diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/Link.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/Link.java
index 2f99b454..f231245d 100755
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/Link.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/Link.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2012-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -18,16 +18,20 @@ package org.springframework.hateoas;
 import java.io.Serializable;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.regex.Matcher;
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 
 import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlAttribute;
+import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlTransient;
 import javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlType;
 
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnore;
+
 /**
  * Value object for links.
  * 
@@ -46,10 +50,9 @@ public class Link implements Serializable {
 	public static final String REL_NEXT = "next";
 	public static final String REL_LAST = "last";
 
-	@XmlAttribute
-	private String rel;
-	@XmlAttribute
-	private String href;
+	@XmlAttribute private String rel;
+	@XmlAttribute private String href;
+	@XmlTransient @JsonIgnore private UriTemplate template;
 
 	/**
 	 * Creates a new link to the given URI with the self rel.
@@ -74,6 +77,7 @@ public class Link implements Serializable {
 
 		this.href = href;
 		this.rel = rel;
+		this.template = new UriTemplate(href);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -120,6 +124,56 @@ public class Link implements Serializable {
 		return withRel(Link.REL_SELF);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Returns the variable names contained in the template.
+	 * 
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	@org.codehaus.jackson.annotate.JsonIgnore
+	@JsonIgnore
+	public List<String> getVariableNames() {
+		return getUriTemplate().getVariableNames();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns whether the link is templated.
+	 * 
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	@org.codehaus.jackson.annotate.JsonIgnore
+	public boolean isTemplate() {
+		return !getUriTemplate().getVariables().isEmpty();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Turns the current template into a {@link Link} by expanding it using the given parameters.
+	 * 
+	 * @param arguments
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public Link expand(Object... arguments) {
+		return new Link(getUriTemplate().expand(arguments).toString(), getRel());
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Turns the current template into a {@link Link} by expanding it using the given parameters.
+	 * 
+	 * @param arguments must not be {@literal null}.
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public Link expand(Map<String, ? extends Object> arguments) {
+		return new Link(getUriTemplate().expand(arguments).toString(), getRel());
+	}
+
+	private UriTemplate getUriTemplate() {
+
+		if (template == null) {
+			this.template = new UriTemplate(href);
+		}
+
+		return template;
+	}
+
 	/* 
 	 * (non-Javadoc)
 	 * @see java.lang.Object#equals(java.lang.Object)
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinkTemplate.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinkTemplate.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 5bf7a4e3..00000000
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinkTemplate.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,87 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2014 the original author or authors.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package org.springframework.hateoas;
-
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
-
-/**
- * A link template.
- * 
- * @author Oliver Gierke
- */
-public class LinkTemplate extends Link {
-
-	private static final long serialVersionUID = 770560851448247262L;
-
-	private UriTemplate uriTemplate;
-
-	/**
-	 * Creates a new {@link LinkTemplate} for the given template string and relation type.
-	 * 
-	 * @param template must not be {@literal null} or empty.
-	 * @param rel must not be {@literal null} or empty.
-	 */
-	public LinkTemplate(String template, String rel) {
-
-		super(template, rel);
-
-		this.uriTemplate = new UriTemplate(template);
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Default constructor for the marshalling frameworks.
-	 */
-	protected LinkTemplate() {}
-
-	/**
-	 * Returns the variable names contained in the template.
-	 * 
-	 * @return
-	 */
-	public List<String> getVariableNames() {
-		return uriTemplate.getVariableNames();
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Returns whether the link is templated.
-	 * 
-	 * @return
-	 */
-	public boolean isTemplate() {
-		return true;
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Turns the current template into a {@link Link} by expanding it using the given parameters.
-	 * 
-	 * @param arguments
-	 * @return
-	 */
-	public Link toLink(Object... arguments) {
-		return new Link(uriTemplate.expand(arguments).toString(), getRel());
-	}
-
-	/**
-	 * Turns the current template into a {@link Link} by expanding it using the given parameters.
-	 * 
-	 * @param arguments
-	 * @return
-	 */
-	public Link toLink(Map<String, ? extends Object> arguments) {
-		return new Link(uriTemplate.expand(arguments).toString(), getRel());
-	}
-}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplate.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplate.java
index 8c2add65..16d2a455 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplate.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplate.java
@@ -67,6 +67,10 @@ public class UriTemplate implements Iterable<TemplateVariable> {
 				this.variables.add(new TemplateVariable(name, type));
 			}
 		}
+
+		if (this.baseUri == null) {
+			this.baseUri = template;
+		}
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/JsonPathLinkDiscoverer.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/JsonPathLinkDiscoverer.java
index 8c326789..7a10fce3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/JsonPathLinkDiscoverer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/JsonPathLinkDiscoverer.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2012-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -26,8 +26,6 @@ import net.minidev.json.JSONArray;
 
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Link;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.LinkDiscoverer;
-import org.springframework.hateoas.LinkTemplate;
-import org.springframework.hateoas.UriTemplate;
 import org.springframework.http.MediaType;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
@@ -145,9 +143,7 @@ public class JsonPathLinkDiscoverer implements LinkDiscoverer {
 			return Collections.unmodifiableList(links);
 		}
 
-		String href = parseResult.toString();
-		Link link = UriTemplate.isTemplate(href) ? new LinkTemplate(href, rel) : new Link(href, rel);
-		return Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(link));
+		return Collections.unmodifiableList(Arrays.asList(new Link(parseResult.toString(), rel)));
 	}
 
 	/* 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/LinkBuilderSupport.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/LinkBuilderSupport.java
index 81643ef3..dd62773d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/LinkBuilderSupport.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/core/LinkBuilderSupport.java
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@ import java.net.URI;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Identifiable;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Link;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.LinkBuilder;
-import org.springframework.hateoas.LinkTemplate;
-import org.springframework.hateoas.UriTemplate;
 import org.springframework.util.Assert;
 import org.springframework.util.StringUtils;
 import org.springframework.web.util.UriComponents;
@@ -113,8 +111,7 @@ public abstract class LinkBuilderSupport<T extends LinkBuilder> implements LinkB
 	 * @see org.springframework.hateoas.LinkBuilder#withRel(java.lang.String)
 	 */
 	public Link withRel(String rel) {
-		String href = this.toString();
-		return UriTemplate.isTemplate(href) ? new LinkTemplate(href, rel) : new Link(href, rel);
+		return new Link(this.toString(), rel);
 	}
 
 	/*
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/DefaultCurieProvider.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/DefaultCurieProvider.java
index a537d3c0..3d873389 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/DefaultCurieProvider.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/DefaultCurieProvider.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2013-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -76,7 +76,6 @@ public class DefaultCurieProvider implements CurieProvider {
 		private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
 		private final String name;
-		private final boolean templated = true;
 
 		public Curie(String name, String href) {
 
@@ -87,9 +86,5 @@ public class DefaultCurieProvider implements CurieProvider {
 		public String getName() {
 			return name;
 		}
-
-		public boolean isTemplated() {
-			return templated;
-		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalModule.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalModule.java
index c7003049..1ed455ca 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalModule.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalModule.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 package org.springframework.hateoas.hal;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.lang.reflect.Type;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@ import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.springframework.beans.BeanUtils;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Link;
-import org.springframework.hateoas.LinkTemplate;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.RelProvider;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Resource;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.ResourceSupport;
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.DeserializationContext;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JavaType;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonDeserializer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonMappingException;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonSerializer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.KeyDeserializer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@ import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.cfg.MapperConfig;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.deser.ContextualDeserializer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.deser.std.ContainerDeserializerBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.introspect.Annotated;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.jsonFormatVisitors.JsonFormatVisitorWrapper;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.jsontype.TypeIdResolver;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.jsontype.TypeResolverBuilder;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.jsontype.TypeSerializer;
@@ -64,6 +66,7 @@ import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.module.SimpleModule;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ser.ContainerSerializer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ser.ContextualSerializer;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ser.std.MapSerializer;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ser.std.NonTypedScalarSerializerBase;
 import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.type.TypeFactory;
 
 /**
@@ -81,7 +84,6 @@ public class Jackson2HalModule extends SimpleModule {
 		super("json-hal-module", new Version(1, 0, 0, null, "org.springframework.hateoas", "spring-hateoas"));
 
 		setMixInAnnotation(Link.class, LinkMixin.class);
-		setMixInAnnotation(LinkTemplate.class, LinkTemplateMixin.class);
 		setMixInAnnotation(ResourceSupport.class, ResourceSupportMixin.class);
 		setMixInAnnotation(Resources.class, ResourcesMixin.class);
 	}
@@ -654,4 +656,41 @@ public class Jackson2HalModule extends SimpleModule {
 			return (TypeIdResolver) findInstance(resolverClass);
 		}
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * {@link JsonSerializer} to only render {@link Boolean} values if they're set to {@literal true}.
+	 * 
+	 * @author Oliver Gierke
+	 * @since 0.9
+	 */
+	public static class TrueOnlyBooleanSerializer extends NonTypedScalarSerializerBase<Boolean> {
+
+		public TrueOnlyBooleanSerializer() {
+			super(Boolean.class);
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public boolean isEmpty(Boolean value) {
+			return value == null || Boolean.FALSE.equals(value);
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public void serialize(Boolean value, JsonGenerator jgen, SerializerProvider provider) throws IOException,
+				JsonGenerationException {
+			jgen.writeBoolean(value.booleanValue());
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public JsonNode getSchema(SerializerProvider provider, Type typeHint) {
+			return createSchemaNode("boolean", true);
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public void acceptJsonFormatVisitor(JsonFormatVisitorWrapper visitor, JavaType typeHint)
+				throws JsonMappingException {
+			if (visitor != null) {
+				visitor.expectBooleanFormat(typeHint);
+			}
+		}
+	}
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/LinkMixin.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/LinkMixin.java
index 7522c5b0..f3f6f8b2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/LinkMixin.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/LinkMixin.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2012-2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2012-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@
 package org.springframework.hateoas.hal;
 
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Link;
+import org.springframework.hateoas.hal.Jackson2HalModule.TrueOnlyBooleanSerializer;
+
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonInclude;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonInclude.Include;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.annotation.JsonSerialize;
 
 /**
  * Custom mixin to avoid rel attributes being rendered for HAL.
@@ -25,6 +30,16 @@ import org.springframework.hateoas.Link;
  */
 @org.codehaus.jackson.annotate.JsonIgnoreProperties(value = "rel")
 @com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnoreProperties(value = "rel")
-class LinkMixin extends Link {
+abstract class LinkMixin extends Link {
+
 	private static final long serialVersionUID = 4720588561299667409L;
+
+	/* 
+	 * (non-Javadoc)
+	 * @see org.springframework.hateoas.Link#isTemplate()
+	 */
+	@Override
+	@JsonInclude(Include.NON_EMPTY)
+	@JsonSerialize(using = TrueOnlyBooleanSerializer.class)
+	public abstract boolean isTemplate();
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/LinkTemplateMixin.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/LinkTemplateMixin.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 08646eea..00000000
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/LinkTemplateMixin.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,35 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2014 the original author or authors.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package org.springframework.hateoas.hal;
-
-import java.util.List;
-
-import org.springframework.hateoas.LinkTemplate;
-
-import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnore;
-
-/**
- * Mixin for {@link LinkTemplate}s.
- * 
- * @author Oliver Gierke
- */
-abstract class LinkTemplateMixin extends LinkMixin {
-
-	private static final long serialVersionUID = -7227899604445243148L;
-
-	@JsonIgnore
-	public abstract List<String> getVariableNames();
-}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinkUnitTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinkUnitTest.java
index 1adfc2d0..30db8878 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinkUnitTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinkUnitTest.java
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
  */
 package org.springframework.hateoas;
 
-import static org.hamcrest.CoreMatchers.*;
+import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.*;
 import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
@@ -120,4 +120,30 @@ public class LinkUnitTest {
 	public void rejectsNonRFC5988String() {
 		Link.valueOf("foo");
 	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @see #137
+	 */
+	@Test
+	public void isTemplatedIfSourceContainsTemplateVariables() {
+
+		Link link = new Link("/foo{?page}");
+
+		assertThat(link.isTemplate(), is(true));
+		assertThat(link.getVariableNames(), hasSize(1));
+		assertThat(link.getVariableNames(), hasItem("page"));
+		assertThat(link.expand("2"), is(new Link("/foo?page=2")));
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @see #137
+	 */
+	@Test
+	public void isntTemplatedIfSourceDoesNotContainTemplateVariables() {
+
+		Link link = new Link("/foo");
+
+		assertThat(link.isTemplate(), is(false));
+		assertThat(link.getVariableNames(), hasSize(0));
+	}
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinksUnitTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinksUnitTest.java
index 7c6edadd..c93dd012 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinksUnitTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/LinksUnitTest.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2013 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2013-2014 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplateUnitTests.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplateUnitTest.java
similarity index 95%
rename from src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplateUnitTests.java
rename to src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplateUnitTest.java
index d8617cae..247f5042 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplateUnitTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/UriTemplateUnitTest.java
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ import org.springframework.hateoas.UriTemplate.VariableType;
  * 
  * @author Oliver Gierke
  */
-public class UriTemplateUnitTests {
+public class UriTemplateUnitTest {
 
 	/**
 	 * @see #137
@@ -162,6 +162,14 @@ public class UriTemplateUnitTests {
 		assertThat(uri.toString(), is("/foo/path?firstname=Dave&lastname=Matthews#discography"));
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * @see #137
+	 */
+	@Test
+	public void expandsTemplateWithoutVariablesCorrectly() {
+		assertThat(new UriTemplate("/foo").expand().toString(), is("/foo"));
+	}
+
 	private static void assertVariables(UriTemplate template, TemplateVariable... variables) {
 
 		assertThat(template.getVariableNames(), hasSize(variables.length));
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalIntegrationTest.java b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalIntegrationTest.java
index 8032b794..77dda8ca 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/springframework/hateoas/hal/Jackson2HalIntegrationTest.java
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.AbstractJackson2MarshallingIntegrationTest;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Link;
-import org.springframework.hateoas.LinkTemplate;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.Links;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.PagedResources;
 import org.springframework.hateoas.PagedResources.PageMetadata;
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ public class Jackson2HalIntegrationTest extends AbstractJackson2MarshallingInteg
 
 	static final Links PAGINATION_LINKS = new Links(new Link("foo", Link.REL_NEXT), new Link("bar", Link.REL_PREVIOUS));
 
-	static final String CURIED_DOCUMENT = "{\"_links\":{\"self\":{\"href\":\"foo\"},\"foo:myrel\":{\"href\":\"bar\"},\"curies\":[{\"href\":\"http://localhost:8080/rels/{rel}\",\"name\":\"foo\",\"templated\":true}]}}";
+	static final String CURIED_DOCUMENT = "{\"_links\":{\"self\":{\"href\":\"foo\"},\"foo:myrel\":{\"href\":\"bar\"},\"curies\":[{\"href\":\"http://localhost:8080/rels/{rel}\",\"template\":true,\"name\":\"foo\"}]}}";
 	static final String SINGLE_NON_CURIE_LINK = "{\"_links\":{\"self\":{\"href\":\"foo\"}}}";
 	static final String EMPTY_DOCUMENT = "{}";
 
@@ -318,7 +317,7 @@ public class Jackson2HalIntegrationTest extends AbstractJackson2MarshallingInteg
 	public void rendersTemplate() throws Exception {
 
 		ResourceSupport support = new ResourceSupport();
-		support.add(new LinkTemplate("/foo{?bar}", "search"));
+		support.add(new Link("/foo{?bar}", "search"));
 
 		assertThat(write(support), is(LINK_TEMPLATE));
 	}