Looking at purchasing one of these to compliment my enduro full suss so I have something more fun for local trails as the full suss makes most of what’s available to me too easy.
They seem to be a good balance of efficient and snappy enough to enjoy riding tamer and flatter trails and not a pig to ride uphill but also look capable of riding some harder stuff as well.
Any current or past owners have any experiences to share? I can’t seem to test ride one as they don’t have any around at the alpkit stores at the minute.
I loved mine, the short back end was epic, beautifully made frame, i built mine up with heavier tyres and wheels than i should have, but it really came alive when i went a little lighter on it, used it from trails to jump parks... was an excellent all rounder. Definitely more forgiving than the aluminium transmitter before it.
No experience of the Sonder, but I've a similar bike (On One Vandal) for similar purposes. Currently built up with lightish (DT Swiss) wheels, XC/trail tyres (Wolfpack Trail) and a Pike (at 150mm), so it's still pretty capable but feels quite light, springy and fast-rolling for tamer trails/longer XC rides.
(I've also got a carbon rigid fork for it, and with Bounty XR2/3 2.2 tyres, it also works really well as a gravel+ option.)
I've got the steel one. I really like it, but it's a lump, so if the Ti one is 'just' the same bike but a kilo lighter then that would be brilliant enough in itself, nevermind any the added benefit of titanium wonderzing ridefeel
I bought mine as a frame & fork from the classifieds here and built it up with SLX kit and Hunt wheels. The forks are 130mm Pikes. I haven't had any cause to regret the purchase. It replaced a Trek Procalibre which is clearly a very different type of bike and I don't have anything else to reference it against in terms of modern hardtails. It is probably marginally slower on the climbs than the Trek, but is much more fun & fast on the way down. I like a robust, grippier tyre so have used the High Roller front and Minion DFR that came with the frame. This probably sucks up some of the Ti weight advantage, but suits the bike and my local terrain just fine. If I had to replace it, I'd certainly have another. 
Thanks all. Sounds very positive on the whole then.
I have one. It is a custom one with adjustable (single speed) dropouts, longer reach and room for 29+ tyres.
It is surprisingly light and lively and nicely compliant even without whopping great big tyres fitted.
The only "issue" I experienced and its not a problem, per se for me, but I could have run a longer dropout than I am but couldn't get a longer post into the frame - presumably as a result of the kink in it.
Hopefully an outdated photo should be below from when I built it up:
I think it ticks the boxes you want it to tick. I've had mine a bit over 5 years. Bought as a "big" bike - most capable bike I had up to that point was a 26 Dailled Prince Albert. I saw myself as too much of a Core Lord to need a full susser. Done everything on it: long XC rides, family trailer rides, enduro racing (Southern Enduro - nothing too gnarly) Dyfi and other bike parks. Currently set up SS (tensioner) and chunky tyres for trail ragging, and in no hurry to swap it back to gears!
I've since got a FS trail bike - a Norco Optic, which I also ride a lot and takes more of the heavier duty riding but there's aa lot of overlap - a bit of me wishes I'd gone bigger on the FS, to have more difference between them.
I think I'll probably have the Signal for longer than the Optic, which is part of the reason for buying it over a FS in the first place - hardtails are about riding the bike you're on, adapting your riding to the trail. FS has more of an emphasis on performance, and there's a lot out there to turn your head with offers of better performance.
I've got one as well too - I can echo the comments above, it's beautifully made, Ti is great as you don't really have to worry about scratching or scuffing it etc. The backend is very short - which means in claggy mud it can block between the tyre and the seat tube, and on the really stupid 'mud ledge' by the BB.
In terms of ride - I don't really have anything to compare it against vs a mk1 Soul or a Sonder Cortex. If anything the Signal and the Cortex are a bit close together in terms of capabilities, with the Cortex significantly more comfortable in the rough due to the suspension. If I had to drop to one bike, I'm not sure which I'd choose..
The Signal isn't actually all that light - SLX groupset, light wheels (~1500g), light tyres (Barzos), light cassette but with a moderately heavy set of RS Yari's comes in at about 12.9kg / 28.5lb. The Cortex with a similar build build (same forks, same groupset, slightly heavier wheels and cassette) is a smidge over 13.7kg / 30lb. That said, you could probably shave half a kilo off either swapping to a Fox 34 or another lighter fork... It doesn't 'feel' heavy riding it though...
The frame's a sneak over 2kgs, so if you want to throw money, string spokes, carbon xc stuff at it, there's nothing stopping you.
On the other hand, swap all your Signal components onto a sub 1kg XC carbon hardtail, and your 12.9kg bike becomes a 11.8kg bike. Still not super light!
User error.
The frame's a sneak over 2kgs, so if you want to throw money, string spokes, carbon xc stuff at it, there's nothing stopping you.
Oh, I'm sure. My point was that when I was a lad, Ti frames were associated with super light weight XC machines - Merlin Malt Ti, Litespeed Ti, whatever the Kona one was called etc. It's still light-ish as far as a 130mm trail hardtail goes, but if lightness is the priority, you could go much lighter.
Lovely frames. I've had one since 2019 but it's been out of action for over a year after I got a pace 529. The reach/top tube was just a bit stretched for me on the XL so I wanted to try something a bit shorter.
XL frame weighs approx 2.3kg. Internal routing is great. I miss that on the pace. I also miss the comfort through the back end as the pace is significantly stiffer.
If the geo looks right I'm sure you won't be disappointed with one.
I’ve had mine a couple of years. It was from their eBay site as a second due to a tarnished mark on the chain stays! It’s been brilliant. As you can see by the photo, I didn’t buy into the low front end, but it still handles fine and is comfortable. The tight rear can kick a from time to time compared to something with longer stays. That said, the ride is good, never harsh. It replaced a Mk1 Solaris that I found flexy, the signal is better without being harsh. Highly recommended.
I do wonder if it’s due an update, seems a while since it was introduced.
I’ve got one too. It’s really good and not a lot to add to the comments above. Hopefully I’ve posted a couple of photos of it in action on the badger divide and in the cairngorms.
^^ it was updated a while ago, check out the cable routing now, i think the rear brake runs through the top tube instead now, not sure what other changes
Can someone please find a fault with one before I rush to an Alpkit store shouting "Take my money!"
I'm selling mine.
Get yourself to Alpkit!
I'm trying to think what I dislike about mine. Can't think of anything. Might have gone Shimano groupset rather than SRAM if they had them at the time but that doesn't affect the bike.
It looks like the Shimano builds have a long delivery date, August if you want XT. I think I’ll hold out for Shimano though as I’ve never had great experiences with SRAM stuff.
Can someone please find a fault with one before I rush to an Alpkit store shouting "Take my money!"
In a size other than medium (and possibly small) they look a bit awkward as the top tube angle doesn't quite line up with the seatstays 😉
PX had some very similar frames (probably from the same factory) a lot cheaper, so if you aren't a brand snob and aren't in a hurry you could probably get something on one of their many blow out sales...
This must be the only thread talking about Ti frames that hasn't mentioned cracking. So according to STW lore - it's titanium, so will at some point crack.
10 year warranty is another plus. Mine appeared to have a very slightly ovalised headtube where the top bearing sat. I only noticed it after a couple of years ownership but sent them a picture and the frame was swapped without any fuss.
Can someone please find a fault with one before I rush to an Alpkit store shouting "Take my money!"
I found a fault with my frame - I bought the wrong size. Happily/unhappily I also found an alignment issue. I emailed Alpkit with photos, they arranged another frame to be sent out with same courier picking up the old one, and they were also happy to swap me onto a more suitable size.
The medium looks better than L, XL, I agree with jon on that! On the cracking front - the 10 year warranty was a factor in me pressing buy. Only 2 years with O-O, I think.
I had one. It was nice, looked lovely but didn't really blow me away.
I wasn't wholly convinced it was significantly better value over a nicely made steel frame built in a similar vein other than it being Ti.
No complaints though .... it did everything I wanted it to do.
Can someone please find a fault with one before I rush to an Alpkit store shouting "Take my money!"
In a size other than medium (and possibly small) they look a bit awkward as the top tube angle doesn't quite line up with the seatstays 😉
PX had some very similar frames (probably from the same factory) a lot cheaper, so if you aren't a brand snob and aren't in a hurry you could probably get something on one of their many blow out sales...
This must be the only thread talking about Ti frames that hasn't mentioned cracking. So according to STW lore - it's titanium, so will at some point crack.
Damn it, I ride medium frames...
Can someone please find a fault with one before I rush to an Alpkit store shouting "Take my money!"
I found a fault with my frame - I bought the wrong size. Happily/unhappily I also found an alignment issue. I emailed Alpkit with photos, they arranged another frame to be sent out with same courier picking up the old one, and they were also happy to swap me onto a more suitable size.
The medium looks better than L, XL, I agree with jon on that! On the cracking front - the 10 year warranty was a factor in me pressing buy. Only 2 years with O-O, I think.
Ah okay, did you find it was smaller or larger than you were expecting as to why you swapped size?
Frustratingly, at 5'11 i am right in the middle of Medium and Large for almost every frame manufacturer out there so it's always a gamble even when i can test ride a bike because they feel designed around people bang in the middle of each size not at the extremes of either.
I’m 5’8” on a medium and 70mm stem (old skool) 🤣
At 5’11” I’d think you want a large. Worth heading to store and testing if you’re unsure
70mm sounds about right to me for a stem on a trail bike, not sure why everyone is so afraid to get weight over the front these days!
Ah okay, did you find it was smaller or larger than you were expecting as to why you swapped size?
I'm 5'11 and went medium, then large. I was flim-flamming over 29er vs 27.5, and went down the old-skool route of going smaller to for playfulness. As soon as I built up the medium, I thought I'd prob done a mistake. I tried a couple of different things - different stems and bars, always felt like the sweetspot between too far off the back and too far over the front was too small. Much happier on Large, from 1st ride.
And another photo, why not. 