# Sonder Cortex, New Bike Day



## usernamehere (Mar 19, 2009)

Got tired of slogging my 29 Enduro around, bought this on a whim.









Cortex Frameset Short travel 29er full suspension MTB frame


Sonder Cortex Frame and RS Deluxe Shock




alpkit.com





Slack HA with 130mm fox 34, decent reach, 120mm rear travel with cane creek shock.Climbs awesome, rides well. Have fairly heavy 35mm spank wheels on it now, hoping to upgrade to lighter set in future. Frame weight without shock 6.38lbs on a Large size. Internal cable routing, albeit British style, with rear brake exiting on right hand side of headtube( im running external for now). I have about 60 miles on it now and so far very happy with how it performs.


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## RobertRinAustin (Dec 16, 2020)

Congrats on the new bike. Looks like a fun ride.


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## usernamehere (Mar 19, 2009)

According to Sonder frame has room for up to 2.6 tires, only running 2.3 on 35mm internal rims. Im still waiting for cable port cover on the downtube, which seems to have been missed when frame was shipped. 
I got this frame as an experiment into short travel 29 bikes. It is definitely a noticeable difference going to 120mm from 165mm travel. 
Despite both sonder and my enduro29 being a Horst link type suspension, the Cortex seems to be more energetic for lack of better word-it picks up speed where E29 would just coast, handling is surprisingly similar, maybe due to head angle on both bikes being same at 66 degrees. I have not ridden both bikes back to back, but I do like how this one behaves on the trails. It also jumps well- as long as it has a good transition the suspension seems well controlled.Obviously, the enduro29 needs higher speeds and rougher terrain to come alive- it always descended like a bullet… its the 90% of the time it just feels like too much bike. I can see why these shorter travel bikes make sense for a lot of riders, myself included.


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## ForMartha (Dec 12, 2020)

So how do you like it so far?


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## usernamehere (Mar 19, 2009)

Bike is great, very nice contrast to the mediocre jockey.


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## GibraltarSean (Mar 6, 2021)

Good to hear a nice review. I have paid the deposit on a GX flavoured version with Pike Ultimate, Cane Creek Inline, and with 2.6" minion rubber for my Reynolds Black Label carbon hoops with Industry 9 hubs. Due Christmas, have to work out how to strap it down with kit for bike packing...


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## usernamehere (Mar 19, 2009)

Yes, the bikepacking possibilities have also entered my mind in regards to this bike. A custom frame bag would work well on it. It def had ample tire clearance for your minion. Happy trails!


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## Curveball (Aug 10, 2015)

usernamehere said:


> According to Sonder frame has room for up to 2.6 tires, only running 2.3 on 35mm internal rims. Im still waiting for cable port cover on the downtube, which seems to have been missed when frame was shipped.
> I got this frame as an experiment into short travel 29 bikes. It is definitely a noticeable difference going to 120mm from 165mm travel.
> Despite both sonder and my enduro29 being a Horst link type suspension, the Cortex seems to be more energetic for lack of better word-it picks up speed where E29 would just coast, handling is surprisingly similar, maybe due to head angle on both bikes being same at 66 degrees. I have not ridden both bikes back to back, but I do like how this one behaves on the trails. It also jumps well- as long as it has a good transition the suspension seems well controlled.Obviously, the enduro29 needs higher speeds and rougher terrain to come alive- it always descended like a bullet… its the 90% of the time it just feels like too much bike. I can see why these shorter travel bikes make sense for a lot of riders, myself included.


Your E29 has a 66-degree HTA? How old is it?


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## usernamehere (Mar 19, 2009)

.


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