Testing The Sonder Camino Al

Testing The Sonder Camino Al

By Talyn Williams

Built for limitless exploration, this bike’s heart beats for the adventurous. It masters rocky trails and endless paths like a breeze on a sunlit ride.

A great value bike capable of much more both on and off road than the price might suggest.

Read the full review here.

Bikepacking Bags

  • Special Offer

alpkit fuel pod 1.5 top tube bag cockpit bag in panther black Alpkit Fuel Pod top tube bag in Olive Green

Fuel Pod

Top tube bag: UK made, weatherproof, available in 3 sizes
$49.99 $64.99

  • Special Offer

alpkit stem cell 1L bike packing bag in panther black Alpkit Stem Cell bag in Olive Green

Stem Cell

Lightweight stem-mounted bikepacking bag in 1 and 1.5L sizes
$59.99 $74.99

  • Special Offer

alpkit gravel bag handlebar bag for drop bars in panther black Alpkit Gravel Bag handlebar bag in Panther black

Gravel Bag

Handlebar bag with roll-top closure: UK made, weatherproof, 5L expandable capacity
$84.99 $109.99

  • Special Offer

alpkit toploader zipped handlebar bag in olive green alpkit toploader zipped handlebar bag in olive green top

Toploader

Canister handlebar bag: UK made, weatherproof, 4L
$79.99 $94.99

  • Special Offer

alpkit kuoka handlebar bag for bike packing in panther black Alpkit Kuoka handlebar bag in Olive green

Kuoka

Dual-ended handlebar bag: UK made, weatherproof, 13L
$69.99 $84.99

  • Special Offer

Roo Pouch Roo Pouch

Roo Pouch

Accessory pouch compatible with handlebar bags: UK made, weatherproof, 2.5L
$49.99 $64.99

  • Special Offer

Roo Wallet Roo Wallet

Roo Wallet

Accessory wallet compatible with handlebar bags: UK made, weatherproof
$44.99 $54.99

  • Special Offer

alpkit confucius handlebar bag in panther black alpkit confucius handlebar bag in mountain brown

Confucius Loop Bar Bag

Loop bar handlebar bag: UK made, weatherproof, 4L
$84.99 $109.99

Your next reads

Everything You Need To Know About Gravel Bikes

Gravel bikes seem to be all the rage right now. Maybe because they are. They’re the road bike’s fun younger sibling. They take you away from the tr...
July 06, 2023

Launching the New Sonder Camino

We’ve launched our brand-new Sonder Camino. It’s got new geometry and new frame features for a faster, more stable and more agile ride. The Camino ...
February 10, 2022
One bike to rule them all

One bike to rule them all

For what seems like the entire year to date I haven’t ridden a mountain bike with gears. this started as the racing that was initially available su...
August 10, 2009

Adventure Cycling in North Yorkshire: Riding Route YC

The North Yorkshire Coast and North York Moors were to be the location for my next adventure with Edinburgh based Endurance Riders Markus Stitz and...
February 15, 2024

Pedal Norway on the Camino Route

So, I bought a new bike, from a company that just started doing bikes, with no test ride and very little customer reviews to rely on. I literally f...
July 06, 2016

Compare Gravel Race and Touring Bikes

In the dusty and gritty world of gravel biking, our journey extends from quiet winding paths to heart-pounding races. To cater to these different r...
February 26, 2024
Feel the Power of the Vir Fortis Fat Bike

Feel the Power of the Vir Fortis Fat Bike

Fat bikes’ wider-than-normal tyres provide extra grip, making them ideal for riding in snow or through deep mud. Read the review
November 01, 2016

Our Kingston Women's Ride with Jenny Graham

A couple of weeks back, we had our first ever women's only ride. We're over the moon with how it went. We opened our ninth store in Kingston Upon T...
October 06, 2022

Frontier - Tried and Tested

The Frontier might be considered a Jack of all trades but the clever bit is, it's able to master most of them. Read the full review here.
July 21, 2017

Discover the 2022 Sonder Camino

There's a brand new Camino out in the wild. And we've managed to make our multi award-winning gravel bike even better. So how exactly have we done ...
February 11, 2022

L'Eroica Britannia 2014 gravel race

There is no doubt that the L'Eroica Britania was and is a resounding success, everyone I spoke to loved the event, loved the route and would love t...
June 25, 2014

The spirit of L'Eroica Britannia gravel race

My assumptions of what L'Eroica Britannia would be and I guess in some ways the spirit of how I would enter, were entirely based on the promotional...
June 24, 2014

The Col's Way

A simple idea; travel by bike from Nottingham to our old home town of Cambridge to visit the folks. I didn't want to go by road, but finding an alt...
June 03, 2013

You don't get this on a road bike - A North Pennines Sonder Story

This story was sent to us by Sonder Customer Phil Thomas, a very happy owner of a Sonder Camino. My alarm goes off at 5am. "Why the.... Oh yeah!...
January 27, 2021

Sonder Winter Gravel Series Is Back!

Sonder Winter Gravel Series is back! And this year, it’s even bigger. Join us this winter for rides from all eight Alpkit stores. From Bristol to B...
October 15, 2021

A Review of Our Rando Bikepacking Range

I love the brushed grey appearance, and the fact that everything you buy is ready to be attached to the bike, with no need for extra racks, mounts ...
August 14, 2017

Bike Perfect reviews Camino Rival

The significantly more confident, stable geometry and provision for a dropper post mean Sonder’s latest Camino opens up a lot more off-road opt...
August 25, 2022

Explore with the Sonder Camino Gravel Bike

This long-term review, by Robyn Furtado for bikeradar, explores our Sonder Camino gravel bike. Robyn provides a thorough examination of the bike's ...
February 25, 2024

Active Traveller: Sonder Camino Al

An excellent option for all round adventuring Read the full review here.
October 09, 2017
Koala seat pack questions answered

Koala seat pack questions answered

A few weeks ago I got my hands on a 'Rough cut' pre-production Koala and last week took it on a 100 mile ride to the BNO in the Peak District and b...
October 03, 2013

Bikepacking.com Hunka Down for a Bivvy

Team a bivvy bag with a simple flat tarp, and you have yourself an extremely effective way of warding off the UK’s notoriously inclement weather. R...
September 19, 2018

Home Roads Circular Commuting

When your journey to work suddenly takes the form of walking from the breakfast table to the living room, a ride from home to working-from-home cou...
April 02, 2020

On my Camino I can go anywhere - by Emma Pooley

In March 2020, when the true threat of the new corona virus became apparent across Europe, I was on holiday in Spain. Specifically, I was trying to...
October 22, 2020

Dorset Gravel Dash

I don’t remember how I discovered gravel racing, its not as though the UK has a huge scene. until last weekend it had no scene at all. I guess prob...
June 03, 2014

Alpkit Camino Ti making things possible

"Go Nice places, Ride nice things." - Andrew P Andrew got in touch with us after riding the Torino Nice Rally on his Camino Ti. Here's his tale:...
December 11, 2018

Singletrack review the Sonder Camino Al gravel bike

With its flexible wheel size options and plenty of tyre clearance, there’s scope for building the Sonder Camino AL however you want it. However, as...
June 09, 2020
Italian Singlespeed Champs report

Italian Singlespeed Champs report

The Italian Singlespeed championships took place last weekend in Sovico in Northern Italy. Alpkit had been invited by Paolo Zorloni of Zeta Bike Co...
May 15, 2013

Advntr Review the Sonder Camino Al gravel bike

Sonder have played a blinder with the Camino, producing a fast, fun and comfortable bike with no obvious flaws. Often we test bikes that have a...
March 22, 2019

Top Gifts for Cycle Tourers

Few people understand the demands of adventure bike touring quite like Stu Taylor. From an epic journey like the 1300km Atlas Mountain Race to the ...
November 13, 2024

Ride Further with the El Camino E-Gravel Bike

Tom from Cycling366 recently reviewed the Sonder El Camino E-Gravel Bike. After a winter ride on his local trails his assessment was filled with bo...
January 05, 2024

Visit our stores and experience our new Sonder gravel e-bike

This is your opportunity to get hands-on with the latest in e-gravel biking technology and see for yourself what all the buzz is about! There is no...
December 19, 2023

The Dirty Reiver 200 km off road cycling challenge

Last Saturday, The Dirty Reiver 200 km off road cycling challenge took place in KielderForest, Northumberland. The event is basedon the Gravel Grin...
April 20, 2016

Ride the Dirty Reiver

We've been involved in the Reiver since it started, it's become such a mainstay in the calendar that its hard to believe this is 'just' the 4th edi...
April 12, 2019

L'Eroica Britannia - The bike

I'd seen the pictures for L'Eroica (the Tuscan version) and I guess in a way it was love at first site. I'm not a roady but I love Italy, I love fo...
June 19, 2014

Tackle the 24-Hour Strathpuffer

Strathpuffer is a 24-hour mountain bike race in the small Scottish town of Strathpeffer. Over 1000 riders race in teams of 4 (quads), pairs, or for...
January 08, 2024

Cycling Weekly review best of the best Camino Al gravel bike

The Sonder Camino AL Rival1 was selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with ou...
December 22, 2020

road.cc reviews Camino Al gravel frameset

The Sonder Camino AL frame and fork option is an excellent base on which to build a commuting, gravel or bikepacking bike. Loaded with features...
April 06, 2022

Dirty Reiver 200 - 2022 gravel ride

What is ideal prep for a big cycle event or race? Well it is not finding on the eve of travel for the event that you have destroyed your freehub an...
April 28, 2022

Unlock Versatility with Dual-Wheel Gravel Bikes

Luke Friend, a seasoned writer, editor, and bicycle mechanic with 25 years of experience, has a deep-rooted passion for cycling - he is also a Sond...
January 18, 2024

Sedona scratches that gravel racing itch

Put the 3 words gravel, endurance and racing together and you get a 3 metre square area of the Kayapo Indigenous Territory of Brazil. Let's try tha...
January 05, 2024

Commute and Explore with the Sonder Camino AL

Road.cc picks the best bikes they have reviewed for every type of cycle commuting scenario, from road bikes to e-bikes and all points in between. T...
February 23, 2024

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

=