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Charge Filter Hi review

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The Filter Hi is a super stylish all-round steel roadster

BikeRadar verdict

4 out of 5 stars

"Not race ready, and some fixture niggles, but still a stylish all-rounder"

10 comments
Wed 26 Oct 2011, 9:00 am BSTBy

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Few brands pay more attention to being on-trend than Charge, and with the Filter Hi the English velo fashionistas have created a crisp-looking steel cyclo-cross/commuter bike that manages to be both contemporary and retro. While not all the trimmings are that practical, it’s a smoothly versatile ride.

  • Highs: Super-stylish all-round steel roadster that mixes the latest disc brake technology with retro British charm
  • Lows: Hefty weight, and tight fitting mudguards – even when using narrow tyres
  • Buy if: You want a stylish alternative commuter, light tourer or winter bike and aren’t interested in taking it off-road

The mix of clean single-colour tubes with chrome-effect details and car-sticker-style GB logo evokes all the right feelings of British greatness. For those who know their steel plumbing history, Tange also have a rich heritage, particularly in mountain biking. While the main tube diameters are thin, the actual wall thickness of the butted Ultimate tubes is enough to give the bike a more direct ride feel than you’d expect.

While the steel frame and fork weight look sky high compared with alloy bikes in this category, the fact that there’s no front mech rub or obvious softness between crank and back wheel is enough to encourage your efforts. There’s also less twang and twitch through the tapered fork if you really haul on the brakes, and steering accuracy and speed is snappier than on a lot of retro steel rides.

The unsurprising flipside is a more jarring ride quality on cyclepaths or off-road sections. Most of the buzz transmission we felt through our hands could be blamed on the thin, unpadded cloth bar tape, but thankfully Charge have now upgraded this to their gel-backed imitation leather, which also matches the saddle.

With their tyre and mudguard choice, Charge have steered the Filter firmly in an urban rather than all-terrain direction. The reflective strip tyres, alloy ’guards, rear reflector and blackout regulation white-painted tail are a nice cosmetic touch, and great for winter commuting.

The 28mm tyre size means a firm ride on rougher surfaces, though. Despite the small size, clearance under the mudguards is limited, meaning we never achieved a rub-free fit for long. Gravelly tracks meant a constant scrape as grit was dragged around.

The disc brakes stop consistently whatever the weather, though, and mounting on the chainstay rather than seatstay means no interference with rear rack mounts. The 2011 Filter Hi was priced at £1,199, so at £999.99 the 2012 model represents great value.

Charge filter hi: charge filter hi

This article was originally published in Cycling Plus magazine.

What's the score with BikeRadar reviews? You can find a full explanation of our ratings here.

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User Reviews

There are 10 reviews on this post

Showing 1 - 10 of 10 comments

  • A £150 bike with a £1000 price tag. Just because it has been reduced doesn't necessarily mean that it is now value.

    Doesn't list what groupset is included but I'm guessing its bottom of the range shimano. I don't know what wheels are included but they look nasty. I'm really hoping disc brakes on road bikes doesn't become the norm. I just don't understand why they are needed.

    Overall makes me a little embarrassed to be British.

  • Full specs are top right... as with every review

    Maybe you should aim before you shoot ;-)

  • A bloke I know has of these one and rates it. A decent commuter or winter trainer for more challenging routes/roads, although I'd want more clearance for fatter tyres myself. I've always liked Charge frames.

  • @elgordo, it's equipped with Tiagra, which I think is really good choice for this sort of bike. It's tough as old boots, and my Tiagra groupset has been flawless through over 4000 miles of commuting & touring.

    The mudguards seem a daft choice though. Can it take wider guards?

  • Who's right?

    The dimensions and angles provided on the Charge website bear no comparison whatsoever to those provided by bikeradar.com. Could you decide between yourselves which are the correct data before I buy the wrong bike?

  • You'd hope that the Charge site was correct...

  • looks great, but I bought a charge plug grinder 13 months ago, the seatpost material was too soft to keep the seatpost at the right angle, the read mudguard snapped in half (stress fatigue, but Evans said it was 'wear and tear') finally the rh handlebar snapped (luckily on a cyclepath), I am sending it back to evans but if you have a charge bike check the handlebars are more than 2mm thick and 1" diameter

  • Ha ha, not the troll again!

    Jaybeevee, have you ever heard of picking up the phone and actually speaking to someone about this? Its how people used to do things in the olden days.

  • I spoke to Evans customer service (Andy was very unhelpful and has not phoned me back as he said he would) about the mudguard and at inspection in the Bristol branch they considered it 'wear and tear'. They may say that a broken handlebar as 'wear and tear' as well.

    If any one has a Charge bike I would recommend that they check their handlebar thickness and if it is less than 2mm then take it back to where they bought it from and get it checked.

  • I don't have a Charge so my comments are more general, disc brakes on road bikes are a great idea - if you're into hassle free braking I have a Kona Sutra and its Gusset Chute cable pull disc are superb - in other ways the bike isn't: mudguard clearance is poor and water ingress into the seat tube welding the seat post in place despite it being filled with grease isn't great either. Good luck to Charge their bikes look interesting.

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Specification

Name:
Filter Hi(12)
Built by:
Charge Bikes
Price:
n/a

Available Sizes:
S/M/L, S, M, L
Weight (kg):
11.43

Frame & Fork:

 
Frame Material:
Tange ultimate steel
Fork Brand:
Tange Prestige
Headset Brand:
FSA TH-857

Geometry:

 
Seat Angle:
73 Degrees
Head Angle:
73 Degrees

Brakes:

 
Brakes Model:
Tektro lyra cable discs 160mm

Transmission:

 
Cranks Model:
Tiagra compact 50/34
Rear Derailleur Model:
Shimano Tiagra
Front Derailleur Model:
Shimano Tiagra
Shifters Model:
Shimano Tiagra STI

Wheels:

 
Front Wheel Weight:
1630 g
Rear Wheel Weight:
2030 g
Rims Model:
Alex rims, Charge disc hubs, 32 stainless spokes, 2-cross front and rear
Front Hub Brand:
Alex ACE 19

Contact Points:

 
Saddle Brand:
Charge Spoon
Seatpost Brand:
FSA SL 350x27.2mm
Stem Model:
FSA ST-OS-190LX
Handlebar Model:
FSA Vero Compact

:

 
Wheelbase (cm):
103.3 cm
Bottom Bracket Height (cm):
26.5 cm
Chainstays (cm):
42 cm
Seat Tube (cm):
55 cm
Standover Height (cm):
77 cm
Top Tube (cm):
56 cm
Description:
kenda kwickTrax 700x28

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