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

I'm originally from Jersey and we called the sea - the shore. And now in North Carolina - it's the beach. Me - I head to the ocean, mostly. Can everybody sea that?
I was born in New Jersey. We went to the shore, or seashore, every summer. After leaving NJ and moving to CT, it became the beach. Now on the Cape, it's either the ocean (Nantucket Bay) or the bay (Cape Cod Bay), because they are very different.
 
I'm originally from Jersey and we called the sea - the shore. And now in North Carolina - it's the beach. Me - I head to the ocean, mostly. Can everybody sea that?
We generally say "going to the beach" in Southern California. Northern California has a more rocky shoreline, so people say "going to the coast" sometimes. However, restaurants that serve fish are known as seafood restaurants throughout the state.
 
Drum roll, please....


And now ladies and gentlemen, the #1 reason that every American knows "sea"...


20260319_092446.jpg




Closely followed, of course by...


20260319_093430.jpg
 
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So the "fun fact" was the statement that enraged you? Edited.
I'm so sorry you perceive all Americans as geniuses. Talking about my own nation, I would say a great deal of my compatriots are just idiots. Approximately 51% of the Polish voters are.
That’s a coincidence…..51% is the number of the UK population who voted to come out of the EU. I’m not really being fair as they are not all stupid….sadly just a little gullible perhaps.
Anyway everyone knows that the Americans, Polish or even the English don’t speak English properly. That honour goes to us Scots!
 
A friend of mine brought back a big hunk of rock salt for me after touring a salt mine during a work trip to Poland. Maybe sea salt isn't a thing there.
Yes, Poland is one of the few countries that mine for the rock salt. The Wieliczka Salt Mine (near Cracow) is a must to see! Especially impressive are halls, churches and sculptures and even chandeliers made of rock salt!
And now ladies and gentlemen, the #1 reason that every American knows "sea"...
Jeremy, "the sea" is an English word. My point was an American automatically thinks of any bigger body of brine as "an ocean". Why does the Specialized user manual even mention corrosion near to the sea as caused by an ocean? :)

Could we stop discussing the ocean/sea, eventually? :)
 
Took A Plunge: An Electronic Drivetrain

No Shimano or SRAM product would fit my needs: 11-speed, HG freehub, long cage derailleur (SGS) to fit my 11-51T (or similar) wide range cassette.

Until a person on a WhatsApp cycling gear group told me: Check the WHEELTOP EDS OX2.0-93 mm derailleur + MTB shifter. www.wheeltop.com I looked at the product specs and went silent for a long while:
  • Configure anything between 3 and 14 gears from a smartphone app
  • The derailleur has the capacity to handle up to a 10-52T cassette
  • Mounted on a regular derailleur hanger
  • A rechargeable battery in the derailleur
  • The shifter has a regular 22.2 mm flat handlebar mount
  • ANT+ compatible, will display the chosen gear number on a Garmin, Wahoo or Karoo.
I got the recommendation from a man who owns a 11-speed HG, and had bought three spare cassettes and five spare chains. So he wouldn't like to lose his investment. As his bike has drop handlebars, he chose the same system but with a drop-bar shifter/brake combo (it is a different model though just because of the shifter type; the derailleur is the same), He said he was extremely happy with the WheelTop; then another user came in an said the same.

It is 400 Euro. Not cheap, not crazily expensive. After the conversion, I will have the same freehub and the existing 11-51T 11-speed cassette. The guy says that even slightly bent derailleur hanger can be taken into account when calibrating the derailleur!

The shipment comes from China and the usual delivery time is 8 days (to my place in Poland). As soon as Jacek and I configure the drivetrain and it proves itself, we will remove the derailleur cable from the frame. Potentially making space for a dropper seat-post cable :)

I will keep you informed. (It is just improbable what the Chinese can invent!)
 
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Took A Plunge: An Electronic Drivetrain

No Shimano or SRAM product would fit my needs: 11-speed, HG freehub, long cage derailleur (SGS) to fit my 11-51T (or similar) wide range cassette.

Until a person on a WhatsApp cycling gear group told me: Check the WHEELTOP EDS OX2.0 derailleur + MTB shifter. www.wheeltop.com I looked at the product specs and went silent for a long while:
  • Configure anything between 3 and 14 gears from a smartphone app
  • The derailleur has the capacity to handle up to a 10-52T cassette
  • Mounted on a regular derailleur hanger
  • A rechargeable battery in the derailleur
  • The shifter has a regular 22.2 mm flat handlebar mount
  • ANT+ compatible, will display the chosen gear number on a Garmin, Wahoo or Karoo.
I got the recommendation from a man who owns a 11-speed HG, and had bought three spare cassettes and five spare chains. So he wouldn't like to lose his investment. As his bike has drop handlebars, he chose the same system but with a drop-bar shifter/brake combo (it is a different model though just because of the shifter type; the derailleur is the same), He said he was extremely happy with the WheelTop; then another user came in an said the same.

It is 400 Euro. Not cheap, not crazily expensive. After the conversion, I will have the same freehub and the existing 11-51T 11-speed cassette. The guy says that even slightly bent derailleur hanger can be taken into account when calibrating the derailleur!

The shipment comes from China and the usual delivery time is 8 days (to my place in Poland). As soon as Jacek and I configure the drivetrain and it proves itself, we will remove the derailleur cable from the frame. Potentially making space for a dropper seat-post cable :)

I will keep you informed. (It is just improbable what the Chinese can invent!)
Can’t wait to see what you discover. I’m getting close to needing too replace my cassette, etc and this sounds like an interesting viable and significant upgrade.
 
Yes, Poland is one of the few countries that mine for the rock salt. The Wieliczka Salt Mine (near Cracow) is a must to see! Especially impressive are halls, churches and sculptures and even chandeliers made of rock salt!

Jeremy, "the sea" is an English word. My point was an American automatically thinks of any bigger body of brine as "an ocean". Why does the Specialized user manual even mention corrosion near to the sea as caused by an ocean? :)

Could we stop discussing the ocean/sea, eventually? :)
You have no idea what Americans in general think. That's my point. Why do you insist on making these silly generalizations about Americans? It's bizarre.
 
I thought the subject was changed to an electronic derailleur (which might free up the space for a cable operated dropper) :)

P.S. A flame war cannot be extinguished once the wild fire has started.
 
Took A Plunge: An Electronic Drivetrain

No Shimano or SRAM product would fit my needs: 11-speed, HG freehub, long cage derailleur (SGS) to fit my 11-51T (or similar) wide range cassette.

Until a person on a WhatsApp cycling gear group told me: Check the WHEELTOP EDS OX2.0-93 mm derailleur + MTB shifter. www.wheeltop.com I looked at the product specs and went silent for a long while:
  • Configure anything between 3 and 14 gears from a smartphone app
  • The derailleur has the capacity to handle up to a 10-52T cassette
  • Mounted on a regular derailleur hanger
  • A rechargeable battery in the derailleur
  • The shifter has a regular 22.2 mm flat handlebar mount
  • ANT+ compatible, will display the chosen gear number on a Garmin, Wahoo or Karoo.
You could have gotten almost all of this with Shimano Deore Di2 M6260. You would have had to change your cassette and chain to Linkglide, and the RD would be hardwired into your main battery.

I have not seen this brand in person, but it is all over social media. Let us know how it works out, especially in substandard conditions.
 
Then how come every time a Scot pops up in a British murder mystery, my wife and I have to back up and turn on the English subtitles to figure out what the heck he's saying?
;^}
Because Jeremy, you've got lazy on understanding other people's accents from outside the US.
Took A Plunge: An Electronic Drivetrain

No Shimano or SRAM product would fit my needs: 11-speed, HG freehub, long cage derailleur (SGS) to fit my 11-51T (or similar) wide range cassette.

Until a person on a WhatsApp cycling gear group told me: Check the WHEELTOP EDS OX2.0-93 mm derailleur + MTB shifter. www.wheeltop.com I looked at the product specs and went silent for a long while:
  • Configure anything between 3 and 14 gears from a smartphone app
  • The derailleur has the capacity to handle up to a 10-52T cassette
  • Mounted on a regular derailleur hanger
  • A rechargeable battery in the derailleur
  • The shifter has a regular 22.2 mm flat handlebar mount
  • ANT+ compatible, will display the chosen gear number on a Garmin, Wahoo or Karoo.
I got the recommendation from a man who owns a 11-speed HG, and had bought three spare cassettes and five spare chains. So he wouldn't like to lose his investment. As his bike has drop handlebars, he chose the same system but with a drop-bar shifter/brake combo (it is a different model though just because of the shifter type; the derailleur is the same), He said he was extremely happy with the WheelTop; then another user came in an said the same.

It is 400 Euro. Not cheap, not crazily expensive. After the conversion, I will have the same freehub and the existing 11-51T 11-speed cassette. The guy says that even slightly bent derailleur hanger can be taken into account when calibrating the derailleur!

The shipment comes from China and the usual delivery time is 8 days (to my place in Poland). As soon as Jacek and I configure the drivetrain and it proves itself, we will remove the derailleur cable from the frame. Potentially making space for a dropper seat-post cable :)

I will keep you informed. (It is just improbable what the Chinese can invent!)
So... just to be clear... you, Stefan, hater of all things Chinese... purchased a CHINESE drivetrain?

I might need to sit down.
 
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