New Sonder Camino – even better than before?

When Hannah reviewed the Sonder Camino, it was only finances that stopped her buying it and keeping it forever. It was, in short, a very good bike. So how could it be improved? Is it possible to make it even better than before? Sonder thinks so, because there’s now a V4 update to the Camino model.

Sonder’s update to their award-winning gravel bike has thoughtful, progressive details in its geometry. It has a 2° slacker head tube angle, making a longer wheelbase, so it’s more stable at higher speeds and is more capable over roots and rocks. There’s also less chance of toe overlap.

No matter how tall you are, Sonder designed the Camino for agile handling. Larger jumps in reach between sizes mean that all bikes, from S to XL, are optimised for a 50mm to 80mm stem. So riders of all sizes get direct, snappy steering. A medium frame has 385mm reach and 587mm stack. The new geometry keeps riders’ weight central, so you can take loose, off-road turns faster.

The new Camino has internal routing for a dropper post for riders who want to take more technical trails. It’s specced with the latest SRAM Rival EXPLR groupset so it’s a capable, out-and-out gravel bike that builds on the success of the original.

Sonder

Tyre clearance remains the same as the V3, so 50mm will easily go in on 700, 2.2” on 650b. Both the alloy and titanium frames are now to the same V4 specifications.

“I wanted to take stem length adjustment out of the equation. For a rider on an extra-large frame to be able to use the same short stem as the rider on the medium bike, keeping that direct steering feel. ”

Neil Sutton, Sonder Product Manager

Sonder bikes are available in all Alpkit flagship stores, or online.

Sonder Camino Pricing

• Prices start at £899 for the Camino AL.
• The Camino Ti starts at £1,999.