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

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. ;)
My athletic is at REI ready for pickup when I get home tomorrow. By the desription, it may be the perfect saddle for the Vado but we will see. I bought a Bontrager Comp but the stock saddle was more comfortable so that is going back to REI
 
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.
I am using a Selle Anatomica X1 . Like it much more then a comfort seat . I found a comfort seat only works well in a really upright position . Like a como would provide. This selle is like setting in a hammock .
Selle Anatomica
Selle Anatomica
Selle Anatomica
 
Selle Royal Respiro Moderate long time ago.
So this isn't too upright for this bike? It's not really clear to me what the intended angle of the vado is. Is it the 60 degrees of the moderate or the 45 of the athletic? My inner voice is saying 45 is just a bit too much weight on my hands. And I assume the rivo is more like 45.
 
I now ride in as much forward position as only doable for Vado and Vado SL after all possible mods done. Strangely, the saddle works for me. Searching for an ideal saddle is like a Quest of Holy Grail. I managed to settle with "good enough".
 
I now ride in as much forward position as only doable for Vado and Vado SL after all possible mods done. Strangely, the saddle works for me. Searching for an ideal saddle is like a Quest of Holy Grail. I managed to settle with "good enough".
I just hope the rivo sport isn't my "good enough".
 
Did the same loop again with the rivo sport back on the bike. As previously, everything is a "bit numb" but tolerable. Other thing I did this time is limited myself to micro tune at 60% power only on hills. The rest was 20% power. Only 17% battery used. Puts the full battery at around 67 miles which is a lot better. I don't love how slow the hill home was under those circumstances, but it's certainly doable.

I do think there should be something between rivo sport and super cushy upright. Hopefully cushy athletic is it.

I also talked to the LBS about the gear not dropping into the lowest gear. It's also making a weird sound when you coast, and then return to immediate cadence. Not sure if it's normal. But it was like the bike geared down because I stopped pedaling and then makes a crunchy gear sound as it rapidly gears back up.
 
Did the same loop again with the rivo sport back on the bike. As previously, everything is a "bit numb" but tolerable.
@dynamic: You might want to read this :)
The thing was written in England 122 years ago. The short version:
----------
I said: "[...]Then there are saddles," I went on--I wished to get this lesson home to him. "Can you think of any saddle ever advertised that you have not tried?"

He said: "It has been an idea of mine that the right saddle is to be found."

I said: "You give up that idea; this is an imperfect world of joy and sorrow mingled. There may be a better land where bicycle saddles are made out of rainbow, stuffed with cloud; in this world the simplest thing is to get used to something hard. There was that saddle you bought in Birmingham; it was divided in the middle, and looked like a pair of kidneys."

He said: "You mean that one constructed on anatomical principles."

"Very likely," I replied. "The box you bought it in had a picture on the cover, representing a sitting skeleton--or rather that part of a skeleton which does sit."

He said: "It was quite correct; it showed you the true position of the--"

I said: "We will not go into details; the picture always seemed to me indelicate."

He said: "Medically speaking, it was right."

"Possibly," I said, "for a man who rode in nothing but his bones. I only know that I tried it myself, and that to a man who wore flesh it was agony. Every time you went over a stone or a rut it nipped you; it was like riding on an irritable lobster. You rode that for a month."

"I thought it only right to give it a fair trial," he answered.

I said: "You gave your family a fair trial also; if you will allow me the use of slang. Your wife told me that never in the whole course of your married life had she known you so bad tempered, so un-Christian like, as you were that month. Then you remember that other saddle, the one with the spring under it."

He said: "You mean 'the Spiral.'"

I said: "I mean the one that jerked you up and down like a Jack-in-the-box; sometimes you came down again in the right place, and sometimes you didn't. I am not referring to these matters merely to recall painful memories, but I want to impress you with the folly of trying experiments at your time of life."
----------

Don't be cross with me please. I was experimenting with saddles for a long time to discover I had to settle with "good enough", that is, with a saddle that lets me ride for more than 100 miles... :)
 
ebike in its habitat
Once the first edition is complete. Still don’t have all my accessories on it.

Don't be cross with me please.
Not at all. I am very well aware of my tinkering nature. However, this bike hasn’t gotten out of beta testing yet. And won’t until some things are solved. ;) I can’t get much beyond 2 miles without discomfort on the stock saddle.
 
I have a Selle Anatomica X2 on my CAAD 13 road bike and if the Respiro Athletic does not work out, I'm putting it on my Vado.
Fyi: these can’t handle my weight. At least not the ones linked. Couldn’t find a weight limit for the respiro.
 
I think I agree with others that specialized has not quite gotten the issues out of their automatic IGH models. I have also noticed a bunch of issues with other things like custom displays. They seem to revert to my last setup and I have to redo them. I have also noticed that it really gets mad if I accidentally pick axs (anything). This causes all the display spots after that one to just show the clock. This bike doesn't have AXS, I just hit it by accident. Unlocking with the pin on the bike tends to leave the app in a confused state, showing it locked. I have mentioned the charging thing before, which seems to be inconsistent.
 
I think I agree with others that specialized has not quite gotten the issues out of their automatic IGH models. I have also noticed a bunch of issues with other things like custom displays. They seem to revert to my last setup and I have to redo them. I have also noticed that it really gets mad if I accidentally pick axs (anything). This causes all the display spots after that one to just show the clock. This bike doesn't have AXS, I just hit it by accident. Unlocking with the pin on the bike tends to leave the app in a confused state, showing it locked. I have mentioned the charging thing before, which seems to be inconsistent.
What are the issues with the auto IGH ?
 
What are the issues with the auto IGH ?
Well, currently, mine won't go into the lowest gear in any situation according to the gear ratio display on the mastermind (pedaling up hill at a low rpm like 40-50 with assistance low or off, still never goes to lowest gear). Whenever I coast, the automatiq shifts down (like you are stopping) but, I didn't stop just coasted, if I just start pedaling at 80 rpm and the gear hub makes this grinding noise as it goes back to the gear it was in ( I am assuming this grinding is not good). This is more prevalent when coasting at a higher speed and the gear ratio changes are more extreme. Finally, the ride can be a bit jerky uphill if your cadence transitions are not smooth. Basically, more significant changes in power/cadence when riding uphill cause the bike to "super react" and shift down quickly. Example: letting off power because I might stop due to a car not acknowledging my presence, but quickly go back to power when they do. This can be split seconds, but the bike throws itself into a lower gear (but not the lowest one) and then the RPM jumps briefly as it figures it out and returns the bike to the "right" gear for your power/cadence. None of this happens if your cadence transitions are smoother.

I don't know what aspects of that are "normal" and what is potentially problematic. I am leaning toward this being a first year product, and it's not quite right yet. All of the above is likely fixable via firmware updates
 
I don't know what aspects of that are "normal" and what is potentially problematic. I am leaning toward this being a first year product, and it's not quite right yet. All of the above is likely fixable via firmware updates
Did you talk with the LBS?
 
Yeah. Gotta bring the bike in. My LBS doesn’t like to carry these (partly for this reason)
Still, they have a better access to Specialized and can be informed how to resolve the issue. Calibration of the IGH or something like that.
 
Back