Charge Tap

bluefoam

Hey all. I'm looking for a hub geared bike.
Money is tight enough and a Charge Tap seems to fit the bill.

Only thing is, I haven't had much luck finding reviews of the bike, or even discussions on here. Has anyone here had any experience of the Tap?
Any feedback appreciated.

jonny_trousers

May I ask why you want one? I only ask because I have been researching hub gears for myself and have come to the conclusion that they may not be all that useful.

For what it is worth, while reading up on Charge bikes, I found that they scored very highly for style, but were perhaps considered a little heavy.

bluefoam

It's going to be a bike for knocking around, going for coffee, to the shops and to town. So the greatest distance will be about 6 miles one way. I like the simplicity of hubs and the lack of regular maintenance + I'll admit that I like the clean appearance.

jonny_trousers

I am pretty much a newbie and still trying to work out what I really want myself, but you, my friend, have single-speed written all over you.

shouldbeinbed

Hub's - got an alfine on my main bike (heavy sit up and beg) and ridden em on folders before this. I use these bikees as Jeeps and I'm not into head down eyes bulging racing along.

great for this type of bike, they are literally sit on and go, bare minimum maintenence - i've not touched mine in the last 8 months and its still changing perfectly, silent, clean and far less faff than a derailleur, ideal for a load lugger bike and the 8 speed I've got is more than adequate for a pretty lumpy commute.

if you're wanting a nippy lightweight traffic beater then move along, nothing to see here. the single speeds are over there looking rather lovely if you've not got many gradients to negotiate.

for a ss, the Charge Plug is a pretty looking bike that seems to get a good write up and is a decent price.

bluefoam

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm gonna head out today and have a look at the Tap. I cant say the weight doesn't concern me slightly & the fact it only has 8 gears. But a single speed isn't ideal for me - maybe if I lived closer to town.

shouldbeinbed

bluefoam wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm gonna head out today and have a look at the Tap. I cant say the weight doesn't concern me slightly & the fact it only has 8 gears. But a single speed isn't ideal for me - maybe if I lived closer to town.

don't worry about the 8 gears. thers no overlap and I've got exactly the same end range as my 24 speed derail system just without the multiple duplications and admittedly without quite such a fine range of changes but I don't miss these minor adjustment.

I've got a half mile+ of 1:4 in the middle of my ride home and can do it sat in the saddle (13 stone and I ride to eat and drink what I like not for sporty reasons) on the alfine, I run out of top end gears at just past 30mph going down it but thats fast for me and I'm happy to let gravity do its job for a bit.

the majority of your riding will likely be gears 3-7 and apart from the fact that 4 & 5 are a tad too well spaced I guarantee you that will suit 99% of your riding and be equivalent to a deraillure set up

bluefoam

Thanks, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear.

tomb353

I was put off the charge bikes because the frames are not great quality compared to others available in similar price bracket. That said the choice of hub geared bikes will be smaller so the tap may make more sense

rjsterry

bluefoam wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm gonna head out today and have a look at the Tap. I cant say the weight doesn't concern me slightly & the fact it only has 8 gears. But a single speed isn't ideal for me - maybe if I lived closer to town.

Further to what Shouldbeinbed said, I was down to 7 gear the other week when I snapped my front gear cable (actually, it was more like 5 as the 11T and 13T sprockets caused too much chain rub) and that was fine for London, if a little spinny at times. Actually considered not fixing it at one point.

bluefoam

Thanks for all your responses. I got the Tap yesterday & its great - 8 is plenty of gears & the weight is not an issue. Cycling on the roads is new for me as most of my cycling is on single track. Am really liking this bike.

asquithea

I'm thinking about getting a hub-geared bike to replace my cheap, worn out MTB, and this one looks like the right sort of thing -- practical for general use, and maybe less of a theft-magnet than an obvious road bike.

Would you mind weighing your bike, and telling us the result + what size you bought? Assuming it fits you well, what's your height and inside leg?

TIA/

bluefoam

I'm 6' 2" and got a medium. I have a 34" leg. I was very surprised that I didn't need a large. but I had heard that the sizes of charge bikes are generally bigger. It weighs about 23lb, I have no idea how this compares (scales I used wouldn't be the most accurate)

asquithea

Thanks -- I'd read that the frames come out a bit large.

I'm 6'0 / 32"-33"; also thinking about a medium. Maybe I should break the habit of a lifetime and actually go and try one before I buy