2020 or 2019 Turbo Vado 5

[konea420]

Looking at the turbo Vado 5 in Canada. Are there any improvement or upgrades fro model year 2019 to 2020? There is a 2019 available locally but the 2020 are a month away. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jim6b]

Actually Court already did a review of the 2020 Vado.

Check out https://electricbikereview.com/brand/specialized/

 

[PaD]

Looking at the turbo Vado 5 in Canada. Are there any improvement or upgrades fro model year 2019 to 2020? There is a 2019 available locally but the 2020 are a month away. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Display and bluetooth/app connectivity. Number of spokes.

The 2019 Vado 5.0 was/is presented with the old Bloks display and could not connect to the Mission Control app. The wheels have 28 spokes. Color is some kind of blue steel. Maybe Specialized and your LBS will change the display for you.
The 2020 comes with the new TCD display and has bluetooth that can connect to a cell phone with the app. The wheels have 32 spokes. Color is black.
Thats about it I think. They are both listed on the Canadian Specialized website.
The blue 5.0 that Court reviewed recently looked to me like a 2019 with the new display.

I have a 2020 5.0. It’s EU version of software that cuts off at 25km/h. I exchanged the 48 tooth crank wheel to a 40 tooth as that is what I was used to from the 2018 Vado 4.0 I had last year. Remember my motor cuts assist at 25km/h and to pedal faster I prefer higher cadence. That’s my personal preference.

 

[konea420]

Display and bluetooth/app connectivity. Number of spokes.

The 2019 Vado 5.0 was/is presented with the old Bloks display and could not connect to the Mission Control app. The wheels have 28 spokes. Color is some kind of blue steel. Maybe Specialized and your LBS will change the display for you.
The 2020 comes with the new TCD display and has bluetooth that can connect to a cell phone with the app. The wheels have 32 spokes. Color is black.
Thats about it I think. They are both listed on the Canadian Specialized website.
The blue 5.0 that Court reviewed recently looked to me like a 2019 with the new display.

I have a 2020 5.0. It’s EU version of software that cuts off at 25km/h. I exchanged the 48 tooth crank wheel to a 40 tooth as that is what I was used to from the 2018 Vado 4.0 I had last year. Remember my motor cuts assist at 25km/h and to pedal faster I prefer higher cadence. That’s my personal preference.

Thank you. I'll be going in tomorrow. How are you liking the Vado? I've had a non electric ebike since the mid 90's. Always like the quality and ride comfort. B

 

[PaD]

Thank you. I'll be going in tomorrow. How are you liking the Vado? I've had a non electric ebike since the mid 90's. Always like the quality and ride comfort. B

It’s very fun to ride. I think it’s agile in e.g. city riding but still feels stable at speed (I rarely let it roll faster than 40km/h). The motor support feels strong but smooth and ”natural” . I like having the new display and being able to adjust support levels and peak power. I don’t like that the display is not removable as the Bloks display but this not unique to Specialized.
The 4.0 I had last year had a faulty motor that was exchanged rather quickly. Some complaints about braking spokes were reported the first years. ( I worried but had no problems) Maybe the 32 spoke wheels (2020 model) is the solution to that. I don’t know cause there are more things to wheel strength than just the number of spokes. I’m no expert!
I’m not completely happy with the tires, Trigger Sport. I’ve had 2 punctures in about 3000km. May not seems much but I’ve ridden my other bike for years without a flat tire. The Trigger tires seems to handle well though as far as I can jiudge.
The rear axle has been loosening by itself, maybe not tightened properly. I’ll check with a torque wrench. Haven’t heard anyone else report this.

Wish mine would do 30-32km/h. Would be pefect for me, I do not need or want the 28mph version.

 

[jim6b]

Can understand your aversion to 28 mph, but don't necessarily agree it is wise. There are many times which occur frequently when addition speed is just plain safer, moving into traffic to execute a turn; a narrow windy road where it is unsafe for cars to pass, but they will try; going faster to more closely match traffic flow. Merely completed a trip faster reduces the number of cars one may need to deal with, and that's safer.

So make mine Class 3.

 

[PaD]

Can understand your aversion to 28 mph, but don't necessarily agree it is wise. There are many times which occur frequently when addition speed is just plain safer, moving into traffic to execute a turn; a narrow windy road where it is unsafe for cars to pass, but they will try; going faster to more closely match traffic flow. Merely completed a trip faster reduces the number of cars one may need to deal with, and that's safer.

So make mine Class 3.

The faster you ride the shorter the time you will be exposed to danger
Sorry for the joke.
I agree, there are times when going faster will be better and may make it possible to match traffic flow. To me, with my ”riding environment ”, it’s not worth it to give up the right to ride in bicycle lanes. I could have mentioned that and the trouble with registration and insurance etc. for a 28mph e-bike where I live.

 

[konea420]

Finally had a chance to test ride the bike on some hills. I noticed when I was climbing the hill, there was an intermittent grinding type of noise. On flats it was completely silent. Btw, the dealer did say it was possible to swap out the 2019 display with the 2020 version.

 

[PaD]

Finally had a chance to test ride the bike on some hills. I noticed when I was climbing the hill, there was an intermittent grinding type of noise. On flats it was completely silent. Btw, the dealer did say it was possible to swap out the 2019 display with the 2020 version.

It seems the Brose motors makes some noise when under load and my feeling is like yours that it’s intermittent. Most of the time the motor is very quiet, almost completely silent, but under load and at a cadence above approx. 75 I hear a whining noise. But not always.
I have the 1.3 motor and I think it was maybe a little less of this ”noise” from the 1.2 motor I had last year.

Did the dealer offer to include a change of display or did they just say it was possible?

 

[konea420]

It seems the Brose motors makes some noise when under load and my feeling is like yours that it’s intermittent. Most of the time the motor is very quiet, almost completely silent, but under load and at a cadence above approx. 75 I hear a whining noise. But not always.
I have the 1.3 motor and I think it was maybe a little less of this ”noise” from the 1.2 motor I had last year.

Did the dealer offer to include a change of display or did they just say it was possible?

The dealer said it was possible. The salesperson left me a voicemail after consulting with the manager. The noise was like a rubbing fender noise. The hill was steep and I’m about 205.

 

[VadoMark]

I’ve had this Vado 5.0 for a couple of years. Specialized said they would have the patch to fix the Mission Control connectivity out in a couple of months. I heard that for two years. I wouldn’t recommend buying an older version and expecting future Mission Control functionality. On the other hand, if you don’t need Mission Control, the bike is an absolute hoot to ride. I also heard a funky noise following a steep climb - had me worried, but it went away after a couple of rides.