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

[Stefan Mikes]

Why anger? Some bike alternatives are better than others. That is the way it is.

This bike is lighter, faster and will out last than anting from Specialized.

You have been hijacking Specialized threads for years now in an attempt to sell your sorry contraptions. We all participants of this massive thread love our Vado SL e-bike for good reasons. Now, you take a pedal bike designed and manufactured by someone else, slap the same motor and the battery onto it and claim you are better than a big brand. Learn, your cows could stand by 20 years by a horse and never become the horse.

I have reported your hijacking. If you think your products are better than Vado SL, please make your own thread called "PedalUma E-Bikes". I can guarantee even a lame dog wouldn't be interested.

 

[PedalUma]

Oh the woman, Susan, in the upside down photo also has an SL Vado. Guess which bike she prefers. You really can't judge a wine you have never tasted. She has tried both and knows. Me too. Being stuck at 15.3 mph and having to pay $600 for a $20 charger sucks. Admitting it is worse. Painful.

 

[PedalUma]

This bike is lighter, quieter, and twice as fast as anything Stefan has ever touched. And it is all open source with the right to repair. It is also not hunky/chunky looking. The superior external battery can be replaced for 1/4th the price. This is about perspective and context. I know Specialized well, have sold them, owned them, and worked on them professionally. I also know what is better.

 

[Ebikelife72]

This bike is lighter, quieter, and twice as fast as anything Stefan has ever touched. And it is all open source with the right to repair. It is also not hunky/chunky looking. The superior external battery can be replaced for 1/4th the price. This is about perspective and context. I know Specialized well, have sold them, owned them, and worked on them professionally. I also know what is better.

I don't think anyone in this Specialized thread cares about your bikes. Give it a rest and start your own thread.

 

[PedalUma]

And it comes with a charger included.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I promised myself not to feed the troll but he seems not to have ever seen a Vado SL or its battery

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Tubeless Pathfinder Pro tires no longer available in 700x38 mm size

My SL 1 EQ (with stock fenders) has run tubeless 700x38 mm Pathfinder Pro tires since 2024. Unfortunately, the rear got damaged today and has to be replaced.

Problem is, the 38 mm size was discontinued when the Pathfinder Pro tubeless became the Pathfinder TLR in 2025. To stick with this tread pattern — my strong preference — my only choices now are 35 and 40 mm.

REALLY don't want to downsize to 35 mm on my terrain. I ride pavement >> hardpack > light gravel in that order. And the hardpack always has at least a thin veneer of loose sand.

The local Specialized dealer I bought the bike from thinks the new 40 mm will fit with the fenders and is willing to take the risk if it doesn't. We'll find out in 2 days. Meanwhile...

Q1. Anyone have experience with the NEW 40 mm Pathfinder TLR on an SL 1 EQ, front or rear?

Q2. Any non-Specialized tires I should consider for this bike given the surfaces I ride (see above)?

Thanks!

 

[DaveMatthews]

Tubeless Pathfinder Pro tires no longer available in 700x38 mm size

My SL 1 EQ (with stock fenders) has run tubeless 700x38 mm Pathfinder Pro tires since 2024. Unfortunately, the rear got damaged today and has to be replaced.

Problem is, the 38 mm size was discontinued when the Pathfinder Pro tubeless became the Pathfinder TLR in 2025. To stick with this tread pattern — my strong preference — my only choices now are 35 and 40 mm.

REALLY don't want to downsize to 35 mm on my terrain. I ride pavement >> hardpack > light gravel in that order. And the hardpack always has at least a thin veneer of loose sand.

The local Specialized dealer I bought the bike from thinks the new 40 mm will fit with the fenders and is willing to take the risk if it doesn't. We'll find out in 2 days. Meanwhile...

Q1. Anyone have experience with the NEW 40 mm Pathfinder TLR on an SL 1 EQ, front or rear?

Q2. Any non-Specialized tires I should consider for this bike given the surfaces I ride (see above)?

Thanks!

Don't blame you for being cautious regarding downsizing tires.
I went from Maxxis Rekon 2.4 to Conti Ruban 2.3 and was ever so slightly concerned.
Ended up all good, but still...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Jeremy,
If the 40s don't fit:

• Vittoria Terreno T10 Hardpack Gravel Endurance 700x37c

Unfortunately, the industry has moved to the bigger sizes for most brands recently with the 35s for the thin end.

 

[RunForTheHills]

The 40 may fit in the front if it doesn't fit in the back and you could rotate the 38 to the rear.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The 40 may fit in the front if it doesn't fit in the back and you could rotate the 38 to the rear.

Thanks — a good backup plan!

 

[stompandgo]

The 40 may fit in the front if it doesn't fit in the back and you could rotate the 38 to the rear.

That's not a crazy idea. We do the opposite on older frames that can handle a 28 in the rear but only a 25 in the front.

I ride on very much the same surfaces as you. I can't say enough good things about my Panaracer Gravel King X1 Plus tires. I have fenders, and even with 25mm wide rims, the 40's fit just fine, with all of the tread covered (no sling). They are comfortable and very fast on pavement, and stable on loose stuff, within reason. They are not 2.5's.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Panaracer Gravel King X1 Plus

Thanks, will check them out as a Plan B.

 

[PedalUma]

Thanks, will check them out as a Plan B.

How about WTB Byway 700x38 tires? Tan walls could be cool.

At 72 Patrice McDonald is riding coast-to-coast bikepacking with her tent and gear, solo. If interested you can check her progress here: https://trackleaders.com/gawr26i.php?name=Patrice_McDonald
She currently has 4,469 feet in elevation gains with an average moving speed of 18.2 mph.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I have fenders, and even with 25mm wide rims, the 40's fit just fine, with all of the tread covered (no sling).

In another EBR thread, I learned that my tire clearance bottleneck is the screw that holds the rear rack to the rear fender. Push comes to shove, it might be possible to shorten that screw.

It also bodes well for the fallback of rotating the front 38 to the back and puttingthe new 40 up front.

Many sources say that the new Pathfinder TLR is a very different tire from the old Pathfinder Pro I have now, and that the latter was a better tire on most fronts. Sigh.

Maybe it's time give up the center slick.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Maybe it's time give up the center slick.

You know, it IS time! Just remembered my uneasiness with steep loose-on-hardpack descents on the Pathfinder tread with its center slick.

So, if the 40mm Tracer TLR fits, I'm going to give it a try.

 

[PedalUma]

tire clearance bottleneck is the screw

I use flush countersunk Philip's frame screws on battery mounts. That way it does not rub when removing the battery. You could do the same with the fender. Although I do like that protruding lower fender screw on IGH bikes because you can lever against it when tightening the chain.

 

[PedalUma]

Patrice_McDonald - Great American Wheel Adventure 2026 individual history by trackleaders.com

Full history tracking archive for Patrice_McDonald, in the Great American Wheel Adventure 2026. Includes statistics, speed plots and other analysis.

trackleaders.com

Now she is at over 4,800 feet of climbs and is on the flat desert of eastern Washington state, in a nothing town, Othello, WA., I hope she is taking a deep hot bath in a hotel. Patrice's average moving speed fell to 17.2 mph but running average should pickup to over the next day to over 22 mph before the Rockies. where it should fall again on the climbs,. In comparison, Sfan's bike is limited to 15.3 mph. and cannot take a load off road or climb with significant power. It is weak, a wimp. Her bike is quitter, more intuitive, and more comfortable for a long ride offroad,gravel. Pashley Prospero's are fine starter bikes to convert to superior eclectic bikes. thay are open source and outrun anything off the rack that weekend Dentists in Lycra use. Truly serious bikes are like going to Milan for a custom suit, not off the shelf at Ross. Do you really want to ride an off the shelf wimpy bike by a huge corporation? These bikes are handmade. Custom taylored.