Considering a Specialized, got a few questions

[rob feature]

Maybe try shorter cranks if training your legs won't work. Or lesser shoes

 

[GaryInCO]

When you are trying to pair a phone using the app, the PIN is displayed on the TCD display for a short while. If that's a Mastermind Vado, pairing requires depressing a button on the e-bike remote when finishing the pairing

I deleted the bike from the app and started fresh, and that worked. I also had to hit the + button to complete the pairing, which the app & bike didn't tell me, whoops. When all else fails, check the manual ...

I really cannot understand how that can happen... If I ever get heel strikes, it is on some ill designed panniers I own but not on the chainstay... Do you have big feet perhaps?

Perhaps. I wear US size 13, Euro size 46. My shoe is 13" = 33cm long. I'm not using clipless but I locate the shoe just about where it would be if I was -- with the pedal centered a bit behind the ball of my foot. I'll try moving my foot forward but that's how I've always run.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I deleted the bike from the app and started fresh, and that worked. I also had to hit the + button to complete the pairing, which the app & bike didn't tell me, whoops. When all else fails, check the manual ...

That was what I thought

Perhaps. I wear US size 13, Euro size 46. My shoe is 13" = 33cm long. I'm not using clipless but I locate the shoe just about where it would be if I was -- with the pedal centered a bit behind the ball of my foot. I'll try moving my foot forward but that's how I've always run.

The sole of my shoe is 32 cm, so my foot is shorter. You could really try wider pedals!

 

[GaryInCO]

Do you all feel your Vado is well-balanced?

I think a properly-balanced / good-geometry bike should "track" well -- in fact many bikes will track straight even without a rider. Just give 'em a push and off they go, all by themselves. Or you can ride them no-hands.

I had a Lectric XPremium last year that DID NOT track like that. I sold it because I kept crashing it -- couldn't keep it on a trail. (Might have been my fault because I set the seat waaay up.)

My Vado 4.0 isn't that bad, but it's not rock-solid either. I can keep it on the trail, but I feel pretty unstable on it if I take one hand off to signal or whatever. Definitely can't ride no-hands, because it dives for the ditch as soon as I let go.

Is that typical? Or should a Vado be rideable hands-free? Should it feel stable with only one hand on the handlebars?

 

[Marquezdl]

Actually, your impression is very similar to mine. I had a Turbo Vado 4.0 for about a year and I never really got past feeling like I was riding an electric utilíty bike.
I was extremely bummed when it was stolen, but subsequently I purchased a Turbo Vado SL 4.0. It has the feel of a nice road bike and it is MUCH more confidence inspiring on fast downhills in particular. Where I live I have lots of hills so down and up is an integral part of every ride, and I prefer the SL for both over the standard turbo Vado, even on rough pavement.
gravel might be another kettle of fish though!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Do you all feel your Vado is well-balanced?

I think a properly-balanced / good-geometry bike should "track" well -- in fact many bikes will track straight even without a rider. Just give 'em a push and off they go, all by themselves. Or you can ride them no-hands.

My Vado 4.0 isn't that bad, but it's not rock-solid either. I can keep it on the trail, but I feel pretty unstable on it if I take one hand off to signal or whatever. Definitely can't ride no-hands, because it dives for the ditch as soon as I let go.

Is that typical? Or should a Vado be rideable hands-free? Should it feel stable with only one hand on the handlebars?

Gary, I should be the last person to answer that, as I simply cannot ride any of my e-bikes hands-free, and have to at least hold onto a single handlebar. (No issues with hand-signalling).

The general answer it: It is the bike-fit that allows you pedalling hands-free. It is the matter of the frame size but even a single parameter such as front/aft saddle position greatly affects the bike stability.

As for my e-bikes, I fitted them for a sporty position, so my body weight is proportionally spread onto the bars, pedals/cranks, and the saddle. The final touch was looking at the leg power-meter when adjusting the front/aft saddle position. The frame size of my e-bikes is not ideal but that comes from my body-build with a long torso and arms and short legs. All these factors made the fit of my both e-bikes (Vado and Vado SL) ideal for long, pain-free rides but I certainly cannot ride either of them no-hands. As I say, signalling is no issue for me.

 

[Marcela]

All my bikes have pedal spacers. I was hitting my heel on the chain stay on one of the bikes, size 13 shoe and I ride with the balls of my feet on the pedals, and the spacers put the pedals in a more normal place for my feet. I have a pretty athletic build and was a sprinter. With the pedals in the 'normal' bike design placement my knees were giving me some signals they didn't like it. I have had no issues since switching to the spacers. There is a bike path just outside and I watch people ride by all the time, can tell how their bike fits them. On the ones riding away or towards, if their knees are splayed out their pedals are too close together, move the pedals out and the knees come in.

Decades ago as a kid bikes could be rode without hands much easier. Somewhere there was a switch to faster handling bikes which reduced the caster which made riding no hands more difficult.

 

[GaryInCO]

Ooh that's a great idea @Marcela! I didn't even realize such beasties existed. They even claim it's supposed to help your knees, I assume from the knees-splayed-out situation.

My problem is that my heel catches on the plastic guard and snaps the plastic. It's annoying and I'm afraid I'll eventually snap it off. I'd probably gradually wear the paint on the chainstay too. A spacer would move the pedal out 20mm or so, and I think that would be plenty to keep me away from the guard. I wouldn't even need it on the left pedal, though given the knee effects it's probably best if I make the same change on both sides. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[GaryInCO]

I got myself some 20mm extenders, and I was disappointed that they didn't help much. I still caught my heel on the plastic chainstay cover.

Then I realized I tend to rest my foot right against the crank arm! Which kinda defeats the purpose of the spacers. So now I make an effort to keep my foot centered on the pedal, and no more heel-strike problems.

It was interesting that basically every extender I saw on Amazon -- at least those that had more than 20-30 reviews -- got complaints that the extender had sheared off and caused a crash. I'm not too worried, because I assume that was caused by people who crank a lot more horsepower through their pedals than I do / can. Probably when they were standing on the pedals and powering up a hill. Since the Vado's motor does a lot (most??) of the cranking, I'm sure my chances of breaking the extenders are slim.

 

[Marcela]

I got myself some 20mm extenders, and I was disappointed that they didn't help much. I still caught my heel on the plastic chainstay cover.

Then I realized I tend to rest my foot right against the crank arm! Which kinda defeats the purpose of the spacers. So now I make an effort to keep my foot centered on the pedal, and no more heel-strike problems.

It was interesting that basically every extender I saw on Amazon -- at least those that had more than 20-30 reviews -- got complaints that the extender had sheared off and caused a crash. I'm not too worried, because I assume that was caused by people who crank a lot more horsepower through their pedals than I do / can. Probably when they were standing on the pedals and powering up a hill. Since the Vado's motor does a lot (most??) of the cranking, I'm sure my chances of breaking the extenders are slim.

I think I bought mine from someone in the US, and don't remember any issues with breaking. The one issue I had was the extender with the left hand threads, the die was wearing to the point the spacer was difficult to thread into the crank arm. Figured the machinist didn't want to trade it out for a new one as they are probably not cheap being left hand.

 

[GaryInCO]

Yes, I wouldn't expect you to have a problem with breaking. The worst ones I saw had only about a 2-3% failure rate. Which is not much consolation if you happened to be one of the unlucky 3%, but you're unlikely to run into this problem. Especially with an ebike.