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Looking for a good value full suspension bike under £2500 and these two seem to tick all the boxes
Full Shimano drive chain
4 piston brakes
150mm travel
Decent fork
Threaded BB
Any ideas which to choose, spec and frame look very similar main difference is pike Vs yari
Watches with interest
Having had an Evol I’d pick that. Excellent bike and quality was superb for the price. Sonder were great to deal with too
Can't help with the comparison aspect but I've got an Evol GX. The ordering/delivery process wasn't perfect but I'm happy with the bike itself, rides well and while not an XC bike it doesn't feel like it's holding you back on a longer or gentle terrain ride. The 2.6" clearance at the back is debatable. My 2.5 vigilantes *just* fitted and rubbed a bit so I've fitted a 2.4 Judge instead. As an aside, if you don't like buzzy rear hubs you won't like the sonder alpha wheels!
Looking at both there isn’t much in it overall.
I think the Sonder is claimed a bit lighter, has a slightly slacker head angle and comparing medium with medium the reach is the same. Sonder has slightly longer chainstays - I reckon overall it might be marginally the more stable at higher speeds.
Fork wise the Pike on the Boardman is a ‘select’ - so that’s not a full charger damper with the bladder - it’s an ifp arrangement in the stanchion. So it’s a bit better than the damper in the Yari - but not a huge game changer. I’d prefer a Yari on a 29er for the more sturdy chassis and if I wanted a better damper I’d retro fit one in the Yari at a later date. Either a full charger 2 or something like a Novyparts Splug / Fast ‘YariUp’.
Brakes and groupset are almost identical.
Wheels - difficult to say but I think the Sonder has the edge.
Overall I’d take the Sonder - as well as having marginally better stuff for the most part it looks nicer. I’ve had a few boardman bikes before and they were decent enough - but the mtr has an ugly frame 🤮
That said - there’s a massive wait for the Sonder - order in November for March / April delivery. I’ve assumed you were comparing the SLX Evol build.
No brainer, Alpkit (sonder) is a certified B Corp: https://alpkit.com/pages/b-corp
Thanks for the comments.
Has no one got the Boardman?