Marketed as “aggressive trail” which, in our eyes, is just another word for enduro and this Sonder Evol is as enduro as any.
Some modern bikes have been getting pretty complicated. Whilst fancy chainlines, idlers, hidden shocks and so on may all have their benefits, there is something to be said for keeping it simple. Sonder is a brand that has always been fairly straightforward. A British designed. A sensible pick. It may not be the most experimental at a glance but shouldn’t let you down.
First impressions of the Evol are much the same. A common linkage set up with the shock mounted to the top tube. 160mm travel front and rear. All bolted onto an aluminium frame. Which should be tried and tested ingredients for a simple but effective mountain bike.
The Evol sports a noticeably narrow top tube, some angular aluminium pieces and some not very subtle but sufficient quality welds across the whole frame. This either gives it a ‘cool and retro’ look or a ‘dated and budget’ vibe, depending on how full your glass is.
Whilst Sonder may be using some slightly retro tube profiles, the geometry is decently modern. The first instance of this is the length of the Evol, which is properly noticeable when you see the length of the top and down tubes.
Continuing the modern vibe, the Evol comes as a mullet set up (using a 29 inch front and 27.5 inch rear wheel). Mullets may cause some raised eyebrows from some traditionalists but the mullet really has its place in this kind of aggressive trail bike. So it was encouraging to see mixed wheels implemented on the Evol instead of a more ‘traditional’ full 29er set up.
This mix of old style aesthetics mixed with modern geometry did translate into the ride, with some traditional handling finding its way through to riding.
Starting with suspension. the 160mm front and rear are pretty standard numbers for an aggressive trail bike. Capable without encroaching into super-enduro travel territory. The front is handled by a RockShox Lyrik Ultimate, which initially we wondered whether a stiffer Zeb – with maybe an extra 10mm of travel – would have been a better choice. However, the Lyrik transpires to be a great fit for the Evol. It keeps the front end active and nimble. The Lyrik Ultimate in combination with the Super Deluxe Ultimate air rear shock provides for a highly adjustable suspension platform for all you tinkerers out there.
Whilst the fork was a fairly set and forget ordeal, the rear of the Evol required a bit more attention. Firstly, if you like to run the rear quite soft you may find the back end travel fairly linear. You may want to consider volume spacers on the rear to remedy this.
The Evol did exhibit the bit of pedal bob that’s common with 4-bar designs, however the simple solutions for this are either the lockout switch on the rear shock, or dialling in a bit more rebound and sacrificing a bit of liveliness and traction.
All of this leads to a bike with a generally solid performance on the trail. The lively front end from the Lyrik means it’s easy to pick up over roots, rocks and switch lines quickly. In spite of the 27.5in rear wheel and 435mm chainstay sitting on the shorter end of the spectrum, the longer-than-I’m-iused-to reach means it was not the most nimble round corners. Obviously this problem is exacerbated on flatter and slower corners. I noticed the length when leaning into tighter, more demanding corners. Yet thanks to the short back end coupled with a bit of ‘Scandi persuasion’ (and time to adapt) I was flicking the Evol around fairly nicely.
At higher speeds the Evol handles great. It will take a fair amount of rough stuff before it feels a bit shaken. The Lyrik is a good choice for keeping a nimble front end but still coping with the hits. The 29in front wheel adds to this feeling of stability with speed.
On slower stuff with some good suspension fiddling it can ride well but does tend to feel like it’s stiffening up when braking which could, on the bright side, give you a few lessons in commitment and staying off the brakes on rougher sections!
From a spec point of view the Evol does well for the most part. Highlights clearly being the SRAM GX AXS wireless Transmission along with the Rockshox Ultimate dampers on both ends. However, the tyre choice felt like an obvious missed opportunity for me. The Goodyear Newtons come as standard across all the Evol models (even the £2,300 SX model). Whilst the tyres are an okay all-rounder they simply don’t match the quality of the rest of the spec on the upper models in the Evol range. Sonder’s Alpha wheels are fairly strong and have seemed to put up with a fair amount of abuse. However, the tyres suffered from justg feeling a bit flimsy, especially on the rear.
The cockpit is heavily own-brand specced and whilst the Sonder stuff performed well, some people will expect/want some brand names on a £4k+ alloy bike. On the flipside, there are some nice touches on the Evol. Such as the immediately noticeable bubble-like chainstay device that does a very good job at silencing chain slap. The minimalist bashguard which comes with the SRAM chainset is nice too.
Irrespective of the overall performance of the bike it does reveal hints of a budget frame. The first thing I was disappointed about in this respect was the paint Job. I’m not attacking the camel colouring (I’m a big fan of that as it happens) but it did just seem to chip and rub off very easily. The paint rubbed off within a month of riding on places where feet occasionally rub on the chain stay, on the toptube from knee pads and even suffered some fairly severe paint rub on the headtube (from ropes tying it in place in a van). It would be well worth buying some sort of frame protection if you want to keep that lovely camel colour looking smart.
Sonder has designed the bike’s geometry so that the riding position is central and efficient. On climbs, depsite the aforementioned bit of bob, the pedalling is much more efficient, it won’t revolutionise the way you see hills or compete with less downhill capable bikes on the uphills but will winch you up just as good as most aggressive trail-enduro bikes out there. It certainly won’t significantly hold you back.
Whilst the bob was not much of an issue, the rather ‘soft’ mid-stroke could slightly blunt the handling. Dialling on some low speed compression helped a lot but, again, the tyres weren’t quite up to job of dealing with the ensuing higher demands of traction and stability.
From an overview then Sonder claims this bike to be a modern mullet “in its element on extreme ground with a bottomless feel.” Sonder reckons it “climbs well, descends flat out and remains stable at speed”. On the most part I would say this description is pretty accurate but with a note of caution on the “bottomless” aspect of these claims. Nothing that some volume spacers and savvy suspension fiddling can’t vastly improve though!
As shown by some fairly strong evidence from British Enduro Series, the Sonder Evol is clearly a capable and fast bike that can perform well in a race environment. Great at speed, and whilst the long-front short-and-mulleted-rear does need a bit more body English, it will get you round corners once adapted.
The flakey paint is a real shame here, making a distinctive and cool looking (in my opinion) bike appear battered and worn out after just a month or so of use. Whilst none of these issues should be a deal breaker and can be dealt with through decent frame wrap protection, it is definitely a point to be aware of. Sonder markets the Evol as “aggressive trail” which in my eyes is just another word for enduro and this bike is as enduro as any.
| Brand: | Sonder |
| Product: | Evol GX Eagle Transmission |
| From: | Alpkit |
| Price: | £3,749 |
| Tested: | by Aran Francis for 2 months |
