This season, several members of Team Terry and their families had the opportunity to upgrade their age-old bikes through Bike Benefits extended to them by our partners at Quality Bicycle Parts (QBP). Tune in as Terry staffers geek out about their new rides and share ways that you can upgrade yours without breaking the bank.
About Quality Bicycle Products
QBP is the largest distributor of wholesale bicycle products in North America and is dedicated to making the world a better place through the business of bikes. Their in-house brands include the likes of Surly, Salsa, All-City, and many other industry leaders supplying innovative solutions for all kinds of riders, in all conditions. QBP joins us under the Flagg Bicycle Group, a wonderful family-owned business committed to getting more people riding bikes.
Alysia Goes All-City
I chose the All-City Space Horse because I wanted a steel gravel bike. This is my first bike with drop bars so that has been the biggest learning curve. It caused hand numbness in the beginning but after a lot of adjustments, it has been resolved and I’m riding comfortably. Having a new bike has led me and my husband to explore a ton of new places in Northern Vermont.
We are lucky to have so many quiet gravel roads and multiple rail trails with pretty views close to home. We also took our bikes on a trip to New Paltz, NY to ride on the awesome carriage roads of the Mohonk Preserve. In the summer, I wore Soleil Jerseys paired with the Hi Rise Holster Short or the Easy Rider Short. Now that it’s fall, the Tulip and Hi Rise Holster Capri are perfect. I’m a total gravel convert now—it combines the safe feeling of a rail trail with the views and interesting terrain of riding roads.
– Terry Graphic Designer, Alysia C.
Journeyers x 2: The More The Merrier
My wife and I both got new Salsa Journeyer 2.1 bikes as part of the Bike Benefits program generously offered to us by QBP.
The ordering process was easy, QBP’s customer service was amazing, and we received our bikes promptly. The first bike my wife received had a derailer issue that she was unable to remedy but the exchange process was easy and we were back on the road in no time.
My wife is a certified bike tech so she was able to unbox and assemble both of our bikes and get us on the road to test our new beauties.
For reference, my old ride was a 20 year-old Bianchi Avenue women’s hybrid road bike with a more upright feel and a more casual step-through, drop bar frame.
Though both my wife’s and I’s new bikes are the same in style, I opted to stick with what I was already familiar with, which was a flat bar style bike with gravel/road bike hybrid tires. My wife is more comfortable with the drop-bar style and was actually just upgrading her old bike which was also a Salsa. The main difference between my wife’s old Salsa and the new one is that the former wasn’t a perfect fit and now she is riding the correct size frame. For me, there are a lot of differences between my decades-old ride and the new. These differences are not bad, but I will admit they took some getting used to. The critical differences are that the Journeyor 2.1 has disk brakes, is not a step-through style bike and has a more aggressive riding feel. A pleasant observation between my old and new bike is how much power I now have in my pedaling. Hills no longer seem to be such a struggle and though I purchased a bike with a 2x drive train, I find I rarely have to utilize the easier gears.
We love the new bike colors and have already started to accessorize with matching water bottles and bike bags and have since joined our local “bike gang” to encourage us to get out more!
—Marketplace Specialist, Emily M.
Salsa For Her, Surly For Him
The bike that led me to truly fall in love with cycling was a hybrid Alight from the folks at Liv. I started riding a few years ago mainly as a commuter and needed something that could take me from A to B, but as my skills progressed and my mileage increased I found myself wanting to ride from A to B to G—gravel. The desire to ride more frequently, aggressively, and off the beaten path directed me to the Salsa Journeyer 2.1. A total workhorse and adventure machine, I love how many mounts the frame and fork have for accessories that are making trips to the grocery store and long distance rides both more fun and a lot easier. The aluminum frame feels so much lighter than my former bike and the fatter tires are magic on mixed terrain. It took a few rides to adapt to using drop bars. Like Alysia, I ran into hand numbness, but after making some fit adjustments and picking up a pair of Terry Touring Gel Gloves, my new riding position has proved to be very comfortable. To further customize my new bike, I swapped out the stock saddle for my tried-and-true Butterfly Galactic +, but otherwise, this beauty was unboxed and perfect for my needs as is.
My husband was the one who truly needed a bike upgrade. He had been riding the same hybrid since high school and after a minor crash this summer, it finally had to be laid to rest. He opted for the Surly Preamble, as he wanted something that could keep up with me on the streets of Burlington and the gravel roads beyond it. He loves that the Preamble is steel-made and simplistic, it has everything he needs—comfort, durability, speed—and nothing he doesn’t. And it certainly didn’t hurt that his Preamble came in a sexy, skyrim blue colorway.
With our new bikes, we’ve had the opportunity to hop on more group rides with our gravel-grinding pals and are loving exploring the beautiful riding backdrop that is Vermont.
– Communications Coordinator, Cam R.
Upgrade Your Bike Without Breaking The Bank.
These small, budget-friendly, and sometimes overlooked modifications can make your current bike feel more comfortable, look cooler, and protect the investment you’ve already made. Just because we got brand new bikes, doesn’t mean yours is destined for retirement.
Saddle Up
Nothing else affects your cycling enjoyment as much as finding the right bike saddle and it’s a very individual choice. With the wrong saddle, irritation or discomfort can ruin your ride. With the right one for your personal cycling needs, you won’t think about it at all—unless you’re bragging about how comfortable you are. Upgrading your saddle can drastically and immediately improve your ride.
So how do you find the right saddle for you? A great place to start is with our online Saddle Selector. We distilled over two decades of saddle expertise into one easy-to-use page so that you can simply answer a few questions about how you ride, and narrow down all the possibilities until you’ve found the perfect Terry saddle for your needs and preferences. For more in-depth advice on saddle selection, we’ve also dedicated a blog to helping you find your saddle soulmate.
Accessorize Your Ride
From bike bags, to bells, to bottle cages and bright lights—adding accessories to your bike is a great way to up its utility and add some personality.
Po Campo Bike Bags
Dirty Bike? Clean it up!
Regular maintenance and cleaning will improve the efficiency of your bike and preserve its components in the long run. Give your bike the deep cleansing it deserves with our assortment of cleaning tools. They’ll help restore your ride to new-bike-day status and keep it rolling for years to come.
Get A Grip
Pickin’ up bad vibrations? Consider upgrading your handlebar tape or bike gloves. When you’re riding, you’re constantly putting pressure on your hands and a good bar tape and set of gloves will provide shock absorption and cut down on fatigue so you can ride more comfortably for longer. For tape, we recommend Super Sticky Kush Bar Tape to add some plushness and personality to your bike. As for gloves, we scoured the cycling universe to find you the best from massive gelatinous to strategically deployed minimalists, to thermal hot shots and windproof wunderkinds. To determine which glove would be best for you this winter, check out our handy guide: Winter Cycling Gloves Guide.
This latest article really got my attention!
This summer my husband purchased the Surly Trucker and absolutely loves it.
I still have my Terry Symmetry but I don’t like riding on any gravel with those skinny tires and once in a while there’s a gravel bike trail so my husband gifted me with a Salsa Journeyer in September. I was a little reticent about it because it’s a 1×9 but I absolutely love those disc brakes and the button shifting. I think it’s a little slow for my pavement rides and hills but really like it for the gravel hills.
Thanks so much for commenting and sharing your experience with your Journeyer, Maria! It’s great having multiple bike options for different terrains. We hope both your Terry Symmetry and your new Salsa, keep you rolling for many happy miles.
So sad to see Terry Bicycles touting non-Terry bicycles. I have a 1987 Terry Precision that I ride almost daily – best bike ever for me! Over the years I upgraded the freewheel to a cassette and the downtube shifters to brake shifters. I still have the original frame, seat post, and handlebars. I enjoy my Terry Butterfly-Ti saddle, the latest in a long series of saddles. I wish Terry had continued to produce and sell bike frames as it would be easier to have symmetric wheels for touring.