Has anybody got any opinions on the above bikes? Has anyone tried both?

There are plenty of good words said about the Genesis, but the Plug seems much less common.

Croix de Fer seems very much the benchmark for this sort of bike. But you can still find good deals on last year’s Charge Plug 4 and 5 making them attractive. The Plug 5 has better spec in many areas, weights a bit less and can be had for less money.

Most of my miles will just be commutes, but I’m looking for something I can tour on a few times a year. For a week at a time, so it needs to remain comfortable for consecutive long days in the saddle and also be strong enough so I can inevitably load up with too much camping gear without having to worry.

I had that decision last year, couldn’t get the plug 5 due to the brake issue, and in the end bought an Eastway CX 2.0 because it was on sale for 680GBP.

Still eyeing up the Plug 5 though, I just like the look of it. Can’t justify it yet, but give me a few months, and I will have convinced myself.

You’ve probably seen this

http://www.chargebikes.com/morefromcharge/juliet-and-dave

Seems like its good for touring!

I have a charge filter which is what the plug replaced. It’s a comfy ride on devon lanes and surprisingly capable off-road

I’ve got a Plug 3, but have not ridden the Genesis Croix Der Fer or CDF which is closer to what I have, so can’t offer a comparison. I originally wanted a Croix Der Fer, but couldn’t afford one so when the Plug 3 came up in the sales I bought one. Ceepers’ review of his Filter did help convince me, and some googling suggested some people found the Charge Plug more springy than the CDF, not sure about the Croix Der Fer though.

I really like mine, it is a bit porky, but that was always going to be the case with a budget steel bike. With the Plug 5’s reduced weight and hydro disks it should be a really nice bike. That said, the Croix Der Fer has an excellent reputation too so you should be fine with either.

Went through the same decision process a couple of months back and went for a ’14 Plug 5 at a good price.
Main deciding factor for me was the Tange Prestige frame. Very comfy bike to ride, has that certain feel you only get from good steel tubes. The new CDFs had much lower grade frame at the same price point. The Hydro r brakes are great, powerful but not grabby. The rival gears are nice once you get used to the sram action, if you’ve not used it. It is more difficult to shift while braking compared to shimano though. The kenda commuter tyres have been great the last few weeks even in slushy conditions. Also has plenty of clearance if you wanted to go bigger with a cyclocross tyre.

I’ve got an older Charge Filter (Tange Infinity) which the Plug has taken over from – been commuting ~40 miles per day 3/4 days per week for the last year & I love it, comfortable & handles reasonably well – I tried the CDF before purchasing it but the geometry felt wrong for me – had a really long top tube, 540+ on the 52cm which was the smallest they did at the time. I eventually built new wheels for it round Halo Aerotrack rims with 25c Duranos for road use which livened it up a bit & stuck a Thomson seatpost & stem on it along with a couple of other nice bits to slim it down a bit, it’s still no lightweight but it now feels lighter that it actually is (around 24lbs or so) – can’t really fault it or justify replacing it with anything else tbh.
J

The Croix de Fer 20 is a significant improvement on the 2014 one – better brakes, better mud clearance on the fork, and only a slight increase in cost. I had a 2014 one and it was great for touring, winter back roads etc. Also pretty able off road, certainly on the tamer stuff I took it on. Cable discs require a bit of maintenance, although once I popped a cable oiler in the rear outer it made a huge difference.