SEAN’S SONDER SIGNAL ST GX
MONTH 13: Sean bucks the trend for short stems on XL bikes, and not only does it look right, it feels right…
£2,899 • 29in • alpkit.com
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For the first time in almost 10 years I’ve fitted a longer stem to my bike. Yes, you read that right, a move that goes against the grain in 2023, where short stems and wide bars rule. But don’t lynch me just yet, I’ve got good reasoning behind it. It all started when I was deep in the mix of a recent XC hardtail test. The bikes were all size XL, just like my Sonder Signal, and the surprise came when I parked it next to them. The cross-country hardtails looked huge, a textbook example of how sizing is not a precise science. With longer seat tubes and higher top tubes they dwarfed the Signal on height alone, but it was the fit when seated (from saddle to bars) that was the most noticeable difference. A stretched-out riding position, with a focus on banging out the miles… It was a riding position that I got to like.
Taking the biggest bike from that XC test, the Giant XTC 29, I drilled down on the numbers and was surprised to find just 5mm difference in top tube length and 3mm in reach, with the Sonder being the longest in both measurements. Both bikes share a 74.5° effective seat tube angle, so it’s the Giant’s hardware that is the major contributor to the difference in fit.
That said, the rigid seatpost with 20mm layback and the 90mm stem have no place on a modern trail bike. The X-fusion post on the Sonder has an in-line head, which effectively shortens the seated fit, but as I’m not going to give up on the dropper life any time soon, ditching the stubby 35mm stem was the obvious way to fine-tune the fit.
After a fruitless search in my parts bin for a suitable replacement, I gave up and ordered a budget 55mm Brand-x stem online. This extra 20mm has made a marked difference to the fit and, dare I say, it looks more proportionally correct for a size XL bike too. It’s early days with the new set-up but initial impressions are positive. The steering does feel a touch slower but not alarmingly so, and the added length feels beneficial on longer rides.
I’m a firm believer in not making more than one change to the set-up at a time, so stem height and bar roll are the same as before. With more weight now over the front wheel, I did consider upping the air pressure in the Cane Creek fork but again, I resisted. I’ll save that
tweak for my next update.
WHY IT’S HERE It blends classic steel tubing with modern geometry