UK outdoor brand Alpkit made its name with high-value, top-performing down jackets and sleeping bags designed to keep you warm in the mountains, so it’s ironic that its first trail bike leaves the competition out in the cold.
- Sonder: a new bike brand from British outdoors experts Alpkit
- Which is faster: hardtail or full-suspension?
Sonder Transmitter SRAM NX1 Sektor spec overview
- Frame: Hand welded, triple butted 6061-T6 aluminium
- Fork: RockShox Sektor Silver RL Boost, 130mm (5.1in) travel
- Drivetrain: SRAM NX1 (1x11)
- Wheelset: Love Mud Rumpus Boost wheels, WTB Trail Boss 27.5x3.0 (f) and Trailblazer 27.5x2.8in (r) tyres
- Brakes: SRAM Level TL
- Bar/stem: Love Mud Aspect, 740mm/Love Mud Piskie, 40mm
- Seatpost/saddle: Love Mud Membar/ Love Mud
- Weight: 13.63kg (30.05lb), large size, without pedals
Sonder Transmitter SRAM NX1 Sektor frame
To co-create its new Sonder range, Alpkit hired infamously innovative bike designer (and ex MBUK test editor) Brant Richards. Cue the use of geometry that he was pioneering years before it became trendy; a super-slack head angle (65 degrees), short stem (40mm), long top tube (630mm, size large) and low belly.
The Transmitter frame isn’t light at 1,930g for a large, but the triple-butted tubes are extensively shaped. It’s also loaded with neat features such as hollow-backed, Boost-width dropout sections and a plated driveside chainstay that gives plus-size tyre clearance despite its short (425mm) length.
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Sonder Transmitter SRAM NX1 Sektor kit
Because ‘plus’ bikes require more expensive wheels and forks, most come at an extra cost. But, as you’re buying direct from Alpkit’s Derbyshire, UK HQ rather than your local bike shop, the Transmitter boasts a killer spec, even by regular 650b/29er standards.
The 11-speed SRAM NX drivetrain, Level brakes and RockShox Sektor fork are the obvious highlights, but the own-brand Love Mud finishing kit is mostly decent, although some riders might want a wider bar than 740mm and the double-clamped silicone grips are grim.
Sonder Transmitter SRAM NX1 Sektor ride impression
Sonder Transmitter SRAM NX1 Sektor early verdict
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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