EBR made me do it! (new Vado SL 5.0 EQ)

[mschwett]

Imagine my surprise when I noticed, 2 days after taking delivery, that my SL has a dork disk!

View attachment 182525
If that doesn't give the much-maligned dork disk some cred, I don't know what would.

heh heh. my creo had one too, for a few minutes

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

how about a custom wedge or half frame bag? way less drag than a burrito bag or other front bag, weight much closer to the center of the bike, etc. what are you trying to store? as many here know i’m quite a minimalist on the bike, over time having done unsupported centuries with a smaller bag than yours. with your phone on the bars, tubeless tires, and a pocket or two in your shorts, what do you really need on the bike

here’s a good article with lots of links to custom
bag makers : https://bikepacking.com/gear/custom-frame-bags/

the only real downside of a medium frame bag (that doesn’t block your bottles) is in heavy crosswinds. i don’t think it’s as windy down there as it can be here, likely not an issue….

First, thanks for all your help in this venture into the unknown with the SL. Working out fine, as so many of you predicted.

Minimal but prepared is my goal, too. Don't plan to carry much on routine rides. Have the Topeak MondoPack saddle bag coming for a few tools and tire repair wherewithal, including the spare tube I've been told to carry for the tubeless Pathfinders about to be mounted.

Might be room left for some small incidentals there as well. The small frame bag will cover the rest of the small stuff. A bigger frame bag would start covering bosses, and I'll need all 3 if an RE comes into my life.

The only remaining item is a light high-vis mesh vest or long-sleeved solid shell. Since it's often hard to predict which I'll need, I often end up wearing one and carrying the other.

For that, I'd like something more convenient and elegant than a stuff sack strapped to the rack (above). Thinking a small, low-profile rack bag — which nobody seems to sell at the moment. That's where your helpful list of custom bag makers might come in.

 

[mschwett]

First, thanks for all your help in this venture into the unknown with the SL. Working out fine, as so many of you predicted.

Minimal but prepared is my goal, too. Don't plan to carry much on routine rides. Have the Topeak MondoPack saddle bag coming for a few tools and tire repair wherewithal, including the spare tube I've been told to carry for the tubeless Pathfinders about to be mounted.

Might be room left for some small incidentals there as well. The small frame bag will cover the rest of the small stuff. A bigger frame bag would start covering bosses, and I'll need all 3 if an RE comes into my life.

The only remaining item is a light high-vis mesh vest or long-sleeved solid shell. Since it's often hard to predict which I'll need, I often end up wearing one and carrying the other.

View attachment 182528
For that, I'd like something more convenient and elegant than a stuff sack strapped to the rack (above). Thinking a small, low-profile rack bag — which nobody seems to sell at the moment. That's where your helpful list of custom bag makers might come in.

seems very inelegant to have three small bags on a lightweight bike used for moderate length rides. i bet everything you’re describing would fit in a larger frame bag. get a side exit bottle cage and no blockage of either boss location. capacity would be around 3x the current one, if necessary. would easily hold keys, credit card, id, backup battery for phone, multitool, snacks, tubeless repair pill, CO2 and inflater or minipump, vest, tube and tire levers if that’s your thing. i don’t carry a tube and in 15,000 tubeless miles on bay area roads have not yet encountered a situation in which it would have helped. putting a tube in a tubeless setup can be a messy pain i absolutely would bring one for a long ride off road out past civilization, bike packing, etc, but for a 50 mile ride in an urban area? nah.

or … since you have the rack, a clamshell pod big enough for everything?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

including the spare tube I've been told to carry for the tubeless Pathfinders about to be mounted.

Jeremy, let us be honest: In the case your tyre would be as damaged as the inner tube needed to be fitted, better give your wife a phone call for the help with the car Because I would not be able to handle the situation myself, so you would be even less qualified to do the replacement

Incidents leading to as a severe cut in a tubeless tyre as removing the valve, tyre, getting soiled with the sealant, and then applying the inner tube are necessary might happen on a technical singletrack involving the rocks but is highly improbable where you (or I) are riding. Save the space, get rid of the inner tubes and use the space for a small tubeless repair kit which you might have never used, either

The whole point about tubeless is you would hardly suffer from any puncture.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Jeremy, let us be honest: In the case your tyre would be as damaged as the inner tube needed to be fitted, better give your wife a phone call for the help with the car Because I would not be able to handle the situation myself, so you would be even less qualified to do the replacement

Incidents leading to as a severe cut in a tubeless tyre as removing the valve, tyre, getting soiled with the sealant, and then applying the inner tube are necessary might happen on a technical singletrack involving the rocks but is highly improbable where you (or I) are riding. Save the space, get rid of the inner tubes and use the space for a small tubeless repair kit which you might have never used, either

The whole point about tubeless is you would hardly suffer from any puncture.

OK, 2 different LBS guys told me to carry a tube for a tubeless puncture that won't seal by adding sealant from a small Stan's bottle. But you guys just talked me out of it — which should leave room for the desired alternate outerwear in the saddle bag.

Then the rack would be free for unexpected loads — hopefully secured with the small bungee net I just ordered to try, to be stowed now in the saddle bag.

@mschwett , searched high and low for a larger forward frame bag that wouldn't block the TCU and/or top tube and/or down tube bosses. The small one shown is the only ready-made solution found, but a custom bag might work.

Sticking for now with the Any Bottle Cage shown for my thermos. Will look into a tubeless repair pill.

@Stefan Mikes , I foresee a lot of "how to deal with a tubeless flat" YouTubes in my future. Got some tips from one experienced LBS guy, but without practicing at home, I'll probably remember little of it in the field.

What about carrying a plug kit for small holes and a tire boot for gashes?

 

[mschwett]

OK, 2 different LBS guys told me to carry a tube for a tubeless puncture that won't seal by adding sealant from a small Stan's bottle. But you guys just talked me out of it — which should leave room for the desired alternate outerwear in the saddle bag.

Then the rack would be free for unexpected loads — hopefully secured with the small bungee net I just ordered to try, to be stowed now in the saddle bag.

@mschwett , searched high and low for a larger forward frame bag that wouldn't block the TCU and/or top tube and/or down tube bosses. The small one shown is the only ready-made solution found, but a custom bag might work.

Sticking for now with the Any Bottle Cage shown for my thermos. Will look into a tubeless repair pill.

@Stefan Mikes , I foresee a lot of "how to deal with a tubeless flat" YouTubes in my future. Got some tips from one experienced LBS guy, but without practicing at home, I'll probably remember little of it in the field.

What about carrying a plug kit for small holes and a tire boot for gashes?

a tire boot won’t work with tubeless. a gash that big, call an uber. very, very rare.

one of the beauties of tubeless is that it takes literally 10 seconds or so to jam in a dynaplug, then maybe another 20 seconds to add some air.

i like this one. i’ve used it thrice, i think. on my road tires medium size punctures typically still hold 30-40 psi, so often i’ll just finish the ride and then plug. but sometimes i’ll bother to stop and plug it on the road.

Dynaplug® Pill

The Dynaplug® Pill is the original all in one tubeless tire repair tool. It has everything you need to repair your puncture in no time. This small package is machined from solid billet 6061 aluminum and holds as many as five loaded insertion tubes, air stopper and micro knife; fully loaded it...

shop.dynaplug.com

 

[Saratoga Dave]

I always have that spare tube, wrapped up in some electrical tape in case I need some of that. Had to use it one time a year or so ago when I got enough of a gash that I couldn’t fix it with the usual tricks. Never leave home without it. Also keep a foot or so of electrical tape stuck to the bottom of the top tube. Sometimes it’s not you with the problem, but someone you are riding with or come across who can use a hand.

Re the jacket/vest, Aerotech Designs makes a really nice hardshell jacket that I personally usually use as a vest. Good quality stuff. Of course, there are many choices out there!

 

[DaveMatthews]

Here's my kit. Has changed a little, but it all fits in my trunk bag under the seat. I can take care of any small puncture with the Lezyne bacon strips, and bigger ones with the Stan's Dart and spare sealant along with portable/fast/battery air pump...



Added these as well...





The bag on the rack is left for water, groceries/shopping etc...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The rack bag of my dreams would be similar to this old shave kit in size and shape. Much lower profile than the typical trunk bag behind it.

My shell is inside. If it had good rack attachments, I'd use it.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I always have that spare tube, wrapped up in some electrical tape in case I need some of that. Had to use it one time a year or so ago when I got enough of a gash that I couldn’t fix it with the usual tricks. Never leave home without it. Also keep a foot or so of electrical tape stuck to the bottom of the top tube. Sometimes it’s not you with the problem, but someone you are riding with or come across who can use a hand.

Re the jacket/vest, Aerotech Designs makes a really nice hardshell jacket that I personally usually use as a vest. Good quality stuff. Of course, there are many choices out there!

Will look into Aerotech Designs. My cheap shell has zip-off sleeves, but they're a pain to put back on. And the "vest" I'm left with is solid, not the open mesh I prefer.

Why electrical tape?

 

[DaveMatthews]

Price is high...

https://www.modernbike.com/racktime-yoshi-2.0-bag-grey-snapit-2.0

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@DaveMatthews: I have got a Lezyne CO2 Blaster repair kit, similar to yours. Only I have never had to use it

Now, anyone of you who could fix the tubeless with a spare tube: please tell me how you do it, starting from how you remove the tubeless valve, exactly?

 

[DaveMatthews]

@DaveMatthews: I have got a Lezyne CO2 Blaster repair kit, similar to yours. Only I have never had to use it

Now, anyone of you who could fix the tubeless with a spare tube: please tell me how you do it, starting from how you remove the tubeless valve, exactly?

I've never needed anything in my kit except the battery air pump. And mostly it was used to help others...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've never needed anything in my kit except the battery air pump. And mostly it was used to help others...

I chose tubeless for my Vado SL as my riding buddies say: 'No punctures since I "milked in" my wheels' (a slang term here for going tubeless). I've been to so many group rides when we had to wait for the wretches having their inner tubes punctured...

Two 'situations' on a single group ride, and it used to be a way worse on other rides! We do not even have goat's heads or roadside rubbish in Poland!

That was a long day in the West Pomeranian wilderness... after negotiating some 8 km of fire-roads damaged by woodcutters, I went onto the "forest highway" on my Trance E+ (tubeless). Only the foresters used quartzite to pave the road. I literally got a gush of the sealant spraying onto the e-bike and me! What to do? As the 2.6" tyres have a large volume and can be ridden at low pressure, I rode back to the only campsite in the area, and sat there helpless. After some twenty minutes, I got up, took my bike pump and started reinflating the wheel (no hope!) To my surprise, the wheel not only filled with the air but also held! That saved my day: only I rode onto the asphalt immediately to the end of the trip!

That made me really confident about tubeless. Today, I would use the tubeless repair kit, as the puncture was quite severe!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Price is high...

https://www.modernbike.com/racktime-yoshi-2.0-bag-grey-snapit-2.0

Thanks! If the Yoshi were the right color, I'd pay the price for the Racktime compatibility. But gray is their only offering, and I recall some complaints about shipping times (at least on Amazon).

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Just to follow up on the Specialized app's phone battery consumption:

1. The black-icon v. 1.29.0 downloaded 2 weeks ago has a dark mode applying to all but the map.

2. Battery consumption is more than acceptable (maybe 1%/mile) on the 20-mile rides done thus far. Way less hungry than RideWithGPS.

3. Understanding that battery consumption is a nonlinear process, if I set out with my Note20 fully charged, the battery should be good for 50 mi or more.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

2. Battery consumption is more than acceptable (maybe 1%/mile) on the 20-mile rides done thus far. Way less hungry than RideWithGPS.

You could now set up a free Strava account and connect it with your Vado SL via Spec App, so I could enjoy your rides there!

 

[mschwett]

Just to follow up on the Specialized app's phone battery consumption:

1. The black-icon v. 1.29.0 downloaded 2 weeks ago has a dark mode applying to all but the map.

2. Battery consumption is more than acceptable (maybe 1%/mile) on the 20-mile rides done thus far. Way less hungry than RideWithGPS.

3. Understanding that battery consumption is a nonlinear process, if I set out with my Note20 fully charged, the battery should be good for 50 mi or more.

that's great, 1%/mile is my general observation on an OLED iPhone with a dark background cycling app. back when i was doing 80+ mile rides i would either turn it off for a bit while cruising, or stick a little battery in my pocket. i'd plug it in on the snack/hydration stop for those rides, and get a quick 30% boost. rarely any need to plug it in while riding.

 

[mschwett]

@DaveMatthews: I have got a Lezyne CO2 Blaster repair kit, similar to yours. Only I have never had to use it

Now, anyone of you who could fix the tubeless with a spare tube: please tell me how you do it, starting from how you remove the tubeless valve, exactly?

it's just messy and time consuming. and as you have experienced virtually never necessary. but here is the process :

remove the wheel from the bike. if your through axles have levers, no tools required, if not, you'll need the 6mm hex key, which any multitool has.
remove the tire from the wheel using a tire lever.
unscrew the knurled nut on the exterior surface of the rim / tubeless valve.
if the valve is sticky, remove the valve core with the valve core tool. (i don't use caps on my valves but there are caps that have the tool built in)
push down on the valve from the center side and it will probably fall right out. if not, put something hard on it (with the valve core removed!!!) and use both thumbs with fingers around the rim.
put the tube in. partially inflate.
put the tire on. use the tire lever to seat both sides of the tire.
inflate and put back on the bike.

so, tool wise, it doesn't really require anything much more than repairing a bad tubed flat... but again, nobody should have to do this often. in my case, never, but i did it at home in my early tubeless days when i couldn't get a tire to hold air above 40psi for reasons unknown.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

remove the tire from the wheel using a tire lever.
unscrew the knurled nut on the exterior surface of the rim / tubeless valve.
if the valve is sticky, remove the valve core with the valve core tool. (i don't use caps on my valves but there are caps that have the tool built in)
push down on the valve from the center side and it will probably fall right out. if not, put something hard on it (with the valve core removed!!!) and use both thumbs with fingers around the rim.

Thank you! That is the part I needed to know. It must be terribly messy!