Experience Thread: A noobie getting into a specialized vado 5.0 IGH

[mschwett]

I think I found a different alternative. There are ant+ bridge to BLE that may work. Npe cable is one. Viiiiva hrm is another. Npe cable may be unobtanium currently. I don’t really want to wear an hrm just to get ant+ data to the phone. But I will keep looking.

Personally, I am hoping the sports focused apple watch that is coming has ant+. That would be really nice. That means Apple almost certainly won’t do it. ;p

i think apple is pretty all-in on wifi, unlikely they’ll support ANT+ either on a phone or watch. a more likely solution would be for specialized to use the standard bluetooth profiles for their cadence, speed, and power output. their non-electric bikes do so.

the cable works pretty well. i posted a while back about my experiences with it:

another alternative to mission control and bike computers, tested...

please, no debate here on phones vs. bike computers, which seems to be right up there with "tubeless vs tubed," "steel vs carbon," and all the other hot-button religious fervor debates in the cycling world! this thread is not about the pros and cons of one or the other, rather a different way to...

electricbikereview.com

 

[mschwett]

Man, seat adjustments really matter. I moved the seat to make it less "fall offy" only to get fairly numb hands. Had to stop mid ride and set it back. I could also feel more stress in my knees. I did the exact same 11.5 mile loop.

I think I am going to go back to the rivo sport for a bit and micro adjust so the riding position is great. It seems like sitting further back and focusing on my leg positioning *also* fixes hand numbness. Even this super comfy gel saddle got uncomfortable in the wrong position.

My bike reaches 28+ MPH for sure. I just hit open road and "floored it". I was doing 100+ cadence but was also still increasing speed until I let off at almost 29 mph (100% support). On the flip side, the bike never went into the lowest gear no matter what I did as far as I could tell. I dropped support to 10%, slowed cadence to 50 rpm and still stayed in 2nd to lowest gear on a 9%ish hill. Not sure what any of that means. ;P

Also, trying to sustain 350-400 watts rider power is hard. Anyway, gonna keep going.

Happy Riding!

the “problem” with a cushier seat is that it encourages you to sit on it with all your weight. not ideal for power production or your back, in my experience - but every body is different. what greatly reduced my hand numbness (also left one only lol) was getting a professional bike fit and then working on keeping my weight over my legs and using the core muscles to essentially cantilever your body from your legs. minimal weight on butt and hands, neither of which were designed to support your weight while moving your legs hard. the multiple articulating joints in your ankle, knees, and hips are amazing at simultaneously absorbing bumps and transferring power to the pedals!!

as you’ve noted, tiny differences can really matter, but without a professional set of eyes on it it’s hard to know if the big picture (position of handlebars vertical and horizontal, ditto seat) is right!

also, if you could sustain 350-400 watts for more than a few minutes, you’d pretty much be a professional cyclist lol.

 

[dynamic]

Power really isn’t a priority. But there is definitely a balance between putting weight on the saddle and the bars. Knowing what I know today, I wouldn’t be surprised if the como were a better bike for me around comfort. I seem to be putting myself in the como position but don’t have the handlebar changes.

If I were to guess, a short nosed, slightly more padded rivo sport would be a good fit. Unfortunately, I don’t have professional bike fit near me. I am pretty sure the nearest retul or similar is about a 5 hour drive. So, it’s read the books, and try to apply myself.

Riding hard is a lot of fun. I love trying to optimize all of the motion. Might be one reason I took to clips so well.

 

[mschwett]

Power really isn’t a priority. But there is definitely a balance between putting weight on the saddle and the bars. Knowing what I know today, I wouldn’t be surprised if the como were a better bike for me around comfort. I seem to be putting myself in the como position but don’t have the handlebar changes.

If I were to guess, a short nosed, slightly more padded rivo sport would be a good fit. Unfortunately, I don’t have professional bike fit near me. I am pretty sure the nearest retul or similar is about a 5 hour drive. So, it’s read the books, and try to apply myself.

Riding hard is a lot of fun. I love trying to optimize all of the motion. Might be one reason I took to clips so well.

have you started with the relationship between the saddle and the pedals? lots of good and simple guides for that. i found moving mine forward and back by intuition led to me messing mine up quite a bit lol!

How to set the saddle height on your bike

Complete guide to accurately setting your bike seat height, as well as fore/aft and tilt

www.bikeradar.com

i agree that clipless is the way to go for hard riding! it’s such a smooth, great feeling being one with the machine.

 

[dynamic]

have you started with the relationship between the saddle and the pedals? lots of good and simple guides for that. i found moving mine forward and back by intuition led to me messing mine up quite a bit lol!

How to set the saddle height on your bike

Complete guide to accurately setting your bike seat height, as well as fore/aft and tilt

www.bikeradar.com

i agree that clipless is the way to go for hard riding! it’s such a smooth, great feeling being one with the machine.

I am currently following bike fit by phil burt. A number of things out of that book have been game changing. I can only use some of the “static” measuring methods. But it’s good enough to start.

 

[dynamic]

So panniers. The two wheel gear is driving me crazy. I had to swap sides, because when it is loaded, and you put the kickstand down to park the bike, the bike tends to fall over. I haven't checked if the kickstand angle can be addressed to fix this. I swapped sides but, now, it blocks the kickstand. I really just want a 15-20ish liter pannier with some pockets for all the stuff that lives in my pants pockets + an easy laptop location with top loading access on bike.

Thoughts?

 

[e-boy]

So panniers. The two wheel gear is driving me crazy. I had to swap sides, because when it is loaded, and you put the kickstand down to park the bike, the bike tends to fall over. I haven't checked if the kickstand angle can be addressed to fix this. I swapped sides but, now, it blocks the kickstand. I really just want a 15-20ish liter pannier with some pockets for all the stuff that lives in my pants pockets + an easy laptop location with top loading access on bike.

Thoughts?

North St. Bags Macro Pannier 21L
Hook spacing and maybe the hook size would need to be adjusted for Vado's proprietary rack .
I use and love this bag on my Giant ; I also use their Micro Pannier 14L .
Great Customer service as well .
You can request no logo , that square on the left side .
https://northstbags.com/collections/bike-panniers/products/macro-pannier-21l?variant=39790320615580

 

[e-boy]

Here are some inserts .
Not sure if these work with this bag . Call them .
https://northstbags.com/collections/pannier-accessories

 

[e-boy]

Don't own , haven't used , but caught my interest .
Brooks Suffolk Rear Pannier 18-22L
Uses Ortlieb QL2 attachment system .
https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/suffolk-rear-pannier.html

 

[Nonlinear]

So panniers. The two wheel gear is driving me crazy. I had to swap sides, because when it is loaded, and you put the kickstand down to park the bike, the bike tends to fall over. I haven't checked if the kickstand angle can be addressed to fix this. I swapped sides but, now, it blocks the kickstand. I really just want a 15-20ish liter pannier with some pockets for all the stuff that lives in my pants pockets + an easy laptop location with top loading access on bike.

Thoughts?

I use an Oertleib Back-Roller, I put it on the side with the kickstand, and my bike has never tipped even when heavily loaded. IME the kickstand on the Vado 5.0 is extremely overbuilt and stable.

 

[dynamic]

I use an Oertleib Back-Roller, I put it on the side with the kickstand, and my bike has never tipped even when heavily loaded. IME the kickstand on the Vado 5.0 is extremely overbuilt and stable.

Put it on the other side and watch it fall over when loaded.

Does the ortlieb block the kickstand when on the lower pannier rack?

An ortlieb would be nice, but very few of them have organization. They can hold water to wash dishes when camping though.

The vario ps would work, but it looks like the conversion system still takes up a lot of space. I think a tote would be easier.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Nothing beats Ortliebs. Just saying.

 

[Avg_Joe]

The expedition gel is surprisingly comfortable. No numbness or other issues like that *but* it is definitely not positioned correctly for this saddle. I kept wanting to slide forward which pushed my weight on to my hands. This only created some numbness in the hands, surprisingly, particularly my left hand. I didn't have to stop and rest or anything like that. So, I am going to play with saddle position. It's odd because it feels like two big lumps I am sitting on, but it's not uncomfortable. Even with these "issues" this may have been the most comfortable run of this loop. I did level the saddle, but I think I need to level it differently. It feels like "level" should be the rear bumps and the nose, or at least closer to that rather than the cutout channel. But, it also may simply be that this saddle needs to be a bit further forward so I sit a bit further back on it naturally.

==

Man, seat adjustments really matter. I moved the seat to make it less "fall offy" only to get fairly numb hands. Had to stop mid ride and set it back. I could also feel more stress in my knees. I did the exact same 11.5 mile loop.

I think I am going to go back to the rivo sport for a bit and micro adjust so the riding position is great. It seems like sitting further back and focusing on my leg positioning *also* fixes hand numbness. Even this super comfy gel saddle got uncomfortable in the wrong position.

I believe it is worth considering that heavily padded, gel seats are not ideal for this bike. The rider is in a sporty position, and having a bunch of padding or gel in a comfort-oriented, designed for upright position seat is antithesis to this bike. You lean forward and are pushing, smooshing the gel all around; this is not a cruiser bike.

Took me some time to realize this/discover that a sporty seat is actually supremely comfortable on this bike. I thought my Bontrager Boulevard was great. Then I lucked into 2 SQLab seats on clearance at REI and the $34 SQLab 610 Active 16cm is absolutely stellar. It was a bit difficult at first, but now that I get it, I can ride this seat for hours, come home and have exactly 0 pain. And comfort while riding is amazing. I'd actually pay full price for this seat if I had to replace mine now, and that is a hard pill to swallow.

Not saying this is the one for you, but consider the bike geometry, your position, and seat "intention." Also of note, finding a seat that fits you is important. The 1-size fits all seats don't really work for hardly anyone.

 

[dynamic]

==

I believe it is worth considering that heavily padded, gel seats are not ideal for this bike. The rider is in a sporty position, and having a bunch of padding or gel in a comfort-oriented, designed for upright position seat is antithesis to this bike. You lean forward and are pushing, smooshing the gel all around; this is not a cruiser bike.

Took me some time to realize this/discover that a sporty seat is actually supremely comfortable on this bike. I thought my Bontrager Boulevard was great. Then I lucked into 2 SQLab seats on clearance at REI and the $34 SQLab 610 Active 16cm is absolutely stellar. It was a bit difficult at first, but now that I get it, I can ride this seat for hours, come home and have exactly 0 pain. And comfort while riding is amazing. I'd actually pay full price for this seat if I had to replace mine now, and that is a hard pill to swallow.


View attachment 134335
Not saying this is the one for you, but consider the bike geometry, your position, and seat "intention." Also of note, finding a seat that fits you is important. The 1-size fits all seats don't really work for hardly anyone.

Way ahead of you. Respiro athletic is on the way. I decided to just try a highly comfortable athletic seat. And this one fits that. I can get the rivo into a pretty good situation. If the respiro isn’t better for me, I will probably just keep going with the rivo.

It’s actually kind of a benefit. When I have the rivo setup right, it’s not annoying, it’s just not really comfortable either. Maybe as I tweak it will get even better.

Also, I have not gotten a good measurement of my sit bones. I tried the cardboard version but there was no significant compression in one spot. I am going to try the flour in a ziploc method, but I have to buy flour (we don’t cook with it).

Unfortunately, shipping everything is delayed for the holiday weekend.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Respiro athletic

I think it is a good choice.

I have standardized on Selle Royal Respiro Moderate long time ago. Quite recently, I started thinking whether I shouldn't replace it with something more sporty. I was on a 125 km long ride, 6 h 30 min of pedalling. And I decided my current saddle was good enough. Why to replace good enough with something unproven?

 

[dynamic]

I think it is a good choice.

I have standardized on Selle Royal Respiro Moderate long time ago. Quite recently, I started thinking whether I shouldn't replace it with something more sporty. I was on a 125 km long ride, 6 h 30 min of pedalling. And I decided my current saddle was good enough. Why to replace good enough with something unproven?

I actually ordered the moderate, then cancelled and went athletic. And the logic was simple: I ordered the vado because it’s more sporty than the como. If I can be in a sportier position comfortably, that’s what I want. So going to try that first. Otherwise, I might as well swap for the como.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I actually ordered the moderate, then cancelled and went athletic. And the logic was simple: I ordered the vado because it’s more sporty than the como. If I can be in a sportier position comfortably, that’s what I want. So going to try that first. Otherwise, I might as well swap for the como.

Dynamic, you seem to be in the very first phase of you fascination. Nothing wrong with that: I was exactly the same type of person three years ago! Today, I'm a mature e-biker. And I think I would give the Specialized saddle a couple of months try now, especially in the padded shorts

 

[dynamic]

Dynamic, you seem to be in the very first phase of you fascination. Nothing wrong with that: I was exactly the same type of person three years ago! Today, I'm a mature e-biker. And I think I would give the Specialized saddle a couple of months try now, especially in the padded shorts

Padded shorts may never happen. Hence the saddle focus. Biking needs to be accessible in any/every occasion. Special clothes that doesn’t just go over what I am already wearing are a non-starter.

 

[Zekeer]

Dynamic, you seem to be in the very first phase of you fascination. Nothing wrong with that: I was exactly the same type of person three years ago! Today, I'm a mature e-biker. And I think I would give the Specialized saddle a couple of months try now, especially in the padded shorts

Did you get your O-synce yet

 

[Avg_Joe]

Padded shorts may never happen. Hence the saddle focus. Biking needs to be accessible in any/every occasion. Special clothes that doesn’t just go over what I am already wearing are a non-starter.

I'll note that even with a sporty saddle, I wear some Adidas shorts I found (made out of recycled material), and underwear (ExOfficio ftw!); cooler weather brings out some thin, windproof jogger pants. Never tried padded anything, have 0 interest as well. With this properly fit seat, I don't even need Chamois Butt'r any longer. My bootie, cheechnos, inner thighs feel great, no chafing or discomfort at all.

The butter seems to have been a necessity with all the squirming around due to the comfort seat.