"A bike with quality expensive components that easily add up to over £1,200 (which was what it used to be sold at) now for this price. Add that to Wiggle's £100 off over £750 purchases and it's almost a steal. I love the bike, it's actually super light (under 10kgs which for a MTB is really excellent) and to top it all the fully adjustable front shock with on the fly handlebar control is exceptional. You'd pay nearly £400 for the front shock alone. Buy one before they run out of stock!"

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Review 2 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

Overall:

Avg 4 / 5 from

Quality:

Avg 4 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 4 / 5 from

Bridgefan

City: Inverness

Country:United Kingdom

Age:55-64

Interest:Road Cyclist

Level:Regular

Gender:Male

Road Cyclist

Date:August 12, 2010

Gap in the market.

Pros: Durable, Attractive, Comfortable, Rugged, High Quality, Adjustable, Lightweight, Versatile, Good Fit

Cons: Not Enough Features, Limited Color Choices

"Having been relieved of the ownership of my unique Dahon Cadenza (sadly missed and i hope whoever has it appreciates it) while in Holland (belt and braces are necessary there as they are world leaders at bike theft as well as providing a bike paradise environment ) i considered suitable replacements without the folding bit. I liked the Alfine gears, the MTB size wheels and general agility. Could i find a similar bike with front suspension? That would be a hybrid worth having and which allowed some off road use and even on (in the absense of the smooth Dutch surfaces)some of our roads.
So what could i find? Charge Mixer and Giant Seek both had 700 wheels and no front suspesion. So i came at it from the MTB end and there is the Genesis IO and the Charge Duster.
I want a rack and preferably rear mudguard (front of course) and punture protection on/off road tyres. Not much to ask?
So i'm thinking customize the Duster which is on a good offer. After correspondence with the sales team about this i aim for Marathon Plus tyres and in the absense (why?) of eyelets settle for finding clips for a rack.
The delivered bike looks good. Steel frame is neat although the colour,some sort of brown, is odd and one of my hesitations but no big deal. The gearing was very low and the MTB tyres were not replaced as requested. The tyres i ordered came separately and i changed them myself which is no joke initially with Alfine gears and tyres that were glued on. I am 6' 1" and the large size is a good fit.
I asked a local bike shop about changing the chain wheel ratios. They found a smaller rear chain wheel and removed a link and the gears are now a good range.
I have fitted a rack having found suitable clips. Also a fat rear mudguard.
I have been on and off road. I like the handlebar lockout lever. The steel frame feels good and the bike rides really well. It feels robust. The bike meets my requirements and i am very pleased with it now. It is the hybrid i want. Not let out of my sight yet!
Could i do without my other bikes? At my age not quite yet but this is the one i would keep.
So British bike (well), steel frame, internal gears with good ratio, MTB wheels and on/off road tyres and front suspension better than a modern Dutch granny bike for our environment."

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Review 3 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

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Avg 5 / 5 from

Quality:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 4 / 5 from

CUBEMAN65

City: DORSET

Country:United Kingdom

Age:45-54

Interest:Cross Country MTB

Level:Regular

Gender:Male

Budget:Quality first

Mountain Biker

Date:July 22, 2010

A Bike with Character!!

Pros: Durable, Attractive, Rugged, High Quality, Versatile

"Bought this bike a few weeks ago and really like its all round ability.I commute to work about 7 miles on the road but its fun time across heath and woodland on the way home.The Duster does it all.
A top quality frame linked with rock solid componentry and the dreamy smooth alfine system leads to an amazingly quiet ride I look forward to.Handles beautifully too and you don't really notice the extra weight of the hub. .
Minor niggle is that the gearing lacks the range of a deurailleur system but ,hey,some madmen ride singlespeeds and live to tell the tale!
Besides,when I'm riding in the wettest, muddiest days of winter I''l be in the pub while my mates are still cleaning out their sprockets & hangers.
The saddle is comfy as long as you have you pads on and the whole feel of the bike induces a big grin.Although it tips the scales at about 13kgs it feels more sprightly than that and with careful pre selection of gears you can tackle just about anything on this bike.I paid £769 from Wiggle and it even came with a decent set of shimano pedals! Bargain."

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Review 4 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

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Quality:

Avg 4 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 3 / 5 from

AdsMad

City: South Wales

Country:United Kingdom

Age:45-54

Interest:Road Cyclist

Level:Regular

Gender:Male

Budget:Value for money

Road Cyclist

Date:July 1, 2010

good looking bike

Pros: Durable, Great Value, Attractive, Comfortable, Rugged, High Quality, Versatile

Cons: Bulky, Poor Fit, Limited Color Choices

"i bought this bike to use for occasional off road and riding down to town.
cracking looking bike with a relatively high specification although the hub gears do mean that you loose some feel and gain a little weight.
unfortunately i fell off on first outing and badly chipped the frame so will need to touch up to stop rusting but if carbon or alluminium then this would not have been possilbe.

value for money a pitty that the sizing falls between a M and L for the average height person like myself at 5'10" but i went for the M which with the seat well extended seems to work well.

highly recommended!"

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Review 5 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

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Avg 5 / 5 from

Quality:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Brispeed

City: Nottingham

Country:United Kingdom

Age:45-54

Interest:Cross Country MTB

Level:Advanced

Gender:Male

Budget:Value for money

Mountain Biker

Date:June 29, 2010

Outstanding quality and value

Pros: Great Value, Attractive, Comfortable, High Quality

"At £770 this 2009 Duster 8 is a true bargain, the 2010 version retails for around £1200, so it's a real snip. The frame is very high quality with neat tube junctions and good XC geometry, although having lived through the Seventies I'm not totally convinced about the colour. The recon forks are plush, the hydraulic disc brakes positive and the seat comfy. I have been using a single speed through the winter for years to avoid ceasing up with mud and to stop excessive expensive gear wear but have always craved some gears as well. The Alfine hub gear seems to give the best of both worlds with the gears neatly enclosed out of harms way, the range isn't quite as good as 27 gears but not bad and the extra weight at the back isn't too noticeable, in fact at around 29 lbs for the whole thing I really can't complain and would highly recommend it."

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Review 6 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

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Avg 5 / 5 from

Quality:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 5 / 5 from

natgooner

City: Wiltshire

Country:United Kingdom

Age:35-44

Interest:Cross Country MTB

Level:Regular

Gender:Male

Budget:Value for money

Mountain Biker

Date:June 9, 2010

Hubtastic

Reviewer Images

click to enlarge

Pros: Durable, Great Value, Attractive, Comfortable, Rugged, High Quality, Lightweight, alfine hub

"If you're looking at buying this bike then its probably because of the Alfine hub gears - thats the only reason I got it.

The Alfine work really well - you can brake hard to a standstill then click it down through the gears in a second and its already in gear before you start pedalling again - superb.
No more chain slapping against your frame and its not coming off either - brilliant.
No more mech-hanger nonsense - fantastic.
No mud, weeds and twigs getting in your cogs - great.

The whole bike is superb, you might wish it had one extra high gear and maybe one extra lower gear but thats it - I'm not buying a bike with derailleur ever again."

My Product Recommendations

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Review 7 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

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Avg 5 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 5 / 5 from

pedro1414

City: Preston

Country:United Kingdom

Age:35-44

Interest:Cross Country MTB

Level:Regular

Gender:Male

Budget:Value for money

Mountain Biker

Date:May 18, 2010

Bargain

Pros: Great Value, High Quality, Rugged

"This bike is great value for money, I bought one for my Fiancée and thought it was so good I bought one for myself.
I paid £ 879 and thought it was a good deal, now it is £769."

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Review 8 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

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Performance:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Frenchie

City: Lichfield

Age:35-44

Interest:Cross Country MTB

Level:Regular

Gender:Male

Mountain Biker

Date:April 28, 2010

When alternative becomes sensible

"Fairly early days with one road test and three dry trail outings, but already very impressed.

My regular riding is Cannock Chase and after converting to mountain biking two years ago, I was getting fed up with wearing out parts on my full susser as I ground through the muck English weather all to regularly throws at us. Some of my mates have gone down the single speed route, but this didn't apeal (their view 'I am not man enough' my view 'I still want knees later in life'). This bike seamed the obvious way forward for somebody more interested in riding in mud than messing about with cleaning and mechanicals.

The hub gears are obviously the main deal with this bike and for a child of the 70's I was worried about it being like my nan's old Sturmey-Archer 3 speed I used to ride around on in the summer hols. Fortunately things have improved and this eight speed Afline is simply brill. Yes you do have to get used to shifting in the wrong direction, the slight lag before the drive starts and not changing when under pressure. I have quickly developed the technique of pausing pedalling momentarily to change as the gears shift better when no pedalling. It is a real benefit when fast rolling that you can change gear without pedalling in anticipation of the trail you see ahead. The gears cover a good range and the steps are not too harsh particularly if you are like me and tend to regularly use relatively few of the gears on a 27 speed.

The brakes are basic hydraulics but work well. Likewise no hassles with the servicable forks. The saddle is either a love or hate affair. I am in the former, but I have a mate who had the same saddle and hated.

The stem on this bike is so long it is silly and so I will be changing that in the near future. I can not comment on the pedals as I just put DMR V8 flats on straight away anticipating they would be the usual rubbish supplied with new bikes. The clips holding cables on tend to ping off, but are easily replaced with cable ties - thanks Wiggle for chucking some of these in with the bike.

The performance is excellent. I have found it a very fast bike despite the hub gear weight penalty (it isn't that noticable). There has been several occasions where I have got air without planning on just because I am carry so much more speed on the trails with this bike.

A hub gear bike may be a bit alternative to the main stream at the moment, but to my mind this is the sensible way to tackle the mud of all year UK trail riding. Looking forward to smiling while riding past riders suffering chain suck next winter."

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Review 9 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

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Avg 5 / 5 from

Quality:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 5 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 5 / 5 from

j1mmy76

City: Hertfordshire

Country:United Kingdom

Age:25-34

Interest:Commuter

Level:Regular

Gender:Male

Budget:Quality first

Commuter

Date:April 16, 2010

Good solid crosss country commuter

Pros: Attractive, Great Value, High Quality, Versatile

"Bought this to get me to work in the mornings when I wanted an alternative to my usual route along roads. The journey involves mainly 6 miles of cycle path with surfaces ranging from hardpack to loose rock to a couple of inches of mud, as well as a couple of miles of road.

It's a really responsive frame and the handling is definitely in the fun category. There's some really good mid-level kit on there too, especially the fork which includes a pop-loc, and dependable Shimano Deore brakes.

Obviously there's a bit of loss of feel through the rear wheel due to the extra weight of the hub gears, but that more than outweighs the fact I'll never have to spend my weekends cleaning muck out of dérailleurs.

Only downer is the cable end came off the fork lockout and it's now frayed. No big deal and Wiggle have promised to send another cable out straightaway for free."

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Review 10 for Charge Duster Eight 2009

Overall:

Avg 4 / 5 from

Quality:

Avg 3 / 5 from

Value:

Avg 3 / 5 from

Performance:

Avg 3 / 5 from

fungke

City: Surrey, United Kingdom

Age:35-44

Interest:Cross Country MTB

Level:Occasional

Gender:Male

Budget:Quality first

Mountain Biker

Date:July 3, 2009

Study, well built bike, albeit a little pricey

Pros: Rugged, Versatile

Cons: Expensive

"Upon arrival I found the bike set-up perfectly by Wiggle, just the case of twisting the handlebars round and tightening them up.

First impressions are that the bike is heavy with the hub system. The trade-off of course is less maintenance and a slick, smooth gear change. I've not yet found myself for wanting of the extra gears you'd find on most other bikes. Very well throughout ratios give you enough options as a casual rider.

The negatives are out-weighed by the positives. The bike feels extremely nimble and precise. The steel frame is everything I expected it to be, having owned a tange prestige frame-set in the past. I would prefer a more flat and slightly narrower handlebar but that's just personal taste. The saddle is extremely uncomfortable and was the first thing I changed on the bike, together with the peddles which seem a little small and awkward to latch into.

I ended up replacing the saddle for one of these...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/BioFlex_Ozone_Saddle/5360017505/

All these points are pretty minor. It's a great bike from an up-and-coming brand. I did find myself feeling a little disappointed the bike was manufactured in China and not in the UK which brings me to my next point. Totting everything up, I don't necessarily believe this bike represents good value for money and should be at least £150 - £200 cheaper than the recommended price. I wouldn't necessarily say the fit and finish was as good as some American brands either.

However, after changing a couple items I've now ended up with, in my opnion, the perfect recreational ride.

P.S. I'll probably change the seat post and handlebars to recover some of the weight penalty the hub brings."

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