie Chainglider. I am glad that Tern replaced your S27H to the Verge Tour with a new hinge design and bolt. I also have the S27H and since I purchased the bike it came to my attention that over the last couple of years Tern has made a number of recalls. And just last year (2016) alone, a whole lot of
Verge models were recalled: http://www.bicycleretailer.com/recalls/2016/04/26/tern-expands-recall-some-bikes-over-frame-concerns#.WX3vYLK0laQ I have concerns over the safety and reliability of using the bike and when I noticed that you had your bike changed this prompted me to asked you the reason. The S27H is not a cheap bike and is designed for touring. Hence it should be able to tough it out and endure the long journey without having to worry about manufacturing and design flaws. I am also aware there are also other S27H owners who had hinge issues and one of them was actually on the road touring. My bike is still under warranty and I would rather have the peace of mind of having a better and more robust hinge solution than keep on riding something that might giveaway. I wish Tern would contact me & others (before something untoward happens), since evidently they already know the issue. Any advise on how to proceed and approach this matter is highly appreciated.
The hinge-bolt issue was never a catastrophic failure – the hinge simply developed some slop. I rode for about 1 month with the broken hinge bolt before I realised what the issue was. Note that the recalls were due to welding issues on the frame, not the hinge itself.