Charge Hob 3

Designed to be a fast paced ride, suitable for commuting and general mooching about, the Hob 3 is a three-speed version of Charge's singlespeed Hob, both built for women - although Charge reckon they sell a few to men as urban runabouts.

Some complain about the seemingly sexist name, but in fairness to Charge, ALL their bikes are named after kitchen gadgets and appliances, so unless it's sexist to name a unisex or bloke's bike after a cheese grater, or a mixer, it's just a fun and daft name.

The Hob is an undeniably attractive looking bike, based on a traditional mixte style frame in a fetching shade of metallic purple, with nice silver toned mudguards and swept back bars. It's finished off with white grips and a white women's specific Ladle saddle. The overall look is an interesting mix of sporty and laid back, and that's pretty much what the ride character of the bike is as well.

Equipped with a three-speed Sturmey Archer hub gear, and a sporty ride position it's intended to be quite quick. Out and about, it is surprisingly spry, given its fairly laid back and traditional looks. The gears are big as standard, meaning it's fundamentally best suited to flatter terrain or those who like a challenge. Even the lowest gear approaches mid point on most set-ups, making hills interesting. The bike was impressively responsive though, with nice direct power transfer and once I managed to get up to top gear, it really flew. I did find I spent the majority of my time riding in the middle gear though, even on just undulating roads.

Riding position was comfortable, and less upright than the appearance would originally suggest. The mixte frame and swept back bars made for a fairly sporty feeling position. On the flat, this gave a good chance of exploiting the power and speed of the Hob 3. Uphill, the big gears and the swept back bars made climbing tricky but not unduly so, with some weaving at the front end.

On descents, however, despite the frame and general position being fine, the bars did result in a slightly less than sure footed feel. Going downhill fast I found the front of the bike distinctly unwieldy, making signaling less than confident. Gear changes, while reasonably smooth, were sufficiently robust to affect handling as well, given the twitchy handling, making it somewhat alarming in traffic - not ideal for an urban orientated bike. Although I did find the bars awkward the root of the problem may well lie in the geometry of the front triangle

Stopping is not a problem though should you need to do so in a hurry the caliper brakes were effective and gave no trouble at all. The mudguards are a nice addition, but did start to rattle before very long. A simple nut tightening job was required.

I found the Ladle saddle comfortable, but that's always a very personal thing anyway. The grips, although aesthetically pleasing, were some of the least comfortable I've ridden with, offering very little in the way of cushioning. The bike is fully rack compatible, offering good usefulness for errands and the like. One other thing to consider, I was fortunate enough not to be visited by the puncture gods during the test period, if I had been though getting the rear wheel out might have proved a bit of a faff, in fact I'm not sure the mudguard wouldn't have had to come off too.

For the price, the Hob 3 is not at all bad value, versatile and with plenty of usefulness as well as being fast enough for sporty feeling rides when you fancy. The grips could do with an upgrade, and the bar and possibly stem are things I'd probably change to tweak the slightly jittery handling. That said, I found the Hob 3 genuinely fun and enjoyable to ride, to the point where it was my 'go to ' bike while testing, even allowing for hillier terrain than it was really best suited to.

Verdict

Fun, attractive and pleasantly sporty. Let down slightly by a twitchy front end and uncomfortable grips.