Orbea Laufey H-Ltd vs Sonder Signal

[Pulse]

This may be a bit of a weird comparison, but these are the two bikes I’m comparing head to head.

I’d love to hear people’s opinions on the two bikes.

The Orbea has:
– Fox 34 Performance
– SLX
– M6120 brakes
– RaceFace finishing kit
– Aluminium

The Sonder has:
– Pike Ultimate
– NX
– Guide T brakes
– Own brand finishing kit
– Steel

That’s kind of a brief summary, but while I’m fairly sure SLX is better than NX, I wonder if I’ll regret going for the Fox 34 when it seems most people prefer the Pike, and especially the Ultimate.

The Sonder is £1850 and the Orbea is £2000, so there’s an additional £150 for the Orbea.

[joshleb]

I prefer Shimano drivetrain and brakes, but that's a basic spec Fox fork vs top spec RS.

When these are both hardtail that really does make a difference!

[MiltonBaines]

Both good bikes from what I read, but I'd want to mix the specs too. Shimano groupset and the Pike fork. I've been looking for a hardtail recently and the Sonder was considered but SRAM was deal breaker.

[Pulse]

Aye, that would be perfect, but I haven’t managed to find anything with Pike and Shimano for under £2000. That’s my cycle to work limit, unfortunately!

[vwsurfbum]

My choice would be the Orbea because

The Orbea has:
– Fox 34 Performance - OK, not st
– SLX - OK
– M6120 brakes - OK
– RaceFace finishing kit - Good
– Aluminium - Good

The Sonder has:
– Pike Ultimate - Great
– NX - Poo
– Guide T brakes - Total Poo
– Own brand finishing kit - OK
– Steel - heavy Poo

[only1mikey]

Orbea for me.

The latest Fox 34 Performance is a good fork. Might not have the adjustments of the GRIP2 damper in the Factory series, but the GRIP damper still works very well.

[Pulse]

only1mikey said:

Orbea for me.

The latest Fox 34 Performance is a good fork. Might not have the adjustments of the GRIP2 damper in the Factory series, but the GRIP damper still works very well.

It may not be quite the ‘latest’, as I know this bike was originally brought out in 2019 for the 2020 model, and hasn’t been revised since. Will that make a difference potentially?

[Pulse]

vwsurfbum said:

My choice would be the Orbea because

The Orbea has:
– Fox 34 Performance - OK, not st
– SLX - OK
– M6120 brakes - OK
– RaceFace finishing kit - Good
– Aluminium - Good

The Sonder has:
– Pike Ultimate - Great
– NX - Poo
– Guide T brakes - Total Poo
– Own brand finishing kit - OK
– Steel - heavy Poo

Ha, I do partly agree following my recent experience of steel (Kona Honzo), didn’t seem to make any significant difference to ride quality but was heavy.

That said, the reviews of the Orbea say it’s also heavy, despite being alu.

[Bathroom_Security]

Similar bikes, both will make fun trail bikes, low at the rear, slack up front

I prefer Pikes to Fox 34's, better small bump. Make sure you service them as soon as you get them, RS are renowned for not putting much oil in the lowers. Get the bike shop to do it or do it yourself

NX is ok I guess but replace with GX as you go along. Prefer Shimano in this case.

If you go with the NX drivetrain, get a decent chain - X01 or something. The NX one is a joke, Ive had two and they rust like you wouldn't believe how they rust

Other than that go for which ever you prefer the look of.

[Pulse]

Bathroom_Security said:

Similar bikes, both will make fun trail bikes, low at the rear, slack up front

I prefer Pikes to Fox 34's, better small bump. Make sure you service them as soon as you get them, RS are renowned for not putting much oil in the lowers. Get the bike shop to do it or do it yourself

NX is ok I guess but replace with GX as you go along. Prefer Shimano in this case.

If you go with the NX drivetrain, get a decent chain - X01 or something. The NX one is a joke, Ive had two and they rust like you wouldn't believe how they rust

Other than that go for which ever you prefer the look of.

Thanks for the reply. Appreciate it.

I wonder whether, as a tame rider, I'd even notice the difference between the 34 and the Pike, and the remainder of the bike with the Orbea is 'better'. SLX is comparable to GX, right? It has mostly SLX, with XT rear derailleur, and RaceFace cranks.

I had SX before and thought it was OK, but I want to consider long-term reliability as well, and a lot of reports of the SRAM stuff being poor long-term worry me as well.

[only1mikey]

Pulse said:

It may not be quite the ‘latest’, as I know this bike was originally brought out in 2019 for the 2020 model, and hasn’t been revised since. Will that make a difference potentially?

My experience of the Fox 34 is with the '19/20 model so would be OK.

IIRC Fox did an overhaul on the 34 in '17 and I don't think much has changed since, other than GRIP2 damper in the Factory models. There's a review of the 34 Performance (which is what's on the Laufey) below:

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/fox-34-float-grip-re...

Regardless, you wouldn't be disappointed with the fork performance of either the 34 or the Pikes. They are both extremely capable for trail riding.

There's a thread on STW regarding the Laufey, and includes a link to an owner review which may help:

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/who-owns-...

https://orena45blog.wordpress.com/2021/04/06/revie...

I know Sonder offer bike hire/demo's, though unsure how Covid has affected this... if you are local to a store could be worth a try?

[Pulse]

Cheers for the replies all. Decided on the Orbea, as it was coming in next month... only for them to say it’s been sold, and the next one is August!

I’m now debating whether to wait it out, or get the Sonder as I can get it much quicker.

(Or perhaps the Transmitter, which is aluminium, but has 150mm forks)