Sonder releases its first e-bike, the El Camino
Launched in 2015, Sonder bikes came to the UK with three bikes built for mixed riding in the UK. Sonder wants to bridge the gap between road racing and enduro roading, which sounds slightly bizarre given the two extremes of the spectrum. However, gravel riding in the UK is becoming ever more popular and if […] The post Sonder releases its first e-bike, the El Camino appeared first on Cycling Electric.
Launched in 2015, Sonder bikes came to the UK with three bikes built for mixed riding in the UK. Sonder wants to bridge the gap between road racing and enduro roading, which sounds slightly bizarre given the two extremes of the spectrum. However, gravel riding in the UK is becoming ever more popular and if there are areas in which an e-bike will benefit your ride, it’s mountain biking or gravel riding. Step forward the Sonder El Camino. Both MTB and gravel riders have embraced e-bikes wholly, with commuters and road riders quietly following suit. If you’d like to see what Cycling Electric considers the best gravel e-bikes you can see our buyer’s guide.
Sonder, a sister brand to Alpkit, brings the El Camino, the electric version of their popular gravel model, the Camino. The move into the e-bike space comes alongside two other releases: the Sedona, a high-performance gravel race bike, and the Prima Al, an ultra-light aluminium road bike built for uncompromised speed and performance.
El Camino, Sonder’s first electric gravel bike, merges the acclaimed original Camino’s success with a powerful rear hub motor. But it’s not the Mahle X35 which we see used in the industry so commonly. Sonder has gone for the latest Kynamic BC250 system. The advantage here over the iWoc system we see used on the Mahle motors is you get much more of a display in the middle of the top tube, giving you easier mode changes and battery life data.
Coming in at just 3kg heavier than its non-electric counterpart, the El Camino is a bike for gravel riding with ample tyre clearance, Alpha EX wheelsets and multiple bottle cage and rack mounts. There are plenty of storage options to keep your adventure going all day long and into the weekend.
It’s like Sonda looked at the other gravel bikes on the market, kept the good bits, but refined the not-so-great bits, like a fiddly iWoc system that needed app integration to let you know how much battery life you have left. Plenty of options are available, ranging from the £2,699 El Camino Apex1 Flat Bar to the £3,399 El Camino Force1 Hydraulic, meaning this e-gravel bike is incredibly competitively priced.
The post Sonder releases its first e-bike, the El Camino appeared first on Cycling Electric.
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