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I've had a butchers at then and they look bang on, light, AXS drivetrain, pike ultimate and the geo looks bang on. Anyone any real life experience of them?
I've got a mk1. It's my do everything 'hack' MTB. The frame is really well thought out - depending on build it'll do everything from marathon XC to hooning about in the woods. Running mine 27.5+ (2.8s on 35mm rims) with 140mm Yaris and that feels like the sweet spot geometry-wise for all-round use.
I love mine, built up pretty light but tough with 140mm Pikes, running 2.6" tyres on 30mm rims. It's great fun and the bike i choose most often. I've used it for trail riding mainly but also some 30ish mile xc loops and even one xc race. Built it from the frame up when they were only £300, would highly recommend.
Yes, had one a few months ago. was a realyl good geo frame for me, was running 150mm mattocs and 2.6 dissectors
climbed very well, decended very well. My only criticism is that the rear end was noticibly rigid on sharp hits, only reason i havent got it anymore is a decent Signal TI frame came up on ebay
I had a Mk1 - actually a proto - and loved it running 2.8s front and rear. Debuilt it to build a FlareMAX and then missed it so much I bought a current spec frame and built another one. If you run 2.8 at the back rather than the 2.6 they currently come with, it has a brilliant semi-float to the ride that makes it an absolute hoot to ride on light to medium roughage. You know it's not a full sus when you hit big stuff way too fast, but mostly it just works really well. I run a 140mm Sweep with the Rough Cut damper up front and it works fine.
I do kind of wish I'd gone up a frame size, so maybe I'll do that next year. Then again maybe not.
Please Sonder make a carbon 29 version of this bike. in Reef Blue.
@mccraque they make the signal, in steel or titanium.. the geo is very very close
I've built a couple, if you can look past the wheel size they are super capable up and down, only when the ground gets really choppy I prefer my full suss. I went with 2.3 tyres pumped up to make an EnduroCross bike (like we need a new bike category!) which is super fast on gravel, I did also go a frame size up after initial build.
I bought an ex-demo carbon bike a couple of years ago as something to ride when the trails are covered in mud. Turns out it's my go to bike for local rides. It's well capable of doing very rough stuff. I've also done some multi day tours on it too. Typically use 2.6" tyres on 30mm rims but also have some narrower tyres for easier trails.
Got one on order for a Jan build... have ridden one in a size too small, and only a car-park test, but love the look of it. Can't wait. I can see it being my go-to bike for the rest of winter/spring (same thing where I am.)
I do kind of wish I’d gone up a frame size, so maybe I’ll do that next year.
Whyzatden? These are on my list (isn't everything...) and at a slightly leggy 6'1" I thought I'd be fairly bang-on with a Large.
I had a first gen one and it was good - first modern geo HT I'd owned and it handled brilliantly. Bit of a pig to ride though as it was heavy with a bad rumpus wheelset on hefty tyres (think it was a 3" on the front). So very much a messing about on technical trails bike, in that configuration - was a chore to ride for hours on simple stuff.
The wheels were the issue with the bike ime, but I'd assume 3 or 4 generations it's been figured out what works best. I switched to a narrower 35mm set and the bike rode much better.
@mccraque they make the signal, in steel or titanium.. the geo is very very close
My neighbour has the signal ti!
I just always liked the idea of the very light carbon frame and the bigger wheel size to cover both trail and race bases. I think Guy K was squeezing some bigger wheels in on one of his reviews and really rated it. However - Sonder said it would be very tight for tyre clearance and make the bb horribly high.
This was a couple of years ago before other brands got on the slack trend
I used one at a demo day a good few years ago. Didn’t climb to good on short sharp climbs. I also remember getting arm pump pretty early on (more than likely my lack of strength and fitness, normally bike then was an enduro sled).
Always wanted to buy one though as thought it would be ideal for Woburn (my local woods).
Slight thread revival - anyone know how they compare to a Scandal? Similar Scandal builds are a chunk cheaper.
Scandal is a 29er.. for what its worth?
Whyzatden? These are on my list (isn’t everything…) and at a slightly leggy 6’1″ I thought I’d be fairly bang-on with a Large.
It felt very slightly short to me after riding a large-size Turbo Levo with a 35mm stem, but it could be relative. A few weeks later it started to just feel normal again. Best bet is to pop over to Alpkit in Hathersage and demo / have a sit on one to see how it feels.
I haven't ridden the Scandal, but what makes the Transmitter work is a combination of decent, modern geometry and those bloody great 650b+ tyres that just give you massive amounts of traction and grip and this weird floaty experience. If you buy a complete bike, they come with 2.6" rears now, but tbh, part of the 'thing' with the Transmitter is the big tyres and the 2.6 just makes it feel like any other hardtail.
The 650b plus thing's gone out of fashion, but actually on a hardtail makes loads of sense. The Scandal, on the other hand, just looks like a decent budget hardtail 29er.
Brother had a transmitter and it was brilliant. Capable of being a bit of a bruiser and for messing in the woods but also adept at covering decent miles. Actually think it climbs well partly due to the tyres and the grip of plus. Descended well. I’d buy one. If you were linking bridleways or suchlike then a 29r is always going to be quicker in which case the scandal may suit more.
I'd forgotten there was a carbon version. Missed out on one a few years back on ebay. Looked lovely.
I built up one as a parts bin special earlier in the year, it's an absolute hoot to ride. Ended up putting some decent components on it and before I knew it my 'lockdown special' was starting to get expensive but really damn quick up and down things.
Only stripped it again when I picked up a 29er Signal frame but even now I keep seeing that transmitter frame in the corner and think it needs another go... very good / fun bike.
Had a Mk1 carbon for nearly four years and absolutely love it. Total hooligan of a hardtail that gave me more crashes in the first month than I'd had in the previous 10 years. Ditched the SRAM groupset for SLX and the terrible WTBs for Nobby Nics (3.0 and 2.6). Despite the crashes, and being ridden on the trails here (Penmachno) most days, the frame has held up really well.
The dog likes it too.
Great bike loved mine mk2 very well made/finished for the money 🙂
Got the carbon eagle last summer, 27.5 ridden mainly with 2.8 front and back. My zesty is more fun because not hardtail, but I like it for longer smoother rides and it's good for anything I'm capable of riding.
Not sure about sizing - sonder folks advised I get large at 5'10" as they size a bit small, but I've got to have the 15cm dropper set as low as it goes, and I wonder if medium might have been better. It's not all that light but the tyres do weigh roughly a ton, each.