Sonder Evol/Cortex/Bird Aether/Whyte?

Looking around for a new bike, going full sus for the first time (10 year old Genesis Core alongside road and gravel stuff).

I had been toying with an ebike but despite how much I enjoyed it, something (probably my wallets conscience) still says buy a non electric 29er MTB.

Ive been looking at the Sonder range, the new Bird Aether 29 and the offerings from Whyte in 120mm. I like the idea of a British designed bike for our terrain as it’s predominantly where I’ll be riding.

Looking at doing some routes in Yorkshire and the trail centres around it. Likely blues and reds mainly, can’t see me having the bottle for the blacks or for big jumps. Prefer flowing kind of stuff.

What’s the consensus? Stick with a shorter travel bike or go for the progressive geo and longer suspension regardless? Thoughts on the bike choices and any possible alternatives?

Sonder Ti Signal I,m a Evol owner and Ive ridden a Cortex both great bikes but big tyres on the Signal for the win!

I’m monitoring this with interest – in the same boat. Finances/expected amount of use means I can’t justify anything too boutique. Bird feels the obvious choice. Reds at centres but mainly natural highland riding.

I’ve gone longer travel (ran a Bird 145LT in 145mm rear travel and 160mm rear travel) before and enjoyed it but swapped to a 140mm front / 130mm rear Aether 7 in February and haven’t looked back. For all round riding it’s more fun in most places than the longer travel bike.

Ridden a lot of local slop recently which is fairly steep and tech, ridden flow trail centres, some bridleway joined by roads and some uplift style days at BPW (rode up as didn’t fancy the minibus with Covid) and BMCC (was happier with the open air trailer so used that for shuttles).

Love the shorter travel bike that pedals a bit better but still has fairly slack angles.

I’ve had and enjoyed a Cortex, really capable for the travel and now have an Evol which I’m really enjoying, for me the geometry is spot on, pedals well, quiet, jumps well and has good tyre clearance. What it lacks is some nice dry trails to ride it on, so right now I would love a signal st.

Evol sounds overkill for trail centre blues and reds, Cortex would probably be more appropriate. Saying that I’m in a similar situation having ridden hardtails for 20 years, and swaying towards Vitus Escarpe (if they ever come into stock!)

If you’re not 100% set on a full sus then I’d also recommend a signal ti. If you’re happy with your hardtail technique it’s such a capable bike. Build it up light and it’s brilliant for long rides. For the riding you describe it sounds spot on. If you’re set on full sus, have a look at giant trance 29.

I’ll second the Signal Ti. I’ve had mine two years now and it’s the best bike I’ve ever had. Its such a capable bike. I use mine for trail centres like Hamsterley Forest and Leeds Urban Bike Park and I never feel under biked. For big days out it covers the ground easily, it climbs well and descends brilliantly. I’ve got mine built up with GX Eagle and added Rimpacts to the tyres. The Rimpacts have been a revelation and have made the ride more comfortable. You could build yourself a really well spec’d Signal for a the price of a decent full suss.

I’ll third a Signal Ti. Love mine too. The rider is the limiting factor, always and not the bike.

Op wants a full suss so everyone recommends a hardtail 🤷‍♂️

The question is what full suspension bike so why all the hardtail recommendations?

Agreed – I’m a limpet on this thread and gaining very little insight so far! (apat from a Sonder Signal is also a nice hardtail)

We’ve in a good place at the moment aren’t we?
I own a Sonder (gravel) and a Bird (Aeris) and can say that they are both fabulous companies to deal with.

As I’m now back on the Shimano train after them forcing me to go Sram due to slow 1x development, Bird give more options in that department.
I really appreciate Bird’s thoughtful specifications (like recommending Deore with higher end suspension, instead of SLX).
I’ve had my Aeris 5.5 years now and loved every minute – My next bike may well be another one, even though soooo many brands tempt me these days.

I would say if the Geo of the Bird suits you, you’ll be very happy with the experience and bike. They aren’t as cheap as they were when I got their Aeris Mk1, but they deserve their reputation.

If you have a local Whyte dealer and would really like to support them, that’s also a good solution (in fact I’ve no idea how they manage to get their prices so competitive with direct sellers).

Well thanks for all the replies, full sus is definitely the route I’m looking at, despite loving the looks of a pure hardtail. My current fleet is all Genesis – Datum, Croix de Fer and a 26″ Core 40. The Core has largely been put on kid carrying duties the last few years, it’s also quite a short cockpit so pointing it downhill can feel a bit sketchy at times. The geometry of more modern bikes seems to make sense with 29 wheels. Genesis have been increasing in price without any improvement and they’ve really paired back their offerings, presumably for Saracen to take the MTB ground.

I like Whyte, have Wheelbase and BikeScene nearby to make use of although some long lead times for their stuff (next summer)and if it is a 29er, it’ll probably be the 120 as I think the 160 would be overkill. I can make use of Bird at their Consett site and Alpkit at the Metro Centre.
Bikescene have a Specialized Status available but it’s probably too heavy and designed for downhills for what I’m looking for.

Maybe the Cortex is the one to go for, or the new Bird Aether 9..

@bagstard, is your Aether the new 29?

As a Bird AM9 owner I can vouch that the Aether will be great fun and a massively capable bike due to the geometry. I came from a 120mm XC/trail bike and started riding descents faster and harder almost immediately. The Aether should be perfect for the riding you describe if you want to progress, I only opted for the AM9 as I’d heard that the LLS geo on a shorter travel bike can get you into situations where the suspension runs out of travel.

The guys at Bird were great to deal with too.

Currently running a Whyte S150, but would happily downsize to the S120 for the type of riding you describe. Enjoyed riding/owning a Whyte – dealer service has been efficient for the couple of minor niggles I’ve had.

I reckon 120mm of travel is plenty for most modern trail centre riding; unless someone’s a total skill desert and need massive travel to compensate for forcing the bike to do all the work, then shorter travel and minor tweaks to a more contemporary riding style would be a more efficient combo.

Great replies guys thanks, I’m a bit of a blank canvas when it comes to full sus as I don’t know what will really suit me or the terrain so happy to be guided by a general consensus on it.

I tried joining a Sonder group on Facebook but my answers to the authorisation questions weren’t being sent to the admin. He subsequently blocked me after repeated attempts to correct it. It’s a shame I couldnt tap into the knowledge of the owners on that group but STW looks like it might be able to sort me out!

If the OP wants to try a Signal Ti he is quite welcome or even buy my Evol with Helm Forks its a 27.5 one :-)

Staveley based

Rich

I tried joining a Sonder group on Facebook but my answers to the authorisation questions weren’t being sent to the admin. He subsequently blocked me after repeated attempts to correct it. It’s a shame I couldnt tap into the knowledge of the owners on that group but STW looks like it might be able to sort me out!

There’s a very active bird owners fb page which might be worth you going on. Aether 9C is still quite new though so only a few people have them so far. The alloy version is due out in January. The owners of Bird often pipe up on the owners page – Dan and Ben.

I’m on the Bird one! 😄. Still can’t believe the Sonder admin blocked me, I even gave him the reasons for wanting to join and agreed with his rules over messenger. Odd behaviour.

Strange about the Sonder page, maybe it’s owners only?! So if you do a lot of miles the Cortex is really good, on rougher terrain I found the Rockshox shock a little wooden and harsh, probably down to the tune and factory fitted bands. Moving to the Cane Creek Inline it was much more forgiving with better grip. The Evol feels good with the standard shock, probably as much to do with the tune as the extra 20mm of travel. It has a pretty low seat tube, so you can easily size up if you want, but with my long legs and short body at 5’11” size large was just right for me. The Cortex was a lot of fun and great for powering up small climbs, but as I currently only have one bike I prefer having the extra travel on the Evol. Sonder is a great company to deal with, I’m on my third and likely to get a signal in spring. Bird is also a great company and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another. Any specific Sonder questions feel free to pm me.

I bought a Bird AM9 in February. 1. Great company to deal with, in every way. 2. Has turned me from a timid to a more confident descender and smashed every PB i’ve ever set 3. Its definitely a bit more bike than I need and is perfectly good ascender- but heavy and slower than my old bike uphill. I’ve sold everything else and its now my 1 bike to do it all.

I think the question above about Aether might apply to me – I’ve got the Aether 7 rather than the 9. Love it – perfect all round trail bike – only thing I’d change is a bit lighter weight – but I had a Lyrik carried over from my last bike. At some point if money allows I’m going to swap this for a Pike Ultimate to knock a bit of weight off the front end. My wheels are Hope Hubs / XM481’s so there is potential to knock a bit more weight off there too. The wheelset for my new hardtail has Erase Conponents hubs and XM421 rims and feels quite a bit lighter. One day I’d like to pair a set of those hubs up with carbon rims ideally…..

I own a Sonder Evol 27.5. Such a capable bike plus the pricing for what you get is pocketish friendly, you can also customise your order so there’s no need to change things on a brand new bike, and not forgetting the customer service is great too.
I reckon the cortex would be a good bike to demo!