LAKEWOOD, Calif. (BRAIN) — Tern has delivered the first batch of its Vektron electric folding bikes to Kickstarter backers in the United States. The bikes are being delivered to Kickstarter backers via Tern's U.S. dealer network. The dealers are also handling after-sales support and customer service for the bikes. The company said it is sharing "a substantial portion of the Kickstarter proceeds" with dealers.
"Kickstarter has proven to be an incredible launch platform for building product awareness, developing new bike categories, and critically, driving more business to our dealers," said Josh Hon, the founder and team captain of Tern.
"We've seen a lot of recent Kickstarter bike campaigns where it's a couple of guys running over to a factory in China, getting something made, and then bypassing dealers to go direct to consumers. We don't agree with that approach – especially with e-bikes that need a much higher level of training and maintenance. We made the decision not to lower our price too dramatically, so we've been able to keep dealers in the loop, and we've succeeded—for a second time—in bringing an unprecedented bike and holistic product experience to market."
The Tern Vektron is a compact Bosch-powered e-bike that retails for $3,400. It folds in 10 seconds for storage or transport.
Tern said the Vektron has been its most successful product launch ever, with most dealers selling through their initial units in one to two weeks.
Related: Tern completes folding e-bike Kickstarter campaign, will deliver bikes via IBDs (December 2016 BRAIN article).
