SONDER SIGNAL TI GX EAGLE

Sonder’s premium hardtail looks sleek and chic but will the titanium 29er pass the trail test?

£3,339 (Pike upgrade) • 29in • alpkit.com

British brands have a long history of turning out well-executed hardtails, especially those of a more hard-hitting nature. And while aluminium and steel tubing seem to rule this genre, titanium is making a resurgence; with smaller, direct-to-consumer brands pushing hardtail design forward and not shying away from price tags that are well into full-suspension territory.

Titanium has been a core part of Sonder’s range since the brand’s birth in 2016, and with design and product manager Neil Sutton’s background having a strong gravity focus, bikes such as this Signal Ti are high on the agenda. I’ve spent the last 10 months on a steel Signal ST as my longterm test bike, so I was keen to see if stepping up to the titanium frame made a noticeable difference to the ride quality and, more importantly, if it really is worth the extra outlay.

But first a bit of background. Initially the Signal was only available in titanium, and as the recipe proved successful, a steel frame Signal ST was then introduced, resulting in the range of bikes and frame options you see today. The latest iteration of the Signal Ti frame is not an all-new design, even though Sonder says that option was on the table. Instead, it’s had a nip here and a tuck there, so it’s more V1.5 rather than V2.

So what are the basic Signal Ti ingredients? Sonder has stuck with 29in wheels front and rear, with no intention of moving to a mullet/mx design – as seen on Starling’s stainless steel Roost. Sonder’s take is that the relatively short chainstays and taller BB height give the required dose of agility, while the bigger wheels keep all-round versatility. The frame is optimised for a 130mm-travel fork, which I feel is the sweet spot for a hardtail; it’s all too easy to slap on a big fork to give a bike more hardcore credentials, but in doing so it often makes compromises elsewhere.

Take a closer look at the Signal’s vital statistics and it’s clear that Sonder has chosen to retain an all-round trail bike feel. So rather than shifting it into enduro hardtail territory, the bike has a 63.5° head angle and 74° effective seat angle. And while the head angle sounds pretty progressive, we need to keep in mind these are un-sagged static figures, where the head angle and seat angle will both steepen up with a rider onboard. The same is true of the reach measurement. My XL test bike only measures 473mm, but the reach increases to 492mm as the fork sags. In short, the Sonder Ti is longer and

Sonder retains an all-round trail bike feel