Hello

New to the forum and getting back into mtb after a v long gap.

Interested in a new hard tail. Would prefer steel or titanium I think, mostly for the ‘nice to have’ factor.

How have people found Sonder to deal with?

I was all ready to order a Signal Ti last night but my first engagement with them as a company didn’t give a great impression.  My instinct is to be cautious but that doesn’t seem to gel with Singletrack’s glowing reviews.

Keen to get some experiences before I take the plunge.

I bought one of the first Transmitters and they were excellent to deal with. Neil went above and beyond to answer all my questions.

I’ve found Alpkit to be first class, highly recommended. Didn’t they win best online retailer?

I’ve just had a very helpful reply to an email…   that’s about it so far regards Sonder but always found Alpkit in general to be excellent.

Whenever I’ve asked a question pre sales or their response to my one product issue they have been excellent.

I hope they manage to keep the service levels strong whilst they get bigger.

I purchased a Broken Road last year. The build up to this was a lengthy 8 months or so and they proved excellent at every turn and via different channels of communication as well, phone/email/website messenger/Facebook. The after sales support was great as well with tech queries answered quickly.

I don’t blame you for being wary, I’ve been more or less trying to throw money at a different retailer and the response rate is so appallingly bad so I’m just walking away from them now.

As above, great company to deal with.

My friend has just got that bike and likes it. Says it’s like cheating with the 29er wheels. Alpkit are a great company, I would recommend them as above.

i find them excellent. Neil was really helpful, when i bought my Camino ti, earlier this year. As i had already bought a vir fortis  frame set, they put a few nicies in for me too. i was going to get a  signal. superb deal on the full bike.

Currently waiting on my Signal Ti frame so I can’t comment on the end product but I’ve had a few calls with Neil to pester him with inane questions and he was nothing but helpful, as were all the people I’ve spoken to.  The staff in the stores have always been amazingly enthusiastic and a pleasure to deal with.

As @evilsovereign mentioned above, the full bike is a bargain. I’ve gone down the frame only and custom build route but slightly regret it now I’ve added everything up. Still, I can’t wait to get it built up.

I’ve bought a lot of bikepacking kit from alpkit, first rate service every time, they are great to deal with.

also the stuff they sell is all, in my experience, extremely well made.

I’m actually quite surprised to hear from the OP that he didn’t have a great response from them.

Might be worth firing off an email to their Customer service dep, highlighting what the issue is, they seem like the sort of company who would want to know ime.

fwiw, if i was looking for a new bike, I’d certainly consider any of the sonders, they all look like good, well thought out bikes.

I was all ready to order a Signal Ti last night but my first engagement with them as a company didn’t give a great impression.

What were you expecting, and how did they not meet expectations?

What were you expecting, and how did they not meet expectations?

My experience wasn’t bad as such, but there were enough small red flags (faulty website, main phone line not answered, unclear stock situation) that I wanted to check I wasn’t about to spend money with a company that is known for bad service. I’ve not come across Sonder or Alpkit before reading Singletrack.  Sounds like you lot have all had great experiences, so clearly I shouldn’t read too much into it.  That’s all I needed to know – thanks v much!

I’ve also had some customer service emails to Alpkit disappear in to the ether, but I got hold of them quickly on the phone and sorted it all out. They’re always sorted me out in the end, every time.

My wife ripped her Filo jacket so we took in to the Hathersage shop for repair.

A phone call from them a few days later to say it was ready. I asked them to post it back to save a 3hr return journey and when I asked how much they wanted for the repair and postage they wouldn’t take any money.

So in my opinion their service is excellent.

I’ve ordered a Signal Ti and have swapped a number of emails with Neil and have found him to be nothing but helpful and prompt.  There aren’t many places you can buy a bike and deal with the guy who designed it.

I just had another chat with Neil and all good – I think my first impressions were just a bit unfortunate but not at all serious, and glad to say that this forum has helped reassure me. Thanks all.

Faultless and excellent.

Nothing negative from here.

Note they also have a shop in Nottingham.

Excellent bunch of people! Bought a fair few odds n sods from them and also swapped stuff. Their factory Store in Notts is fantastic. Real nice kit at a fair price.

Another vote for great service and comms by Alpkit, lots of items bought over the years and all good. For bike kit they were very accommodating on sorting a dynamo hubbed Plus wheelset – and when they sent a SRAM driver rear wheel (no one’s fault, just a wrong assumption) they provided a replacement Shimano at no cost and said to keep the SRAM. Two wheel sets going strong after several years of use.

I’ve known the Alpkit guys since they started the company way back when and they’re genuinely good people, who put it all on the line to start the business. I’ve also ridden with Neil, who’s the main man on the Sonder front, and bought a pre-production prototype Transmitter frame from them. I’ve always found them great to deal with and happy to go the extra mile. And the bike is ace. I’d have no qualms about buying from them whatsoever.