Road Tested | The Chapter2 Tere - Bicycling Australia

We test ride the fast, efficient and aero Tere from New Zealand bike brand Chapter2.

‘Faster; speed; rapid; swift; velocity; expedite.’

Exciting and inspiring words, particularly if you’re a cyclist. But, more than that, these are some of the words that come up when you translate ‘Tere’ from Maori to English.

And that’s not where the Maori links end with the nimble, New Zealand designed Tere from Kiwi bike company Chapter2. Traditional motifs are subtly emblazoned on the frame: Aotearoa is embedded in the top tube, and a silver fern and newzealand.com logo is proudly placed on the chainstay.

Hailing from the land of the long white cloud, the Tere is a world class bike and highly-capable performer.

Uniquely NZ, the pedigree of this lightweight flyer is clear. Set one up, climb aboard and push down on the pedals, and before long you’ll realise what it was designed for.

‘Agile, quick and nimble’ came to mind as we settled in to the first trip on the Tere. A modern take on the traditional racing bike, this build is not exactly designed to dawdle. From the one-piece carbon handlebar design through to the Kamm-tail seatpost and 12mm thru axle rear end, the bike subtly screams ‘ride me hard’.

Attention to detail and the finish of the bike is second to none.

Quick Off The Mark

A responsive frameset, we found it fast off the mark and quick to accelerate. With the feel of a thoroughbred race bike, the ride was surprisingly forgiving, and this was no doubt helped by the 28mm factory fitted Vittoria tyres. Talking tyres: more being less these days, it was interesting to see enough space for 30’s within the front fork and rear triangle—one of the benefits of the disc brake build.

The Tere is also available in a rim brake version but was tested in the disc variant.

Fast and nimble on the climbs, the bike’s light weight really helped on the short, sharp ‘bergs of West Head Road north of Sydney. Get on top and stay in control of the right gear and this bike feels like it will climb all day. It feels good, and instils confidence…our legs gave way before the top of the hill did, and the bike made us simply want to train harder and climb better.

To the top of a three-kilometre descent and the bike rolled well, felt solid on the ground and again performed admirably.

Overall the bike felt comfortable, forgiving and super responsive over that first 40km ride. Most importantly it was a lot of fun to ride, left fond memories, and made us want to go again.

Aero Attributes

The Tere’s aero attributes flow from the shaped fork right through to the smoothly-sculpted, swept out bottom bracket then back to the neatly moulded rear drop outs. A D-tube and dropped stays define the midsection of the bike, with a beefy BB86 integrated into the base of the seat stay. The seat clamp very tidily rests inside the flattened top tube—this leads forward before rising gently to meet the shaped head tube.

The Tere was fitted with Chapter2’s own integrated bar / stem combo, the Mana handlebar.

Overall the Tere oozes aerodynamics, performance and efficiency—the one-piece Mana handlebar defining and clearly stating the bike’s intent.

Fit and Finish

Attention to detail is certainly one of Chapter2’s strong points, and the Tere we tested stood out as a beautifully presented bike. The combination of glossy black carbon, soft branding and subtle aqua highlights all came together to create a well-presented and very pleasing bike—certainly one you’d be proud to park outside the packed local cafe.

One slight disappointment with the review bike was the mechanical cabling out of the bars and into the frame. Wireless shifting would obviously halve the problem, but it would also be nice to see Chapter2 fully integrate the brake cables through the bar and stem as we are often seeing these days.

The review bike was finished in stunning gloss black, however the Tere is often available in limited edition colourways.

But that’s certainly not a dealbreaker—particularly considering the bike is sold as a frameset in Australia. And since this review was completed Chapter2 have released their fully aero TOA, and yes, all cables are concealed.

“…Overall the Tere oozes aerodynamics, performance and efficiency, the one
piece ‘Mana’ handlebar defining and clearly stating the bike’s intent…”

Overall, the Tere is a fast, slick and super-efficient steed…it’s a bike that seems always raring to go (no pun), a machine that will reward the rider with many fine memories.

SPECIFICATIONS

Name: Tere

Brand: Chapter 2

Available Sizes: 51cm 53cm 55cm 56cm 58cm

Frame Material: Carbon

Fork: Carbon

Wheelset: Fulcrum Racing 5

Weight kg: 7.5

Stem: Chapter 2

Shifters: Shimano Ultegra

Seatpost: Chapter 2 D-profile

Seat Angle: 73 degrees