Sonder has taken the spritely Signal Ti and given it a real steel flavour with the new Sonder Signal ST.
Some months, or was it years back, I tested the Sonder Signal Ti for a feature in Singletrack Magazine (yes, there’s a mag!), I really liked it, but this might be more up my street.
Titanium is cool and all, but it’s a very pricey material and if I’m going to be hitting loam in the woods, perfectly manicured jumps at Farmer Johns or frame shattering natural rocky trails do I really want a pretty Ti quiver? Actually yes, but this steel version of the Signal Ti makes WAY more sense.
Priced at £499 for the frame only, around £800 less than the Ti frame, the Sonder Signal ST is very tempting. Like the Ti version, the Signal ST isn’t aimed squarely at the hardcore hardtail crowd, and will happily transport you across the Peaks for a night or two in a sleeping bag, or spend a few hours snapping at the heels of carbon frames during an XC race.
But it’s when things get rowdy the Signal ST really shines. Sonder has created 4 sizes of the new ST with geometry that’s ‘on trend’ but not ‘nuts’.
Sonder Signal ST Geometry
Size | Small | Medium | Large | X-Large |
---|---|---|---|---|
ST – Seat tube | 400 | 425 | 465 | 485 |
ETT – Effective Top Tube | 585 | 606 | 634 | 664 |
HT – Head tube | 100 | 105 | 115 | 125 |
HA – Head angle | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 |
SA – Seat tube angle | 74 | 74 | 74 | 74 |
CS – Chainstay | 425 | 425 | 430 | 435 |
BB – BB drop | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
FO – Fork offset | 42/51 | 42/51 | 42/51 | 42/51 |
WB – Wheelbase | 1127 | 1149 | 1183 | 1220 |
SO – Standover | 730 | 738 | 760 | 772 |
RE – Reach | 420 | 440 | 465 | 495 |
SK – Stack | 601 | 606 | 615 | 624 |
Highlights for the Signal ST include a duo of very good colour options, bottle bosses, clearance for a 29 x 2.6in tyre, but above all else that handmade 4130 steel frame.
In addition to the frame only, Alpkit has produced a few off the shelf complete builds starting from just £1199, rising to £2099, which in our book is a pretty good price for a sorted steel hardtail.
For more details visit the Alpkit website, or listen to our mate Neil in the video below:
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Glad it’s not just my trail dog that has a keen eye for the inside ‘racing’ line!
I have the Ti version, highly recommended, but this steel one looks pretty good.