Great video, we tested a steel and titanium Broken Road recently side by side. In a built up form the weight difference is not that noticeable. That said we very nearly bought two steel frames but steve Olsen have just brought out steel as an alternative to titanium frames for his designs so we opted for the Olsen Tiger in a Pinion format. Pinion was always our desire but not combined with a ti frame for our bikepacking aims. Keep up the films.
Further to my comment: Olsen bikes are not producing steel frames, in fact I am not sure they are producing anything. We had to get our deposit returned. Disappointed.
Thanks Tom, great presentation as ever, I love the look of the Broken Road steel frame, great geometry for it's intended purpose, it's a reasonable price, and given it's build is likely to be bombproof. However I was struck by the weight in a large which would be the size I ride the frame is over 4kg - I realise this would not be the frame if you were looking for a lightweight build, nor what it was designed for however I if I compare it to a Brother Cycles Big Bro ( their knock off of a Surly Orge in my view ) which I've just built up the 4130 steel frame and fork when brought was £729 (now £799), the weight of the frameset is less than the Sonder frame, and the Big Bro is not a light bike. I therefore wonder when loaded up will this be a heavyweight to ride up hill and tiring over distance? - my experience of riding my steel Sonder Signal uphill whose frame is lighter by 1kg or thereabouts and not loaded with bikepacking bags is sometimes a real slog riding up hill, going downhill of course is another thing! That said if I think about the additional weight its that of a couple of water bottles and therefore I am very tempted to swap my Frontier frame for the steel broken road frame and simply move the parts over.. thanks again.
It looks like you could also upgrade it to a Rohloff if you wanted to .I have a Olsen titanium pinion , I justified getting it by only wanting one do it all bike & I'm glade I did .
I’ve had a few comments now about the weight - I was informed by Alpkit the weight difference was approx 2kg between this and the titanium frame, but now many people are saying it’s only just over 1kg difference including Alpkit . Don’t shoot the messenger! 😂
Lots of comments about the weight quoted in this video. I was one who ruled out the steel frame due to it being said in this video that there was 'over 2kg weight difference' which would make the frame around 4.5kg. I have called Sonder and they have told me that frame only weight for a large frame is 3.2kg, so that amounts to a weight difference of 1.07kg which now brings the steel back into consideration for me, especially as a portion of the difference can be offset by investing the saved money into a better wheel set.
@@Cycling366 Thanks for answering. Maybe it's a mistake, if that's what it is, that needs correcting in some way because no one's going to buy a 4 kg frame no matter how good the performance unless they've got masochism in their DNA. Otherwise a great video and a huge thumbs up.
Tried one recently at my local Alpkit store and really didn't like the geometry - far too long in the top tube/reach, couldn't see myself spending more than a couple of hours on it never mind an all-day bikepacking trip. That and the weight, as you mention in the video. Shame as Alpkit are a great company to deal with.
Word of warning the top tube is a lot shorter than the titanium model [approx 20 mm] If you look at their geometry table the ti table says effective top tube length [normal] were as the steel model says estimated top tube length [sneaky!] I've never come across this before, also they won't print the frame weight on the sec sheet.
Ahh right. I don’t think that’s an intentional hoodwink to be honest. I think Sonder in general is pretty poor at listing specs properly including weights etc!
@@Cycling366 Top tube length is probably the most important dimension on a bike so you'd think they'd get that measurement right ? and to be a whopping 20mm out as well is a very poor.
Here we go! My Broken Road Steel Build is here!: ruclips.net/video/Hq-gzbZ7ndM/видео.htmlsi=7kG9J-kOI740dAYd
Great video, we tested a steel and titanium Broken Road recently side by side. In a built up form the weight difference is not that noticeable. That said we very nearly bought two steel frames but steve Olsen have just brought out steel as an alternative to titanium frames for his designs so we opted for the Olsen Tiger in a Pinion format. Pinion was always our desire but not combined with a ti frame for our bikepacking aims. Keep up the films.
Thanks? Yeah it doesn’t make a huge difference for bikepacking in my opinion.
Further to my comment: Olsen bikes are not producing steel frames, in fact I am not sure they are producing anything. We had to get our deposit returned. Disappointed.
Thanks Tom, great presentation as ever, I love the look of the Broken Road steel frame, great geometry for it's intended purpose, it's a reasonable price, and given it's build is likely to be bombproof. However I was struck by the weight in a large which would be the size I ride the frame is over 4kg - I realise this would not be the frame if you were looking for a lightweight build, nor what it was designed for however I if I compare it to a Brother Cycles Big Bro ( their knock off of a Surly Orge in my view ) which I've just built up the 4130 steel frame and fork when brought was £729 (now £799), the weight of the frameset is less than the Sonder frame, and the Big Bro is not a light bike. I therefore wonder when loaded up will this be a heavyweight to ride up hill and tiring over distance? - my experience of riding my steel Sonder Signal uphill whose frame is lighter by 1kg or thereabouts and not loaded with bikepacking bags is sometimes a real slog riding up hill, going downhill of course is another thing! That said if I think about the additional weight its that of a couple of water bottles and therefore I am very tempted to swap my Frontier frame for the steel broken road frame and simply move the parts over.. thanks again.
Thank you! Yeah it’s heavy for sure, but as you say, when bikepacking, you want notice it. It’s a decent bombproof bike :)
I'd pay good money to have my LEJOG go pro footage edited as I don't have your presenting talent plus I can't be arsed lol .
It looks like you could also upgrade it to a Rohloff if you wanted to .I have a Olsen titanium pinion , I justified getting it by only wanting one do it all bike & I'm glade I did .
Potentially! Might need a different axle or adapter but should be possible.
chain drive gear hub🔥
I’ve had a few comments now about the weight - I was informed by Alpkit the weight difference was approx 2kg between this and the titanium frame, but now many people are saying it’s only just over 1kg difference including Alpkit . Don’t shoot the messenger! 😂
nice bike indeed. I wonder how it compares to my Niner SIR 9.
Nice! Be worth a comparison :)
Lots of comments about the weight quoted in this video. I was one who ruled out the steel frame due to it being said in this video that there was 'over 2kg weight difference' which would make the frame around 4.5kg. I have called Sonder and they have told me that frame only weight for a large frame is 3.2kg, so that amounts to a weight difference of 1.07kg which now brings the steel back into consideration for me, especially as a portion of the difference can be offset by investing the saved money into a better wheel set.
Yep. Just pinned a comment as I’ve had several comments saying the same thing. I can only go off what Alpkit told me
I've been teasing myself with this one for my next 'bike to work' via Corrour in winter bike. What height are you and which size bike are you having?
That’s how I’ve bought mine actually 😂 6ft - Large
Nice review thank you
Thank you!
Nice review... But.. Here's the question that wasn't answered in your review.. *how does it ride? * loaded and unloaded?
Cheers. Unloaded, brilliantly well and very comfy. Loaded, I don’t know yet. That’s why I’m building one up for a future video test
@@Cycling366looking forward to a more in depth review.. Keep up the good work.
Are you sure a medium frame only weighs over 4 kg? Isn't that the weight for frame and fork? Or is the Broken Road made of pig iron?
Those are the details I’ve been given so may be for the frameset rather than just the frame
@@Cycling366 Thanks for answering. Maybe it's a mistake, if that's what it is, that needs correcting in some way because no one's going to buy a 4 kg frame no matter how good the performance unless they've got masochism in their DNA. Otherwise a great video and a huge thumbs up.
Looks cool
Indeed!
Tried one recently at my local Alpkit store and really didn't like the geometry - far too long in the top tube/reach, couldn't see myself spending more than a couple of hours on it never mind an all-day bikepacking trip. That and the weight, as you mention in the video. Shame as Alpkit are a great company to deal with.
Can’t be right for everyone I suppose!
@@Cycling366 I think I'm just not a fan of the modern long/low/slack thing!
Word of warning the top tube is a lot shorter than the titanium model [approx 20 mm] If you look at their geometry table the ti table says effective top tube length [normal] were as the steel model says estimated top tube length [sneaky!] I've never come across this before, also they won't print the frame weight on the sec sheet.
Ahh right. I don’t think that’s an intentional hoodwink to be honest. I think Sonder in general is pretty poor at listing specs properly including weights etc!
@@Cycling366 Top tube length is probably the most important dimension on a bike so you'd think they'd get that measurement right ? and to be a whopping 20mm out as well is a very poor.