I demo'd a Sonder Camino yesterday, spent most of the time on a large, but also had a short ride on a medium. I expected the medium to feel too small but it didn’t...
Generally the large didn’t feel too big either but the demo bike cockpit wasn't optimal. It had a 10mm longer stem than the medium and only one spacer under the stem (stock has 3 in total). I did feel over stretched at times, mainly on longer climbs on the road. However I think the large is the better choice and I reckon the shorter stem and higher stack will fix the stretching.
This is the large as setup up for me
At 183cm tall I'm definitely in the large range (heights between 175-187 cm). Perhaps it's the mountain biker in me that's still wondering about the medium....
Anyone got any advice or faced the same situation?
I also tested a medium and large Camino. I was surprised to find the medium felt a bit small underneath me,
I am ~181 cm and settled on the Large Camino with a 70mm stem, 46cm Spitfire handlebars and a 133 Zone saddle. After a couple of hundred miles getting used to the saddle, I'm finding it very comfy indeed.
I did keep the stem uncut and currently experimenting with how many spacers to retain.
I'm 178cm tall & ride a 2022 large with a 70mm stem with a fair few spacers under the stem, 20mm? 460mm Pro gravel bars
Bought as frame & forks and built up with (mainly) mtb parts I had stashed in the shed.
I’m about 181cm and ride a large.
The first thing I did when I bought it was to flip the stem to raise the bars a bit.
Later I had to change the bars from the bombers because they made my hands hurt but it’s now super comfortable and I’ve done some long (for me) rides on it & multiple days. Before changing the bars I tried a shorter stem but went back again to the original one.
I'm on my second TI camino size medium, I'm about 5.10 1/2-5ft11. never felt it small. size 9 feet have never overlapped the front wheel, I'm 30" in leg,
5'10" medium Camino latest geometry. Inline dropper post, 70mm stem 30mm of spacers under it. Large was certainly too big for me but I do lean more towards MTB than road bike with mine. I also think that is a factor.
I'm 5,11 on a large V3.
Im all back and arms.
I was put on a medium one in the shop and told i needed a large?
Couldnt get on with original flared bars, caused loads of neck pain even on the hoods.
Flipped stem (50mm one i think) and bought Specialized hover bars now a lot more comfy, ive also fitted some spank gel inserts and tape on the hoods to ease the hand pain and added 50mm tyres
I’m 181cm - I think my legs are shorter compared to my torso. I’ve got a large Camino, following the advice of Alpkit and a test ride.
Occasionally on rough ground I wonder if I should have bought a medium, as I don’t have huge stand over clearance. But then I think about the many comfortable miles I’ve done, over a wide range of terrain, and am happy with my choice. It’s a great bike.
Thanks all. In summary from the replies:
181cm large
178cm large
181cm large
179cm medium
178cm medium
180cm large
181cm large
So at 183cm I'd definitely be bucking the trend if on a medium
Occasionally on rough ground I wonder if I should have bought a medium
I didn't ride the medium off road, just up and down the streets nearby. But I did notice that I was more over the front wheel than behind it. Off road for a taller rider this might translate to more of a twitchy bouncing about ride, due to centre of gravity? Shorter riders (relative to frame size) sitting more "in" the bike might not get this. The large felt very stable and confident off road
If bikepacking is your thing there’s more space in a large frame for bags too 🙂
