2020 Turbo Vado 4.0 how to make it go faster

S

Skyway86

New Member
Region
Canada
Hello everyone,

This is my first post please bear with me. I have a family relative that did a LOT of cycling in her years and she is about to be 70 years old soon. She is a very adept cyclist.

To make a long story short, every since she purchased her 2020 Turbo Vado 4.0, she has found it too slow on descents and in the flats. She says ‘I am running out of gears I want to go faster’ . The bike is this one: 2020 Turbo Vado 4.0. Yes equipped with dog pannier and all.

I unfortunately do not know which options there are for a larger 104 BCD chainring (how many teeth does it have at the present I do not know.)

I am trying to help out by buying a few chainrings for her mechanically-adept husband to install and for them to try. Do not know about impact of larger chainring on the motor.

Does it make any sense? Any ideas or comments?

Thank you

Ps: also researching changing bike outright to creo2 e5 but it is a longshot.
 

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How many teeth are there in your current chainring? (Ah, you don't know it yet).
The maximum chainring size that could be fit on the Vado is 48T. Hope that helps.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
How many teeth are there in your current chainring? (Ah, you don't know it yet).
The maximum chainring size that could be fit on the Vado is 48T. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Hi Stefan
I do not know. I was wondering if other Turbo Vado 4.0 owners had done the change and noticed a benefit. Specialized archive does not provide the gear count in the specs. I can ask her husband but want this to be a surprise. If no choice I can push for an answer.

I should also mention the bike has the standard electric assist up to 32 Km/hr which is the legal standard where we live. Thank you
 
Stefan Mikes said:
How many teeth are there in your current chainring? (Ah, you don't know it yet).
The maximum chainring size that could be fit on the Vado is 48T. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
So all the reading I did tonight points me towards the chainring of the vado 4.0 being 40t.

Also i read somewhere the vado 4.0 has a 75Nm motor with the 40t chainring.

The vado 5.0 has a 90Nm motor with 48t chainring.

So, by buying a 44t, 46t, 48t chainring for the 4.0 will there be undue stress on the 75Nm motor ? Will the bike be faster downhill and on flats ? Thank you
 
Skyway86 said:
So all the reading I did tonight points me towards the chainring of the vado 4.0 being 40t.

Also i read somewhere the vado 4.0 has a 75Nm motor with the 40t chainring.

The vado 5.0 has a 90Nm motor with 48t chainring.

So, by buying a 44t, 46t, 48t chainring for the 4.0 will there be undue stress on the 75Nm motor ? Will the bike be faster downhill and on flats ? Thank you
Click to expand...
Believe it or not but the 1.2 motor on the 2020 Vado 4.0 is actually 85 Nm with the peak power of 520W... (Do not trust the marketing torque figures!) It is absolutely safe to install the 48T chainring on the Vado with no ill effects, and the e-bike will be significantly faster on the flats and downhill! I promise!

A rare Vado 6.0 has the 1.2s motor with exactly the same specs as the 1.2 motor, and it comes with a 48T chainring for speed. (The only difference between the 1.2s and 1.2 is the former is equipped with some features required by the EU law for speed e-bikes).

1714618741435.png

I have successfully used chainrings from 32T (for extreme hills) to 48T (for speed) on my Vado 6.0. Currently, using a 44T chainring for more off-road capability at the cost of the speed (but I could ride the speed e-bike at 46 km/h from an overpass yesterday; I can muster a high cadence when necessary).
 
Last edited:
Stefan Mikes said:
Believe it or not but the 1.2 motor on the 2020 Vado 4.0 is actually 85 Nm with the peak power of 520W... (Do not trust the marketing torque figures!) It is absolutely safe to install the 48T chainring on the Vado with no ill effects, and the e-bike will be significantly faster on the flats and downhill! I promise!

A rare Vado 6.0 has the 1.2s motor with exactly the same specs as the 1.2 motor, and it comes with a 48T chainring for speed. (The only difference between the 1.2s and 1.2 is the former is equipped with some features required by the EU law for speed e-bikes).

View attachment 175059
I have successfully used chainrings from 32T (for extreme hills) to 48T (for speed) on my Vado 6.0. Currently, using a 44T chainring for more off-road capability at the cost of the speed (but I could ride the speed e-bike at 46 km/h from an overpass yesterday; I can muster a high cadence when necessary).
Click to expand...
Thank you very much Stefan. I am having difficulty finding crankset bolts, in another post I saw 8mm x 8mm, I can only find m8 6.5mm, could you please provide advice on this? Or a link? Thank you again.
 
Skyway86 said:
So all the reading I did tonight points me towards the chainring of the vado 4.0 being 40t.

Also i read somewhere the vado 4.0 has a 75Nm motor with the 40t chainring.

The vado 5.0 has a 90Nm motor with 48t chainring.

So, by buying a 44t, 46t, 48t chainring for the 4.0 will there be undue stress on the 75Nm motor ? Will the bike be faster downhill and on flats ? Thank you
Click to expand...

Yes, the 2020 Vado 4.0 is supposedly spec'd with a 40T chainring. As Stefan mentions, the 1.2 motor is 85Nm up to 520W.

Your assumption of undue stress from increasing the chainring tooth count is incorrect though - the motor applies power at the crank shaft and thus it doesn't matter what number of teeth are on the chainring. In more recent bikes Specialized uses the same motor with a 38T chainring as it does with a 48T chainring. You may be thinking of the challenges of installing larger wheels in an automotive/offroading context where forces are applied to the tire that then translate to the axle and can overpower it if it isn't sufficiently sturdy - but with a chainring that doesn't apply.
 
Last edited:
gpburdell said:
Yes, the 2020 Vado 4.0 is supposedly spec'd with a 40T chainring. As Stefan mentions, the 1.2 motor is 85Nm up to 520W.

Your assumption of undue stress from increasing the chainring tooth count is incorrect though - the motor applies power at the crank shaft and thus is doesn't matter what number of teeth are on the chainring. In more recent bikes Specialized uses the same motor with a 38T chainring as it does with a 48T chainring. You may be thinking of the challenges of installing larger wheels in an automotive/offroading context where forces are applied to the tire that then translate to the axle and can overpower it if it isn't sufficiently sturdy - but with a chainring that doesn't apply.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
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