Happy wife, Happy Life!

[dynamic]

Well, the wife put her foot down. She and I tried to buy a pair of e-bikes starting a year ago. That did not work out for various reasons. Not going into the story here. The important part is she made it clear that she wants to have a bike this season (especially now that she uses peloton six days/week).

Next, she pointed out that I have tried a lot of bikes. And, by far, one of them was more engaging and fun than all the others. One of them caused me to make an effort to ride nearly every day. She said that is the bike we should own. That is the part that matters.

She is not wrong. Despite my quality concerns, we are returning to specialized IGH models. I tried everything I could to avoid them. I simply could not find bikes that are as enjoyable while meeting other parameters.

My wife has a Como 5.0 IGH and I have a Vado 5.0 IGH Step-Through on order.

This thread will document our journey.

*crosses fingers*

Happy Riding!

 

[CodyDog]

Now the waiting begins.

 

[gpburdell]

VibeRider. You’re welcome.

 

[dynamic]

Guys! They make a pd-ed500 pedal! This is basically the pd-eh500 but clips on both sides! Woot! The clip side of the eh500 are amazing. They seem to just know when my intent is to unclip. It’s almost creepy. If there are two sides of that, they will be the best pedals ever.

I have tried about a dozen pedals between rental bikes, peloton and my own bike. None of them enter and release like the eh500.

I picked those pedals up and the shimano spd sandals. Ready to go!

 

[gpburdell]

Guys! They make a pd-ed500 pedal! This is basically the pd-eh500 but clips on both sides! Woot! The clip side of the eh500 are amazing. They seem to just know when my intent is to unclip. It’s almost creepy. If there are two sides of that, they will be the best pedals ever.

I have tried about a dozen pedals between rental bikes, peloton and my own bike. None of them enter and release like the eh500.

I picked those pedals up and the shimano spd sandals. Ready to go!

You ought to try the Shimano M520 or M540 then if you want dual sided SPD. My 520’s on my road bike work as well as my EH500’s.

Some of though may be the multidirectional release of the SH56 cleats that come with the EH500’s vs the SH51 cleat.

Shimano SH51 vs SH56 cleats: what’s the difference?

Why are there two different types of Shimano SPD two-bolt cleats?

www.bikeradar.com

 

[dynamic]

You ought to try the Shimano M520 or M540 then if you want dual sided SPD. My 520’s on my road bike work as well as my EH500’s.

Some of though may be the multidirectional release of the SH56 cleats that come with the EH500’s vs the SH51 cleat.

Shimano SH51 vs SH56 cleats: what’s the difference?

Why are there two different types of Shimano SPD two-bolt cleats?

www.bikeradar.com

Those were high on the list but I have not tried them yet. I only use the sh-56 on my shoes with every pedal. One thing I have noticed is I prefer some platform support. I have the me700 on my peloton, and I like the feeling, but the mechanism is definitely not as magical as my eh500. Other platforms felt better to me as well even if the clipping did not. The xc200 was just average in every way.

When I get a regular bike, I may pick by weight and give up clip feel. But for the moment, that easy clipping is worth it.

 

[Prairie Dog]

There is also the dual sided Look X Track race pedal which sports a slightly larger contact surface than the M540s and are lighter due to their composite body. Both my wife and I have the carbon versions of these pedals on our road bikes.

X-TRACK RACE - LOOK Cycle

www.lookcycle.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

happy wife buy a tandem.

 

[PDoz]

happy wife buy a tandem.

 

[rayray]

happy wife buy a tandem.

I like a high cadence, while my wife likes her throttle. I can imagine her just letting the pedals spin while I work my tail off.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I like a high cadence, while my wife likes her throttle. I can imagine her just letting the pedals spin while I work my tail off.

I thought it was men who like the throttle? women are good about trying to get men to work their tails off. my wife loves to peddle. 10500 miles in less then 3 years.

 

[rayray]

I thought it was men who like the throttle? women are good about trying to get men to work their tails off. my wife loves to peddle. 10500 miles in less then 3 years.

No encouragement needed here. I enjoy pushing myself to do better, and often don’t pay much attention to the surroundings until I take a break. My wife, on the other hand, is more into casual riding, and doesn’t care as much about the exercise aspect.

However, I have to admit that is a reversal of attitudes, compared to when we were younger. Her example got me into the gym to lift weights, and joining her on evening jogging jaunts. Now I’m the more active one, and she mostly stays home and works on arts and crafts. Stages of life, I guess.

Now, back to the thread topic.

 

[kahn]

I like a high cadence, while my wife likes her throttle. I can imagine her just letting the pedals spin while I work my tail off.

I had tandem friends. He liked to mash the pedals and not shift. She would just stop pedalling! I had another set of tandem friends. Following the two different sets was like night and day. The second couple were so darn smooth. They would take off from a stop and it was like following the Star Ship Enterprise entering warp speed.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I had tandem friends. He liked to mash the pedals and not shift. She would just stop pedalling! I had another set of tandem friends. Following the two different sets was like night and day. The second couple were so darn smooth. They would take off from a stop and it was like following the Star Ship Enterprise entering warp speed.

we are not too bad. but since we have a mid drive in front our peddles are not locked together. causes some issues but we manage. I always shift its just mot practical to do otherwise.

 

[dynamic]

My bikes have been delivered to the LBS today. Cool. We are going on vacation next week so we won't use them until may.

There is a change I noticed from my previous vado igh (and como igh) to the current one. They changed the rear cog from 24T to 22T between 2022 and 2023 model (shown in the bike archive). This effectively exactly matches the chain vado/como in terms of gear range but also represents slightly less capable hill gear inches compared to the 2022 IGH model.

I hope this has no obvious effect. There were times where even in turbo, the vado was challenging on some of my more extreme hill climb rides.

Getting closer to riding!

 

[dynamic]

I finally got to pickup my bike and ride it home. The difference is night and day between the blade and the vado. The vado is a whole different level of refinement, and it makes me want to put effort into the ride. No, I don't fly up hills at 15-20 miles per hour, but I *like* riding those same hills in sport mode (not even turbo). I also used a backpack I have, and it was quite stable on the bike. For some riding, I could see it being preferable to a pannier.

Hopefully the family will be able to do our first bike outing on saturday!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I also used a backpack I have, and it was quite stable on the bike. For some riding, I could see it being preferable to a pannier.

For some rides, yes. You would not, however, carry a spare Vado battery in the backpack!

 

[dynamic]

Well, specialized may be dead to me. They delivered the como and there are two problems. The factory installed the crank arms wrong with the right and left swapped. When I switched pedals (or tried to) I couldn't get the first pedal on. Well, the reason is obvious. I also likely stripped one of the crank arm in the process.

Second, this bike's f2 button does not allow for changing the pedal pace that the vado allows. It's not clear if this is a flaw or something that is removed from the como IGH vs the vado IGH.

Now, my bike, at the very least won't go into the lowest gear (again, this problem happened on the previous vado and is probably just a calibration issue. I hope.).

So, my wife's bike is now in the shop waiting to be fixed. And she is furious. Both these bikes may get returned. My only assumption is specialized is completely incompetent across the board. 4 bikes. 1 order issue. 1 bike that continually had problems. 1 that was delivered (from the factory) with the crank arms installed on the wrong sides. And 1 more that doesn't have enviolo setup correctly. 4 out of 4. Makes my priority current experience look acceptable by comparison.

As of this moment, anyone considering specialized, just don't.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is your incompetent LBS.

 

[dynamic]

It is your incompetent LBS.

Gonna defend them here. The cranks were put on by specialized not the shop. I agree, the shop should have found it and corrected it before it got to me. But if specialized can’t put their own bikes together, at the factory, houston we have a problem.