Review: Tern Quick Haul P9 Performance
By Jenna, Operations Director
Image caption: Jenna’s Quick Haul P9 Performance with customized handlebar, grips, bell, pedal, feedbag, and Carsick slings.
As soon as I read the announcement about the Tern Quick Haul I knew it would be my first e-bike. After working at G&O for over 4 years I had tested my share of bikes and I had this image in my head of a small, fairly light, sporty cargo bike. I hadn’t seen anything that quite fit. The Riese & Muller Tinker is a wonderful bike, but I wanted a chain driven bike for ease of service and fixing flats on my own. The Tern Vektron fits into so many places and the riding style was what I was looking for, but the folding mechanism lowers the weight limit and that made it much less capable for a heavier rider like me. I had really enjoyed borrowing the Tern HSD, but it is just a bit more bike than I need - I’m not going to be carrying any passengers and the extra weight makes it harder to manage with my storage situation.
My use case is mostly commuting 12 miles round trip, some recreational rides, and the occasional bike camping or junk hauling trips. I don’t have any passengers to carry. And I needed to be able to get it in and out of an old, not-very-accessible apartment building on Capitol Hill. The Quick Haul P9 Performance fit all of my criteria: with its 20” wheels it’s no bigger than my existing touring bike, weighs just about 50 pounds, can carry 100+ pounds of cargo, and is equipped with the very capable and high-speed, Class 3 Bosch Performance Line Sport motor.
I have put close to 300 miles on my bike at this point. I’m stoked. It’s even better than I had hoped! Here’s a list of some of the things I love, and a few that I wish were different:
Pros
Since this bike doesn’t have the adjustable Andros stem that is equipped on most of Tern’s other e-bikes, the stem and bar are standard and easily swapped out. I replaced the original handlebar with a slightly swept back bar with a similar rise. I had the service team trim the bar down and put some cute pink grips on it (and a pink bell). This gives me plenty of room in between the saddle and steer tube for my body at stops and starts, but I also get a nice upright position with my bars level with my saddle. The telescoping Speedlifter steering mast means I can let other folks ride it (there is a 10” height difference between my partner and me).
We often appreciate how the small wheels on the Tern e-bikes afford a low center of gravity for riders, passengers, and for cargo, but it is so noticeable on this bike. Maneuvering through traffic, I feel like I’m on a 25lb bike, not a 50lb one. The smaller front wheel also prevents any toe overlap, regardless of the full fenders, and no matter what shoes I’m riding in. And I can make sharp turns with confidence.
The Performance Line Sport motor from Bosch is powerful and sporty and has made my commute fun again. I live on the tip top of Capitol Hill and work at the top of Greenwood Ave, so I have hills in both directions. 6 miles to or from work was a lot to do on a conventional bike and it wasn’t any faster to ride than to take the bus. With this motor I can consistently get to work 20 minutes faster. And since I can get up to traffic speeds with ease, I can confidently take the lane or move through complicated intersections.
The low step-through frame is great for ease of use. I feel more confident riding with my proper saddle height knowing that I have clearance in an emergency stop situation. And if I have the rear rack loaded up, I don’t need to swing my leg over the cargo or tilt the bike precariously to the side to get on.
Cons
The stock 400wh battery means I’m charging my bike every other day or so. I’ve been averaging about 30 miles per charge if I let it drain all the way down. For the sort of camping trips I want to do with it I will probably upgrade to a 500wh battery at some point.
The Shimano Alivio derailleur isn’t my favorite - it is functioning fine but does need a little nudge to shift into lower gears at times, like a click and a half with the shifter. I know some tweaks could probably get it tighter, but I also know it won’t stay like that for long. Stay tuned - we are excited to try out an upcoming derailleur from microShift designed specifically for 20” wheels!
The bike is still heavy and awkward to move by hand. I have about 7 stairs up and 4 stairs down to get the bike into my building. There isn’t a great spot to grab in order to lift the tail of the bike without twisting my body a lot. If I had any more stairs than I do, or if the bike were heavily loaded, I would need to take great care to avoid injuring myself. The walk assist works great if you’re able to use a ramp or runnel along the stairs.
Overall, most of the complaints I have can be taken care of with upgrades down the line. I know I’m going to be using the bike a lot and wearing through things, so replacing them with better versions makes sense to me. But even as is, it’s an impressive bike for the price point. As of writing this post, the P9 Performance comes in $300 cheaper than the next bike equipped with this motor (the Electra Vale Go!), and it has a significantly higher cargo capacity. I’ve been so happy with this bike and I can’t wait to see what else I can make it do!
On a more sentimental note, this bike has made cycling something I look forward to again. I’ve been a cyclist in Seattle for about 14 years. It was a big part of my identity through my 20s. Once I hit 30 I was already slowing down a bit, and then I had a knee injury that kept me off my bike for months. Then the pandemic hit and after I came down with what I believe was undiagnosed Covid my cardio never really came back. Riding with friends wasn’t as fun since I was always the slowest. Getting through traffic became a lot more stressful since I wasn’t sure if I could move as fast as I needed to. I started to show up to work grumpy after my bike commute every day, so I stopped riding. A move across town meant going anywhere would involve a hill climb to get home. The week I brought my Quick Haul home I put more miles on it than I had ridden in the last year. The pedal assist means I still have to do some work, but I can choose to work hard and be really fast or take it easy and not break a sweat. I can let friends set the pace and not worry about if they’re gonna take that hill or go the long way. And I can carry all the stuff so their ride is more fun, too.