Sonder Dial up cross-country with affordable aluminium XC hardtail mountain bike

Written by Jessie-May Morgan Mar 15, 2021 11:09 a.m. ET

Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

Alpkit’s sister brand Sonder have released their first XC bike, the Sonder Dial. This aluminium hardtail slides into a now comprehensive off-road line-up as their most affordable mountain bike to date. Pricing starts at £299 for the frameset, with three complete builds available too. Here’s a quick intro.

Sonder Dial XC MTB

The Sonder Dial 29er hardtail MTB gets a 6066 aluminium tube-set with a race-inspired geometry. Sonder say they’ve engineered some vertical compliance into a low profile flattened top tube for comfort on long rides, while keeping it laterally stiff. As such, the frame has boost rear end spacing (12mm x 148mm).

S-XL frame size range caters to riders from 5ft 2″ to 6ft 2″+

The Dial’s head angle is steep at 69°, paired with a 74° seat tube angle. Chainstays measure up at 430mm across the S-XL frame sizes. Reach stretches from 410mm in small up to 475mm in XL.

The Dial gets a threaded 73 mm BSA BB shell

Seat tubes start at 395mm in small, growing to 520mm in XL. Though none of the three complete build options come spec’d with a dropper seat post, those seat tube lengths should permit use of decent length droppers. Cable routing is internal, including a Stealth port for a dropper.

Pricing & Availability

The Sonder Dial is available as a frameset only for £299, and also in three complete build models. The Dial SX Eagle build is Sonder’s most affordable XC hardtail, retailing at £999.

That cash gets you the 12 spd SX Eagle drivetrain with an 11-50T cassette, a Rockshox Recon RL 100mm fork, SRAM Level 2-piston brakes, and a Sonder Nova XC Wheelset with Shimano hub fitted with WTB Ranger 2.4″ tires.

The Dial NX Eagle build comes in at £1399 sporting its namesake 12 spd drivetrain. It gets the same wheelset and tire combo as the SX Eagle build but the fork is upgraded to a RockShox Reba, and the brakes to SRAM Level TL.

At the top end of the range lies the Sonder Dial GX Eagle build, priced at £1699. The extra-cash gets you a race-spec RockShox SID Ultimate 100mm fork and the 12 spd GX Eagle drivetrain with SRAM Level LT brakes and a Sonder Alpha XC 29″ wheelset.

You can pre-order the Sonder Dial now with delivery expected from 27th April.

Claimed Frame Weights

S: 1.75kg
M: 1.82kg
L: 1.9kg
XL: 2kg

Sonder.co.uk

Jessie-May Morgan

1,362 articles

Jessie-May Morgan is the UK & Ireland Tech Editor of Bikerumor. She has been writing about Mountain Bike Riding and Racing, and all its weird and wonderful technology for 4 years. Prior to that, she was an Intern at the Mountain Bike Center of Scotland, and a Mountain Bike Coach and Leader in the Tweed Valley.

Based in Innerleithen, Scotland, Jessie-May can often be seen riding the Glentress Trail Center, and its neighboring Enduro and Downhill Tracks. She regularly competes in Enduro at a national level, and has recently competed on the World Stage at a handful of Enduro World Series events.

For Bikerumor, Jessie-May is testing the latest mountain bikes, equipment and kit, letting readers know what’s hot and what’s not.

For context, she weighs 60kg and stands at 5ft 4″ tall (163cm).