VADO 2026?

[Twowheelxtc]

Specialized Turbo Vado Review 2026 – Real-World Authority Test

In-depth 2026 Specialized Turbo Vado review with real commute testing, range data, competitor comparison, and ownership costs.

www.bike-ev.com

This looks like a mix of SL2 (no suspension forks) and current Vado. 2.2 motor and 710 battery.

If it’s real and not from someones wish list!

Any ideas?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It looks the 2026 Vado is not on the offer in Poland yet. It doesn't appear on the Specialized U.S. website, either.

Thoughts? I wouldn't miss the suspension fork for sure as the rigid fork makes the e-bike more lightweight. One thing I can see already is the integrated display mount would make the stem replacement (with something such as Redshift ShockStop) problematic. Still, properly inflated tyres could do the trick. The rigid fork, however, reminds me of the design flaw of MY2017 Vado 5.0: the lack of front suspension was overstressing the frame leading to the frame breaking at the motor mounts. Did Specialized forget that lesson?

I would love to see the full specs on the Specialized website!

 

[Twowheelxtc]

yes the idea of loosing a few K by having rigid forks makes sense for me particularly if most riding is on road. Saying that in UK ‘on road’ is probably the equivalent of most EU countries gravel!! As you said tyre inflation is in itself good suspension for road rides.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Saying that in UK ‘on road’ is probably the equivalent of most EU countries gravel!!

I do understand.
I'm blessed with owning both a full power Vado and a Vado SL. If I had to choose something new that might be a Vado SL 2 as the sweet point between the two. I only wonder whether a Vado SL 2 with mountain gearing would take me over a 19% grade hill... (Probably not!)

 

[Chargeride]

All of Europe has bad roads, just like every country thinks they have the worst buses and trains, even the Japanese moan about late trains.
It just depends on your local area.
Poland and Norway are ranked lower than the UK.
Spain has the best roads in Europe and thats because the EU gave then billions to build new ones.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

All of Europe has bad roads, just like every country thinks they have the worst buses and trains, even the Japanese moan about late trains.
It just depends on your local area.
Poland and Norway are ranked lower than the UK.
Spain has the best roads in Europe and thats because the EU gave then billions to build new ones.

And Poland, Ireland, Greece, Portugal... that's the EU Cohesion Fund for you. Damn them for trying to improve all the historically disadvantaged areas in Europe, spending about 179 Billion Euros over the last 30 years improving infrastructure throughout Europe so that the whole continent profits and grows together. Damn them I say.

The current dire state of UK roads however is a result of mismanagement and underfunding from 14 years of Conservative mis-rule, coupled to the drying up of EU funds in disadvantaged UK areas like Cornwall and Wales. Labour has so far allocated approx £9 Billion for road repairs that local and county councils have to use for repairs. starting with the 2025 Autumn budget. There is also medium term plans for a further £24 Billion for National and local road maintenance between 26 and 2030.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Specialized Turbo Vado Review 2026 – Real-World Authority Test

In-depth 2026 Specialized Turbo Vado review with real commute testing, range data, competitor comparison, and ownership costs.

www.bike-ev.com

This looks like a mix of SL2 (no suspension forks) and current Vado. 2.2 motor and 710 battery.

If it’s real and not from someones wish list!

Any ideas?

View attachment 207055

Pic smells a bit AI. Usually new bikes are released with a bit of fanfare, but then again this might be leaked.

Spesh does tend to release new models in March. It's not the most exciting looking image.

 

[Chargeride]

And Poland, Ireland, Greece, Portugal... that's the EU Cohesion Fund for you. Damn them for trying to improve all the historically disadvantaged areas in Europe, spending about 179 Billion Euros over the last 30 years improving infrastructure throughout Europe so that the whole continent profits and grows together. Damn them I say.

The current dire state of UK roads however is a result of mismanagement and underfunding from 14 years of Conservative mis-rule, coupled to the drying up of EU funds in disadvantaged UK areas like Cornwall and Wales. Labour has so far allocated approx £9 Billion for road repairs that local and county councils have to use for repairs. starting with the 2025 Autumn budget. There is also medium term plans for a further £24 Billion for National and local road maintenance between 26 and 2030.

The Spanish road building was brutal, I rode all over Spain using the old roads to make it interesting.
They just carved though and over towns and villages, beautiful little villages literally had one house knocked down in a terraced row for a 300ft bridge column, the entire place in shadow.
The problem is the motorways are tolls so they still get all the huge lorries driving through as well.
Still its an amazing country.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

It'

The Spanish road building was brutal, I rode all over Spain using the old roads to make it interesting.
They just carved though and over towns and villages, beautiful little villages literally had one house knocked down in a terraced row for a 300ft bridge column, the entire place in shadow.
The problem is the motorways are tolls so they still get all the huge lorries driving through as well.
Still its an amazing country.

It's mad that in 2026 there are such huge chunks of France and Spain with very low populations. Can't help but look enviously what low £/€ would buy in those areas compared to IRL or UK right now. Prices are so high, I know Dartmoor is a National Park but £750K for a bog standard 70s bungalow on 1/2 acre seems bonkers to me. Checking prices in Ireland (and lack of housing stock) seems things are a bit crazy there too.

But that's also what surviving yet another rainy winter does to my thinking, do this every year now, look at houses in sunny places and wonder why I live where I do! - Climate change 40c plus summers in Spain wouldn't be fun either. I'd melt.

 

[Chargeride]

Ludicrous heat back in 90s Andorra was 43C, riding for miles past Orange trees , it was like riding into a blast furnace.
Yes, though if it does get hotter a lot of central Spain will dustbowl.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Poland and Norway are ranked lower than the UK.

I cannot say for Norway but Poland now has probably the best roads in Europe.
Something has missed you. Ever heard of the 2012 Euro Football Championship? It was the reason Poland made a heroic effort to build all the new main roads and reconstruct most of the local ones. The effort has never stopped.
But what do you know in Little England.

One of thousands totally unimportant roads somewhere in Mazovia, Poland.

Southern Beltway of Warsaw the day before the opening. 17th of July 2013.

Poniatowskiego Bridge in Warsaw, 2023. Look at the road surface!

Opening the Southern Bridge of Warsaw, 22th December 2020.

 

[Chargeride]

Im just referring to a chart from the first page of google..world rankings.

Im checking Poland obesity rates

Norways roads are very good, its just they have lots of ice damaged singletracks and they are all lumped in , so rankings dont give an accurate picture

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Norways roads are very good

It was not that 20 years ago I was travelling with my car to the Nordic countries frequently since 1997. The Swedish roads were perfect but the Norwegian ones left a lot to desire. Of course, Poland's roads were terrible at those times.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Im checking Poland obesity rates

I wonder why.

 

[Chargeride]

Ah, second breakfast.

 

[Twowheelxtc]

Pic smells a bit AI. Usually new bikes are released with a bit of fanfare, but then again this might be leaked.

Spesh does tend to release new models in March. It's not the most exciting looking image.

Yes you could well be right as the picture looks not dissimilar to an sl2 but with a removable battery. If you click the link there is quite a bit of detail Given.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Specialized Turbo Vado Review 2026 – Real-World Authority Test

In-depth 2026 Specialized Turbo Vado review with real commute testing, range data, competitor comparison, and ownership costs.

www.bike-ev.com

This looks like a mix of SL2 (no suspension forks) and current Vado. 2.2 motor and 710 battery.

If it’s real and not from someones wish list!

Any ideas?

View attachment 207055

Nice-looking bike. Those who know the full-power Vado, after reading the article, does it sound like a good step forward?

I especially enjoyed the review. Clearly written by someone who knows ebikes and understands the practicalities at rider level.

My one quibble:

Hub-drives don't use gears?? Sheer nonsense. Mid- and hub-drives both use gears to adjust cadence, ease climbing, and increase ground speed on the flat.

The difference is how the gears figure into motor efficiency. On a mid-drive, you use the gears in part to keep up efficiency by keeping up motor shaft speed by keeping up cadence. This generally means downshifting on hills.

On a hub-drive, you use the gears to keep up efficiency by keeping up ground speed (and therefore drive wheel and motor shaft speed). You may well have to downshift on hills to do your part at the pedals, but in this case, the resulting loss in wheel speed only makes efficiency worse.

 

[mschwett]

what a strange article. a lot of work for a fake review of a fake bike. the bike described would be great, i'd definitely prefer a rigid vado to the boat anchor front forks they use, and the 3.0 having more torque is great... but the first image is absolutely AI generated (nanobanana) and there is no evidence anywhere else that these bikes exist.