Specialized Turbo Vado SL: An Incredible E-Bike (User Club)

[stompandgo]

I was a Canon guy. DSLR then mirrorless, EF first with adapters, then RF.

Sony and Olympus practically invented the compact point and shoot back in the day. Sony used a shutter lens cover, Olympus, a sliding plastic cover.

The jury is still out on Avinox.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The jury is still out on Avinox.

Sony is still only the second global player after Canon, Nikon being third

 

[Rás Cnoic]

I was a Canon guy. DSLR then mirrorless, EF first with adapters, then RF.

Sony and Olympus practically invented the compact point and shoot back in the day. Sony used a shutter lens cover, Olympus, a sliding plastic cover.

The jury is still out on Avinox.

Eurobike 24 is where DJI launched the Avinox system. At the start of the year I tend to start getting curious to know what industry announcements we can expect this year, at shows lije that but it all sounds pretty dire so far.

 

[rochrunner]

(This appears to have turned into a photography thread but I'll post anyway.) As some may know, I recently purchased a NOS Vado SL 4.0 to replace my current SL 5.0. I had them replace the TCU with a Mastermind and now I'm working on changing accessories over, etc. Anyway, one of my first activities was to connect the Specialized app, register the bike and set the tuning parameters the way I like them. The next thing on my list was to configure the display pages, so I was then surprised that somewhere along the way the app had "restored" the display pages so that they matched what I have on the older bike! Anyone else unaware of this "feature"? It made me wonder if this behavior is intentional or if they have it for more of a backup in case your TCU has to be replaced at some point.

Whatever the case, it did save me some time and trouble.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The next thing on my list was to configure the display pages, so I was then surprised that somewhere along the way the app had "restored" the display pages so that they matched what I have on the older bike! Anyone else unaware of this "feature"? It made me wonder if this behavior is intentional or if they have it for more of a backup in case your TCU has to be replaced at some point.

Totally unaware of this thoughtful feature. The more I use and learn about the Turbo operating system for Spec mid-drives, the more I admire the design and execution.

That includes the current Specialized app. Just used it to add a TCU page to my usual 3 for an experiment I'm running. Then moved it up to 3rd in line. Couldn't have been easier.

Just wish there were a way to go back a TCU page when riding, instead of having to loop back. Then I'd be willing to keep more than 3 pages.

Q: What are you enjoying about Mastermind now that you've had some time with it?

The photography phase will pass.

 

[rochrunner]

Q: What are you enjoying about Mastermind now that you've had some time with it?

I've had the Mastermind on my SL 5.0 that I bought in '22, which is why I couldn't stand the idea of getting one without it. Without a doubt, my #1 favorite feature is MicroTune, which lets me add and subtract assist at a fine-grained level whenever I need it. I also set the bike up to start in that mode and I only go back to the standard modes if I'm particularly lazy or want to get back home quickly without the effort.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I've had the Mastermind on my SL 5.0 that I bought in '22, which is why I couldn't stand the idea of getting one without it. Without a doubt, my #1 favorite feature is MicroTune, which lets me add and subtract assist at a fine-grained level whenever I need it. I also set the bike up to start in that mode and I only go back to the standard modes if I'm particularly lazy or want to get back home quickly without the effort.

I also started up in MicroTune for a while. Worked well, as it comes up in 50/50 — good for negotiating traffic on the way out of the neighborhood. And like you, I liked the finer motor control.

Then I tried starting in ECO 35/45, with a 55/70 SPORT and 80/100 TURBO. This may be my favorite default tuning yet, but it definitely sacrifices battery in the name of both fun and better workouts.

Yes, better workouts thanks to my strong carrot effect, wherein adding motor power somehow tends to pull more rider power out of me.

 

[Chargeride]

Displays all need a grandad mode, with large digits just showing the basics, pretty well everyone loses the abilty to focus their eyes in their 40s as the lens stiffens.
Wearing glasses for this condition either locks you in at 30 inches or uses bifocal, both are annoying on a bike.

A recent reviewer in her 30s with normal eyesight was complaining about being unable to read the tiny writing on a crowded screen.

Too much modern tech is built by young uns for young uns

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Displays all need a grandad mode, with large digits just showing the basics, pretty well everyone loses the abilty to focus their eyes in their 40s as the lens stiffens.
Wearing glasses for this condition either locks you in at 30 inches or uses bifocal, both are annoying on a bike.

A recent reviewer in her 30s with normal eyesight was complaining about being unable to read the tiny writing on a crowded screen.

Too much modern tech is built by young uns for young uns

If this is too small for your eyes... (A Specialized TCD, five configurable data screens).

And especially if this is too small, then... (A Wahoo ELEMNT ACE of the size of a small smartphone).

...the young engineers have invented a way to help your poor eyesight
(A Wahoo ELEMNT ACE).

A friend of mine went the great-grandfather way on his Wahoo (A very small Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt 3).

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

What, you spend a few hundred bucks on a bike computer and expect to read the screen?? Talk about entitled!
;^}

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What, you spend a few hundred bucks on a bike computer and expect to read the screen?? Talk about entitled!
;^}

Charge has spent 38 quids on his, so he has the right to complain

 

[rochrunner]

So who was the brilliant engineer at Specialized who thought that the loose-wedge clamping mechanism for the SL seat post was so much of an improvement over a simple clamp? Yes, it has a larger clamping surface and is less prone to slippage, but I had a few choice words for it today when I went to remove my ShockStop seat post from my old 5.0 and naturally dropped part of it down into the seat tube. Fortunately, it was not too difficult to retrieve and I needed to fashion a long hook anyway to pull the tail light wires back out so I could connect them to the post and seat from the new bike to complete the swap.

Never a job that doesn't take longer than what it mentally seems it should...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

So who was the brilliant engineer at Specialized who thought that the loose-wedge clamping mechanism for the SL seat post was so much of an improvement over a simple clamp? Yes, it has a larger clamping surface and is less prone to slippage, but I had a few choice words for it today when I went to remove my ShockStop seat post from my old 5.0 and naturally dropped part of it down into the seat tube. Fortunately, it was not too difficult to retrieve and I needed to fashion a long hook anyway to pull the tail light wires back out so I could connect them to the post and seat from the new bike to complete the swap.

Been reluctant to let a much shorter friend ride my SL for exactly that reason.

Never a job that doesn't take longer than what it mentally seems it should...

Tell me about it!

I look at it like DIY golf. Getting a job done in the expected time is a hole in one. I've never shot a hole in one. Triple the time is 3 strokes. My handicap is 4.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

So who was the brilliant engineer at Specialized who thought that the loose-wedge clamping mechanism for the SL seat post was so much of an improvement over a simple clamp? Yes, it has a larger clamping surface and is less prone to slippage, but I had a few choice words for it today when I went to remove my ShockStop seat post from my old 5.0 and naturally dropped part of it down into the seat tube. Fortunately, it was not too difficult to retrieve and I needed to fashion a long hook anyway to pull the tail light wires back out so I could connect them to the post and seat from the new bike to complete the swap.

Never a job that doesn't take longer than what it mentally seems it should...

Hate these damn things!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

So who was the brilliant engineer at Specialized who thought that the loose-wedge clamping mechanism for the SL seat post was so much of an improvement over a simple clamp? Yes, it has a larger clamping surface and is less prone to slippage, but I had a few choice words for it today when I went to remove my ShockStop seat post from my old 5.0 and naturally dropped part of it down into the seat tube. Fortunately, it was not too difficult to retrieve and I needed to fashion a long hook anyway to pull the tail light wires back out so I could connect them to the post and seat from the new bike to complete the swap.

Never a job that doesn't take longer than what it mentally seems it should...

This has been known to me since I had to drop the motor to retrieve the wedge...
Later, I pushed a big piece of sponge into the seat-tube to prevent that happening again.

 

[zbikeman]

My Sirrus X 5.0 has that same wedge seatpost clamp.

After dropping the wedge in there numerous times, I found an odd workaround.

I turned the bike on its side when adjusting saddle height. Makes the wedge much less likely to fall into the bottom bracket.

 

[rochrunner]

This has been known to me since I had to drop the motor to retrieve the wedge...
Later, I pushed a big piece of sponge into the seat-tube to prevent that happening again.

I was lucky since the wires that I had disconnected had been pushed down into the tube and prevented it from falling too far down.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I was lucky since the wires that I had disconnected had been pushed down into the tube and prevented it from falling too far down.

Currently, whenever I need to remove the seat-post for any reason (for instance to grease the ShockStop springs), I remove the post with the e-bike inverted, so the wedge would rather fall on the floor

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The good news: My SL 1 seat post's only slipped down 1-2 mm in the 17 months and 3200 mi I've owned it.

The wedge is in no danger of falling down the seat tube if I move the seat post only that amount, right?

I think the post's about halfway in.

 

[rochrunner]

The good news: My SL 1 seat post's only slipped down 1-2 mm in the 17 months I've owned it.

The wedge isn't at risk of falling down the seat tube if I move the seat post only that amount, right?

If you just loosen the screw enough to adjust the height you're OK. In fact, it can't really drop down in unless you pull the post out. A good way to prevent that is to loosen it a bit and with a little effort to get hold of it you should be able to pull the whole adjuster/wedge assembly out before pulling the post all the way out. If I had remembered how this worked when I started, I would have done that and avoided the aggravation! My 4.0 step-thru makes do with a conventional clamp.