2025 Vado

[mogulman]

Better reconsider it. You cannot install the Redshift seat-post because the tail-light wire goes through the hollow stock seat-post (RS is not hollow!) DON'T. I assure you properly inflated rear tyre will protect your lower back. If you fancy a suspension seat-post, go with the EQ version.

Yes you could try a Kinekt 2.1 but then you have to drill a hole in the seat-post and route the wires... DON'T.

Drilling a hole for the kinekt is pretty easy. I even had Kinekt do it for me. So I wouldn't say "Don't".

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Drilling a hole for the kinekt is pretty easy. I even had Kinekt do it for me. So I wouldn't say "Don't".

It is re-routing the wires. Do you want to disconnect the wire at the TCU, pull the wire out the frame then re-route it again? (Removing the battery meanwhile). Or, unsolder the wire at the tail-light? Either is a DON'T for me...

 

[MartsEbike]

I'll be very interested to hear your honest thoughts on the SL after your test rides. It's certainly not right for everyone. The important thing is that you end up with the right bike for you.

Hi Jeremy I'll definitely let you know! I'll probably put my money down after this test ride! I'm already trying to hold myself back from doing so!

Better reconsider it. You cannot install the Redshift seat-post because the tail-light wire goes through the hollow stock seat-post (RS is not hollow!) DON'T. I assure you properly inflated rear tyre will protect your lower back. If you fancy a suspension seat-post, go with the EQ version.

Yes you could try a Kinekt 2.1 but then you have to drill a hole in the seat-post and route the wires... DON'T.

Thanks Stefan! So there are some gotchas to be aware of! If I choose the EQ version, I'll have lights and suspension seat-post, but maybe not able to increase the tyre size to 42's... and if I choose the normal non-eq bike and add a suspension seat-post, then I'm likely to face others issues with the rear light. Decisions decisions! I'm really in two minds about this, I feel like I'm going to encounter one of these issues whichever bike I buy!

I've just read though the Suspension Seat Post threads trying to find out how others have overcome this. I'd prefer not to drill anything if possible, but its hard to find another way. I also replaced the Specialized Seat on my Sirrus for a Selle SMP TRK, which I found more comfortable to ride. I also have the same seat on my Frey Bike and I'll probably buy another for any new bike too!

Annoying, but not a deal breaker. Somehow I'll work around it!

 

[Allan47.7339]

How did we drift from a Vado to a Vado SL 2? You probably don't need to remove the battery just the lower battery cover but a shop might do that to be quicker. There are some notes of how to drill a Cirrus Kinect wiring hole in their aluminum seatpost from a post in this fourm from a two or three years ago. Note - Drilling a seat post can set up a catastrophic failure if you don't know what you are doing.

Specialized has significantly updated the support site in the Resources - All About Turbo sections. This example is the wired lights section with supported explanations:

https://support.specialized.com/kb/sp_en-us/content/ECV3-6198/Turbo-Bikes-Guideline-for-Wired-Lights

 

[MartsEbike]

How did we drift from a Vado to a Vado SL 2? You probably don't need to remove the battery just the lower battery cover but a shop might do that to be quicker. There are some notes of how to drill a Cirrus Kinect wiring hole in their aluminum seatpost from a post in this fourm from a two or three years ago. Note - Drilling a seat post can set up a catastrophic failure if you don't know what you are doing.

Specialized has significantly updated the support site in the Resources - All About Turbo sections. This example is the wired lights section with supported explanations:

https://support.specialized.com/kb/sp_en-us/content/ECV3-6198/Turbo-Bikes-Guideline-for-Wired-Lights

Thanks Allan great link, I'm not familiar with the Specialized Support Centre but that page has plenty of useful information. I can see me referring to it again pretty soon.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

If I choose the EQ version, I'll have lights and suspension seat-post, but maybe not able to increase the tyre size to 42's... and if I choose the normal non-eq bike and add a suspension seat-post, then I'm likely to face others issues with the rear light.

I would not be as religious as to change to 42s Turns out, Tracer Pro 700x42 makes the rear SKS Speedrocker mudguard impossible to install (I guess other 42s would be too tight to do that, too)

I also replaced the Specialized Seat on my Sirrus for a Selle SMP TRK, which I found more comfortable to ride.

Did you know you needed a compatible Specialized saddle to keep the tail-light on the non-EQ?

Marts, I told you that you needed an EQ in England I'm sure your dealer can locate an SL 5.0 EQ in your size somewhere and bring the e-bike from another store or warehouse.
As for myself, yes, I de-equipped my Vado SL 4.0 EQ but now my e-bike mostly serves me on dry weather or in cases I do not mind getting dirty and wet And I lost the tail-light

My point is, I just pull out my big Vado when it is raining, and it will be my principal winter bike with its tyres changed to Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus for the icy months (that you do not experience in England).

How did we drift from a Vado to a Vado SL 2?

We drifted from the Vado to a Vado SL 1.1

 

[leifg]

We can drift back to big Vado too if the goal is comfort on bumpy roads and a sweat free commute. Workout is great too when assist is off (which I do for exercise....I think it's hard to get a good workout on a bike because they are so efficient -- unless you don't need to worry about speed...but all depends on your fitness goals, routes and available time!).

 

[Allan47.7339]

My Garmin Varia eRTL615 Ebike Radar taillight came with a GoPro type seat rail attachment and I do not use a Specialzied saddle. I drilled a hole for the wire in a non-critical section of the aluminum head of the seat post similar to the Specialized seat post. I use lights 24/7 on my Creo. I was recently riding home from a group event and a mini-van started to pull out of a driveway but stoppled he crossed my path. The driver apoligized as I went by. While I had seen him and was prepared to stop, I don't think he would have seen me without my bright Lupine head light.

 

[MartsEbike]

Well guys, what a day... Thought I'd drop you a quick update.

My test ride today went beyond my expectations! The bike is great, and when they say Super Light they mean SUPER LIGHT. Picking it up it was hard to tell the difference from my Specialized Sirrus, a bike with no motor or battery! The SL apparently weights 4-5kg more but honestly, its hard to tell just picking it up, it felt incredibly light. To the point I wondered if it had a battery inside it!! As others have mentioned it rides just like a traditional bike without power - the motor completely disengages without any resistance felt when pedalling. The difference between this bike and my 35kg+ Frey EX is like day and night! I can't see me having any fears of running out of power. I can power this bike on Mars Bars alone!

I wasn't expecting too much from the motor with it having just 35nm (after having a bike with 120nm!) but it propels it well just in ECO, nothing earth shattering but perfectly adequate. Upping the power to Sports/Turbo just put a smile on my face . The Cadence Sensor felt responsive and smooth, no jerkiness or unexpected surges. I won't go into every detail as you guys already know! But a really well sorted bike!

I have to say the guy in Evans Cycles was fantastic (A specialized owner too!), extremely knowledgeable and couldn’t have been more accommodating! He even took down a couple of bikes from a display stand and set them up for me to try in store... a Vado 4.0 Step-Thro and another Vado SL in large! I really appreciated this as it confirmed I needed an XL frame rather than Large.

I liked the bike so much I immediately ordered one! (A bit cheeky as I ordered online instead of in store! ). Anyways, I have a 2024 Vado SL 5.0 XL frame, and in Silver on its way! It will be delivered in 4-5 days so I'm now officially in the Vado SL club.

Now this isn't the EQ version, and I know Stefan has told me I should get an EQ and I did try! I searched everywhere but stock is incredibly low. The only ones I could find were the wrong size, or Step-Thro models. This bike is obviously incredibly popular! Anyways, I'll work around the issues. I have to say I'm just pleased to have one at all!

There are too many of you to name you all, but a big shout out to @Jeremy McCreary , @Te. S , @2wheelsgood and especially @Stefan Mikes , his knowledge of Specialized Vados is unsurpassed! I would have never made this decision so quickly without all of your helpful replies!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I wasn't expecting too much from the motor with it having just 35nm (after having a bike with 120nm!) but it propels it well just in ECO, nothing earth shattering but perfectly adequate. Upping the power to Sports/Turbo just put a smile on my face . The Cadence Sensor felt responsive and smooth, no jerkiness or unexpected surges. I won't go into every detail as you guys already know! But a really well sorted bike!

Congrats on your new SL! Eager to hear your impression once you have some miles on it on home turf.

@JoeDirt recently got a new bike with a suggested happy dance diagram inside the carton (his photo cropped above). Look it up if you don't have one in mind already.

Your "really well sorted" pretty much sums it up. Now that I have almost 7 weeks and 370 miles on my Vado SL 5.0, my favorite part is the way the whole package comes together — WAY more than the sum of its parts. That's why the specs do the riding experience so little justice.

The Vado SL 5.0 sensor array includes both torque and true cadence sensors — the latter actually measuring crank RPM, not just the presence or absence of crank motion. From their outputs, the bike estimates real-time rider power (Pr) at the crank.

Not the most accurate Pr reporting, some say, and there's definitely a brief lag. But good enough for most purposes — including a central role for Pr in motor power (assist) control. I think of this as a "power-sensing" assist scheme.

Without going into detail, motor power ramps up linearly with Pr to a predetermined cap not to exceed the motor's max mechanical ouput of 240W. Each assist level (ECO, SPORT, etc.) specifies its own ramp slope and cap, and you can tune these parameters to your liking in the app. Consult the official online documentation and forum search function for the nuts and bolts.

Still using the original assist level parameters for now. Once I have a good feel for this baseline, the tuning experiments will begin.

Never had rider power data before, so I set TCU page 2 of 2 to show assist level, Pr, and cadence together. Quite interesting to watch these parameters vary interdependently with ground speed (TCU page 1) as rides unfold.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

(A bit cheeky as I ordered online instead of in store! )

There is something like Specialized Delivery. If you ordered with the pickup at home via a specific LBS, the store will get a very good commission. If you chose the delivery to a specific LBS, the LBS will get some commission.

Congratulations on the new e-bike!

Now:

• Keep the 38 mm tyres, tubed or tubeless
• SKS Speedrocker mudguards
• Ortlieb Quick Rack

And Bob is your uncle

 

[Te. S]

looks like couple people got new Bikes, congrats to you guys, @MartsEbike you going to love it, don't worry if you need to add the fenders they are very easy to install, its funny i used to ride a Sirrus also before moving to E-bikes. it was the natural progression for me.

 

[Allan47.7339]

Specialized Delivery - when I ordered my Creo 2 E5 online, I had it sent to my local LBS but I forgot to let them know. I received a call that it was assembled and ready to pickup. I asked one of the co-owners and she said they were more than happy to see an online order bike show up. They get the same commission minus the credit card fees and you get the shop support. Sometimes they will tell a customer to order online because it's in an inventory they can't order from. If you have it sent to your home there is no discount.

 

[MartsEbike]

New bike has arrived! I had a quick test ride around the block and I'm well chuffed!

I have work this evening so the real first test ride will be in a couple of days time!

No unboxing pics. It was delivered by Balfe's Bikes own delivery team fully built and ready to ride. Bike was ordered on a Saturday and delivered by Tuesday ready to go. Can't complain! Great service!

Congrats on your new SL! Eager to hear your impression once you have some miles on it on home turf.

View attachment 184964
@JoeDirt recently got a new bike with a suggested happy dance diagram inside the carton (his photo cropped above). Look it up if you don't have one in mind already.

Your "really well sorted" pretty much sums it up. Now that I have almost 7 weeks and 370 miles on my Vado SL 5.0, my favorite part is the way the whole package comes together — WAY more than the sum of its parts. That's why the specs do the riding experience so little justice.

The Vado SL 5.0 sensor array includes both torque and true cadence sensors — the latter actually measuring crank RPM, not just the presence or absence of crank motion. From their outputs, the bike estimates real-time rider power (Pr) at the crank.

Not the most accurate Pr reporting, some say, and there's definitely a brief lag. But good enough for most purposes — including a central role for Pr in motor power (assist) control. I think of this as a "power-sensing" assist scheme.

Without going into detail, motor power ramps up linearly with Pr to a predetermined cap not to exceed the motor's max mechanical ouput of 240W. Each assist level (ECO, SPORT, etc.) specifies its own ramp slope and cap, and you can tune these parameters to your liking in the app. Consult the official online documentation and forum search function for the nuts and bolts.

Still using the original assist level parameters for now. Once I have a good feel for this baseline, the tuning experiments will begin.

View attachment 184963
Never had rider power data before, so I set TCU page 2 of 2 to show assist level, Pr, and cadence together. Quite interesting to watch these parameters vary interdependently with ground speed (TCU page 1) as rides unfold.

Jeremy I can't believe how much data this bike gives you! I'll be checking this out further in the coming days but its certainly impressive!

I had no data on my Frey so I can't wait to really explore this further! I'll definitely let you know how it goes once I put a few miles on it!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

New bike has arrived! I had a quick test ride around the block and I'm well chuffed!

I have work this evening so the real first test ride will be in a couple of days time!

No unboxing pics. It was delivered by Balfe's Bikes own delivery team fully built and ready to ride. Bike was ordered on a Saturday and delivered by Tuesday ready to go. Can't complain! Great service!

View attachment 185004


Jeremy I can't believe how much data this bike gives you! I'll be checking this out further in the coming days but its certainly impressive!

I had no data on my Frey so I can't wait to really explore this further! I'll definitely let you know how it goes once I put a few miles on it!

Excellent! Tell your boss that you have to go on sick leave right away due to acute inability to concentrate on work. Might take a few days to clear up and could be contagious.

 

[MartsEbike]

Excellent! Tell your boss that you have to go on sick leave right away due to acute inability to concentrate on work. Might take a few days to clear up and could be contagious.

I wish I could!

I have just one more night shift to go then two weeks off, plenty of time to really get to grips with this bike. I can't wait to put it through its paces!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

New bike has arrived!

I can see Specialized has modified the way the tail-light is mounted. Interesting!
I think your headlight points too much downwards

A gorgeous e-bike!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Jeremy I can't believe how much data this bike gives you! I'll be checking this out further in the coming days but its certainly impressive!

In just 7 weeks, the SL has definitely made me a stronger rider. It just lures me into working and grinning harder at the same time.

Part of that clearly comes from seeing rider power and cadence together in real time. For example, I'm pedaling along with decent effort when I look down and see that I'm putting out ~180-190W. Usually give in to the instant urge to push that past 200W, at least for a while.

Or, gradually slowing down on a hill when I notice that cadence has slipped to 10-15 rpm below my optimal 85 rpm. Downshift to settle back into 85, but now my power is higher, too!

Then there's the Carrot Effect — the unconscious tendency for rider power to go up with bumps in assist, even on the flat.

So, the SL turns out to be a "fitness bike" in sneaky ways I never imagined.

 

[2wheelsgood]

New bike has arrived! I had a quick test ride around the block and I'm well chuffed!

I have work this evening so the real first test ride will be in a couple of days time!

No unboxing pics. It was delivered by Balfe's Bikes own delivery team fully built and ready to ride. Bike was ordered on a Saturday and delivered by Tuesday ready to go. Can't complain! Great service!

View attachment 185004


Jeremy I can't believe how much data this bike gives you! I'll be checking this out further in the coming days but its certainly impressive!

I had no data on my Frey so I can't wait to really explore this further! I'll definitely let you know how it goes once I put a few miles on it!

Congrats!

You might need to adjust the angle of those handlebars though - try a few different angles.

If it seems good as it is then maybe adjust the angle of the front light.

 

[MartsEbike]

I can see Specialized has modified the way the tail-light is mounted. Interesting!
I think your headlight points too much downwards

A gorgeous e-bike!

Congrats!

You might need to adjust the angle of those handlebars though - try a few different angles.

If it seems good as it is then maybe adjust the angle of the front light.

Hi guys that photo was taken about 30 seconds after delivery. I had to get at least 1 photo of it without a mark on it. The headlight was adjusted seconds later.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned how high the seat post is I had to knock that down an inch or two.