Just Bought My First Bike - Charge Plug 1 (Charge Plug 3 2013 Fixie Conversion)

Yo folks, so after some advice on here and other places I've just bought my first single speed to hop around London on. . . I can't wait to not have to walk or tube it everywhere. Anyway I went for a charge plug and managed to scratch some funds together to go brand new, but think I got a bargain (£225). What do you think? For some reason the saddle and bar end plugs are red, I'm not sure why. Special Wiggle edition? Anyway it's the real deal and hopefully it'll fit me well, I'm 6' but more used to a relaxed riding position. . . or else I'll have to sell it. . . on here probably! Upgrades I'm thinking in time are saddle (for more comfort), pedal with clips (apparently better for riding fixed) and slicker tyres. Can anyone recommend anything else?

Cheers folk!

Infact here it is:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Charge-Plug-1-2014-Black-Large-/151456509775?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=NBOP56Qw%252FOc5hsq%252FflPoWf8MFb0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Glad you got a decent entry level bike. Ride the crap out of it and then decide what you want to change. Ask advice here and each person could suggest a different upgrade and you would have an entirely different bike!

Riding fixed you will want some straps or something for foot retention and a couple of different cogs to mess with ratios. Just go for long lasting stuff in the way of tyres.

But yeah ride the hell out of it, I know my bike(s) save me £5 a day in train fair so a couple of months and it will pay for itself.

I also just got one of these. First FG/SS. Immediately flipped to fixed, within 2 weeks have added SPD pedals (M540s), changed the brakes to TT/pursuit brakes (Tektro Rx 4.1s), added tarty red cable outers. Have also--to my shame--ordered coloured chainring bolts and a lockring. Aim to keep 2 brakes for a while (and like the symmetry with TT/pursuit brakes). OEM tyres are very chunky, will probably change for 25mms after the first p*ncture.

Looking at new cogs/chainrings. OEM is 42x16, could probably do with something taller as I'm giving up too much speed on the downslope (either that or persuade legs to go at more than 120 rpms, which they decidedly do-not-like). Genuine hesitation is that BLB's smaller sprockets (sub 16T) don't come in red and their red chainrings are monster 46/48s, which is a huge jump in gear inches, so for the moment vanity loses out to practicality.

But I love riding fixed, an absolute revelation. (But beware of claims like it will pay for itself given that you're already talking about upgrades!)

As autumn is getting on, some sort of simple clip on mudguard and a decent set of lights would make a good investment.

The Charge Spoon is a comfortable enough saddle to start off with so would not be the first thing to upgrade. Foot retention will be essential for riding fixed so you should probably start thinking now about what system you want to adopt (clipless, straps, toeclips etc). Enjoy it either way.

Thanks a million for the advice guys. Turns out my bike is actually a 2013 Charge Plug 3 Special edition that had hub gears but was then given different wheels and converted to fixie. . . which makes it more like a Charge Plug 1.

ORIGNAL: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-plug-3-special-edition-2013/

CONVERTED: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Charge-Plug-1-2014-Black-Large-/151456509775?ssPageName=ADME%3AX%3ARTQ%3AGB%3A1123&nma=true&si=NBOP56Qw%252FOc5hsq%252FflPoWf8MFb0%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

It's a bit of a mongrel (in terms of Charge models) with different bars, colours, rims and added cable routing fasteners underneath. As a result there's a few things I want to change including the saddle and grips to a less stand-out colour of black (anyone want to swap) and more importantly the addition a freewheel as it didn't come with one as per the Charge Plug 1. However I do love the bike and it certainly a solid, cohesive feeling machine to ride. I have had to tighten up a few things over the last couple of weeks on a couple of occasions (chain, stem, brakes), I will keep an eye on this and hopefully it'll prove to be just settling in.

I'm wondering about gear ratios. . . so far I'm happy after riding on a few different gradients that I feel like it's an all round efficient ride although down-hill I could really fly even more so with either a different ratio or going single speed. Any help there would be much appreciated! I must say though it was an experience riding fixed for the first time and I'm still not 100% confident not being able to coast or cornering if the pedal hits the ground at high speeds with the instability that gives.

Cheers!

Mark

Perhaps a better picture. . .

1 Attachment

this is a leader frame, very good but doesnt come fully built so you could customize anything on it
http://brotures.com/harajuku/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/IMG_9688.jpg

this is an aventon its cheaper and is probably really close to the quality of a leader also its a full build
http://theurbankick.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/aventon-diamond-1.jpg

Looks good and should stand up well to blasting around London on. I'd get some good foot retention - it'll make riding fixed a lot safer and give you more control:

http://restrap.co.uk/shop/

And, as you've mentioned, just keep a check on all bolts etc. I clean and oil the chain, check the tyres and make sure bolts and fixings are okay once a week.

A good all round gear ratio is somewhere in the region of 42 x 16 - you should be able to get up almost every hill (although maybe not straight away) and, with a bit of practice, spin to over 30 mph on downhills.