Sonder El Camino Review - Gravel E Bike
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- čas přidán 13. 12. 2023
- In this exclusive video I review the NEW El Camino Electric gravel bike by Sonder: alpkit.com/collections/sonder...
I have been lucky enough to borrow an El Camino for a week or so and have done some testing to see how it compares to the original Sonder Camino.
This is such a cool electric bike for bikepacking and gravel riding. I'm hoping to take one out for a weekend bikepacking adventure in the summer time!
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#bikepacking #sonderelcamino #ebike
Wow looks great! That would be great for me to keep up with you on our next bikepacking trip..especially as I get back up to full strength after my hip op!
Yeah it’s great! I thought exactly the same thing :) will see if I can borrow one next time we’re in Hathersage :)
Great review, Thanks you. I saw a teaser article from Sonder in early Spring this year so assumed it was an April Fool. Joke is on me - but it looks a fantastic bike and would be interested to see how it stands up to your touring / bike packing experiences.
Cheers! Haha never mind. Most people didn’t know it was happening anyway. I’ll be taking it out for a short bikepacking adventure at some point so will do an update :)
Great looking bike, my wife has a Cannondale E-Bike with a similar small motor with torque sensor, works very well. Only small drawback is that you cannot take the battery off for charging, so if you for example live in a flat you need to haul the entire bike up to charge it rather than just take the battery unless you have a safe space with sockets on the ground floor.
Nice! Yeah that’s one downside, Sonder are doing a battery extender that’s removable and can be brought upstairs into a flat and it subsequently charges the main battery which is pretty cool :)
Yep, can help but they are bloody expensive - the Cannondale one costs in excess of GBP 400 !!@@Cycling366
Yeah they can be! I was told sub £300 for Sonder's battery so not as bad I suppose
I didn't catch if you mentioned how much noise the motor makes. A lot of people who like these "looks like a normal bike" e-bikes is that they also want them to be relatively silent when you are pedaling. How does this bikes motor compare to others in the noise department? Some of the quieter models, the motor noise compleyely disappears the minute you go off road because the gravel or dirt sound on the tires is actually louder than the motor.
Great question, in honesty I couldn’t hear it whatsoever on the gravel sections or in the lower power settings. There is a slight whirr/whine from the motor on smooth roads in the highest setting but it’s really quiet!
I use a Olsen pinion Lamb & next year they are bringing out a electric version , what's Unique is that the gears & the motor are in the same unit apparently over 200 frame manufactures have signed up to it .
Yes the smartshift! Looks like a great idea in fairness.
Looks like a fantastic bike but I'd be curious to know what's it's like to ride it once the battery is exhausted. Just in case...
Good question! I did drain the battery down on the way back to dropping it off, it feels like a lightly loaded bikepacking bike up the hills when the motor is off, it’s not that heavy of a bike so it’s not that tough a ride without!
That's good to hear , it's one thing I really like on my Turbo Vado SL how light it is and you can pedal it all over on a dead battery 😊
Very cool but the turn off is the position of the display no where can i put my top tube bag . How wide of a wheel can it support
Compromises got to be made somewhere I suppose! 2” tyre clearance easily on it
Would love to see this in titanium, I’d buy it in a minute. The only titanium e gravel bike with an internal battery is made by Nevi. After a lot of thought I was ready to order a Camino Ti, but now I’m going to wait and hope they do a El Camino Ti.
Yeah me too! Would be so cool in titanium
Hi, great video thanks. I rented an e bike in Majorca and it was brilliant but heavy and physically limited speed on the flat and down hill.
How does this bike work in terms of me wanting to pushing my legs? Will the motor limit the speed and/or how easy is it to turn off the motor assist. I noted that it's got 3 settings; I assume all are pedal assist.
If the battery is off I read in the thread that there is no resistance from the motor.
cheers.....
Nice! Yeah it’s like any eBike here, once you go over the limit, it stops working so if you’re wanting to go fast on the downhills, the motor won’t be working, it shouldn’t cause any noticeable drag though!
Fingers crossed. I'm off for an investigate this weekend.
@@sjames1958 enjoy!
Just wondering...is the charger a specific Sonder charger or is it USB or some such?
It's it's own pinned charger but the output on the extender is USB-C so means you could use it as a battery pack if you have surplus
I ride a Trek Powerfly e- bike. The more upright geometry suits my arthritis issues (plus hip replacement!) This bike has a hefty battery and I also have a spare which I carry in an Evoc E-ride rucksack. This is great for overnights and longer day trips. I’ll be interested to hear how you get on with one of your camping overnighters. (Staying indoors or at a serviced site is always easier!)
@@nickforwood sounds ideal!
Like the bike and like your videos, ...I note you say you're not sponsored by Sonder etc., ...however I have just watched an Alpkit video about how to find the right size Sonder bike presented by yourself Tom, with the tagline Tom Wall customer service (there is also another video presented by yourself on the Alpkit CZcams channel - 'how to fit your bike at home for comfortable all day riding, therefore presumably you're employed (or comissioned in some way) by Alpkit/Sonder - both videos were uploaded by Alpkit according to CZcams 1 month ago - so a bit confused ... so technically this video is not sponsored by Sonder ? but are you employed or paid by Alpkit/Sonder in customer service? as those videos state
Hi Richard, thanks for watching. That’s correct, let me clarify things for you.
There are two sides of the coin here; Me (Tom) that has bills to pay and needs a job, and my channel (Cycling366) that is my hobby where I can say/do whatever I want.
I (Tom) joined Alpkit in the summer as I wanted to move into an industry that’s closer aligned to what I do for a hobby, and I’ve always used their products, see videos from 2020 onwards. It allows me to get my hands on the products that I genuinely like before anyone else - which will hopefully allow me to approach more brands I like to get gear to review. So the job switch was also a calculated decision I took to improve and grow this channel to eventually make this my only job.
Alpkit have absolutely NO say in what I say or do on this channel, I just use my employee perks to borrow the products I’m most intrigued by and do independent reviews, while I don’t have access to other big brands.
In terms of the Alpkit video, they needed someone confident presenting on camera to do a bike video series so obviously I fit that bill!
I can assure you I’m being 100% honest and genuine in my reviews, and they’re not in anyway sponsored or influenced by Alpkit. And on that note, let me know if there are any further bikes/products you’d be interested in seeing.
All the best!
Tom
Thanks for that comprehensive reply Tom - I really do hope your channel grows in the way you'd want, good luck... And yes when the steel Broken Road comes out would love a review of that.
What on earth would be the point in making a bike out of titanium, only to stick a heavy battery and motor in it? Great review other than this, I hope the range is as good as advertised but I must admit I'm dubious. E-Bikes with concealed batteries are *always* a compromise in terms of the number of cells they can fit in there.
It’s not about weight! It’s about looks! Ti frames look better in my opinion.
And durability and strength
Surely you could have made the effort to weigh it!
If the hub motor is 2kg, then no way the whole bike can be just 2.5kg heavier than a standard non electric Camino, the battery is going to be at least 2-3kg probably.
I went to a lot of effort to make the video and your comment has come across as quite rude but I’ll not respond in an unpleasant way.
As it happens I did weigh the bike, 14.6kg for the large version I had. In terms of exact weight of individual components, I can only go on what the manufacturer tells me!
I appreciate your effort making the video and reviewing the bike.
But you said in the video that you hadn't weighed it properly and gave no indication of the weight other than Sonder's quote of it being around 2.5kg heavier than the standard Camino.
Thanks for now telling me the weight.