I bought a Turbo Tero X 6.0, AMA

[Ben J]

This is a new line for 2023, so there's not a lot of information out there. Happy to answer questions. Thanks to EBR because the review video comprises most of the available information that isn't just Specialized's own website.

Here are a few things I've learned since I got it that I couldn't find out in advance:

• Total time from ordering to picking it up from LBS was about a week. I think LBS had it on day 6.
• The exact shock is a RS-DLX-SELP-C1 (I was pretty sure about this, but RockShox naming scheme is word salad). Max PSI is 360, which in the tuning guide corresponds to rider weight of 279lbs (which would exceed the bike total limit of 300).
• The exact fork is a FS-LYRK-SELP-C3, max PSI 163. The RockShox setup guide pressure is too high. Unfortunately Specialized's tuning webpage doesn't know about this bike (and where they're behind adding bikes the advice of "go back a model year" does not help here). There may or may not be a token pre-installed (specs mention "3/6", accessory bag had 2, I guess I have to open it up to know).
• If you're trying to figure out what can possibly go on those bottle bosses on the top of the bottom bracket, the closest the shock gets is basically horizontal at full compression. The answer is not a bottle or a foldable lock.
• I got the XL frame (and I think the sizing is reasonable). One interesting thing is that when the head tube gets longer in the larger sizes, the front rack mount moves down (so it's a constant distance from the bottom across models, not the top). I'm tempted to get the rack because it might be the only place you can carry a bit of cargo on the centerline of the bike.
• I have confirmed a suspicion I had from reviews, which is that the range calculator is super conservative initially. It definitely needs time to learn from a few rides before you can rely on it or any of the fancy range-based features.

Every time I have gone up a hill and thought, "That's it, that's 1st gear," I was in 3rd gear.

 

[1234567890]

What speed do you comfortably reach on the road (flat), at ~75 cadence?
I am riding a Vado 4.0, I alternate between road and trails (today's trail was quite rocky and challenging); could definitely use more suspension but I am not sure I am willing to sacrifice the speed at the highest gear.

 

[Ben J]

What speed do you comfortably reach on the road (flat), at ~75 cadence?
I am riding a Vado 4.0, I alternate between road and trails (today's trail was quite rocky and challenging); could definitely use more suspension but I am not sure I am willing to sacrifice the speed at the highest gear.

You can just calculate that from 75 RPM * 38T front / 10T rear * 27.5" * 3.14 / 12in/ft / 5280 ft/mi * 60 min/hr = 23.3MPH. I did the math before I bought it that hitting 28 requires 90RPM in top gear. The 38T is the largest chainring in that "series" and you'd have to go considerably larger to get 28MPH at 75.

Now to illustrate the difference between book smarts and street smarts: I kept forgetting to set the bike to imperial so my speedometer has been in km/h for most of the riding I've done so I have forgotten all speeds I saw while riding.

I will try it and see what it really feels like, though. I just need to take a route with a long enough flat stretch on pavement.

 

[mata2maui]

GREAT photo! Comfortable? More rider-forward or upright?

 

[keithj69]

Great pictures. My question for your AMA is Boxers or Briefs?

 

[Ben J]

GREAT photo! Comfortable? More rider-forward or upright?

Fairly rider forward if you're all the way up at best pedal height. Should be fine to go down a frame size if you want less reach.

You can also instantly adjust your posture with the dropper post if you don't need to be getting full leg extension. I've never owned a bike with a dropper before, and I'm starting to see why people say it's one of the top upgrades.

Great pictures. My question for your AMA is Boxers or Briefs?

Boxer-briefs. For riding, compression shorts, though.

 

[1234567890]

You can just calculate that from 75 RPM * 38T front / 10T rear * 27.5" * 3.14 / 12in/ft / 5280 ft/mi * 60 min/hr = 23.3MPH. I did the math before I bought it that hitting 28 requires 90RPM in top gear. The 38T is the largest chainring in that "series" and you'd have to go considerably larger to get 28MPH at 75.

Now to illustrate the difference between book smarts and street smarts: I kept forgetting to set the bike to imperial so my speedometer has been in km/h for most of the riding I've done so I have forgotten all speeds I saw while riding.

I will try it and see what it really feels like, though. I just need to take a route with a long enough flat stretch on pavement.

Actually, it's not bad; looks like the Tero X highest gear ratio is slightly higher than the second highest one on the Vado. I need to do some riding without using the highest gear and see how this would impact me. I live in a hilly area so not necessarily pedaling much going down hill and using lower gears going up, so this might actually work.

 

[Ben J]

What speed do you comfortably reach on the road (flat), at ~75 cadence?

I had a few uninterrupted road stretches today. Seems like my natural cadence in that condition is about 82 in top gear, so I hit 25-26MPH. The speedometer on this bike is dead on (vs GPS), too. If I'm actually going to exceed 28MPH for any length of time it will probably require greatly improved fitness or more of a road tire (or both).

Random notes: The SRAM Eagle shifting is so buttery smooth if you're riding with no (or super low, like 10%) assist. It really emphasizes how badly you have to be messing up to get the horrible clanks when shifting in turbo mode. I think I'm getting the hang of upshifting without the clank. Downshifting under power is tougher, though. I haven't quite worked out the rhythm to when to pause the power vs shifting. The power causing the clank is always the motor.

 

[Ben J]

Had the bike on a stand yesterday and figured out that the rear caliper mounts were 2-3 degrees out. Took it to the LBS where I took delivery and they had it fixed (re machined the mounts parallel to the axle) in about 20 minutes. They told me it was a common problem, and the design of the bike made it tricky to get the tool in there. I'm looking forward to hard braking down a steep hill to see if this cures the surging I was getting. It definitely cures the rubbing.

 

[Ben J]

I was accused in another thread of lubing my bike chain with sand. Maybe not far from the truth? This is from one ride yesterday (just before washing! Don't kill me!)

I am happy that the Muc Off dry lube doesn't turn that dust into a gunky mess like the wet version does if you have a few dry days.

 

[Ben J]

BTW a note about the grips:

The specs say "Ergon, GA30" which is either a typo for "GA3" or some OEM-only variant of the GA3. These do not work well for large hands! They taper quite a bit to the inside. If you have large hands and you naturally grip them at a wider point to get more "meat" in the grips, it will place the edge of the ergo wing right in the crease of your hand for maximum numbness/discomfort. If you adjust the cockpit to force your hands inward (to get the wing in the right place) you will have your thumb/forefinger at the narrowest part of the grip, or even on the lock ring.

I replaced them with Ergon GP1 and the comfort is so much better. Note the locking hardware is at the outside edge (because you're not meant to have your hand out that wide) and in the large size there is a lot more meat on the inside of the grip so your hand is not closed as tightly and has more padding by the thumb.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The specs say "Ergon, GA30" which is either a typo for "GA3" or some OEM-only variant of the GA3.

GA3 is a typical MTB grip. I have never been happy with MTB grips so I understand your choice of the GP1 totally!
(Perhaps the GA3 in size Large could be another choice for you but never mind).

 

[tdeboeser]

No AMA from me, just congrats and cool!!

 

[mata2maui]

I am happy that the Muc Off dry lube doesn't turn that dust into a gunky mess

Muc is good evidence of a well used bike. Sadly alot of bikes collect dust because they are hardly ridden.

 

[Ben J]

This afternoon I expended 3.6x the energy in one Clif Bar to throw the wrapper away in this very scenic trashcan 14.6 miles from my house. announcer voice: And I owe it all to SCHWALBE JOHNNY WATTS. Well, not really. But they are pretty nice. I wanted something with more solid center tread for paved surfaces, without losing the ability to ride on fairly loose gravel. I can definitely feel the smoother ride on pavement, it's easier to reach 28mph on the flat, and I don't feel any less stable on gravel (although both I think suffer mostly from being 2.35" wide rather than tread pattern on big, loose gravel). The Specialized Ground Control T7 tires that came with the bike might go back on when the rain returns.

EDIT: Forgot to say, the Johnny Watts are much less prone to grabbing and flinging gravel, which is nice.

Surprisingly, the total weight of the tires/tubes I removed and the new Johnny Watts + tubolito are essentially identical at 2150 grams. Just from handling the tires I'd have to guess the extra meat in the Johnny Watts is at least partly in the stiffer sidewalls.

Ground Control T7	Johnny Watts

 

[Ben J]

The exact fork is a FS-LYRK-SELP-C3, max PSI 163. The RockShox setup guide pressure is too high. Unfortunately Specialized's tuning webpage doesn't know about this bike (and where they're behind adding bikes the advice of "go back a model year" does not help here). There may or may not be a token pre-installed (specs mention "3/6", accessory bag had 2, I guess I have to open it up to know).

Plot twist! "3/6" tokens meant "3 tokens installed from the factory". The other two are extra. I've had the right tool for a while but only opened it up just now (after noticing my max travel over the last few days was not as much as I would have expected). So now I need to go ride on bumpy things and see how 0 tokens feels.

And the RockShox setup guide pressure is pretty much spot on when you remove all of the tokens.

 

[MacGoreth]

This is a new line for 2023, so there's not a lot of information out there. Happy to answer questions. Thanks to EBR because the review video comprises most of the available information that isn't just Specialized's own website.

Here are a few things I've learned since I got it that I couldn't find out in advance:

• Total time from ordering to picking it up from LBS was about a week. I think LBS had it on day 6.
• The exact shock is a RS-DLX-SELP-C1 (I was pretty sure about this, but RockShox naming scheme is word salad). Max PSI is 360, which in the tuning guide corresponds to rider weight of 279lbs (which would exceed the bike total limit of 300).
• The exact fork is a FS-LYRK-SELP-C3, max PSI 163. The RockShox setup guide pressure is too high. Unfortunately Specialized's tuning webpage doesn't know about this bike (and where they're behind adding bikes the advice of "go back a model year" does not help here). There may or may not be a token pre-installed (specs mention "3/6", accessory bag had 2, I guess I have to open it up to know).
• If you're trying to figure out what can possibly go on those bottle bosses on the top of the bottom bracket, the closest the shock gets is basically horizontal at full compression. The answer is not a bottle or a foldable lock.
• I got the XL frame (and I think the sizing is reasonable). One interesting thing is that when the head tube gets longer in the larger sizes, the front rack mount moves down (so it's a constant distance from the bottom across models, not the top). I'm tempted to get the rack because it might be the only place you can carry a bit of cargo on the centerline of the bike.
• I have confirmed a suspicion I had from reviews, which is that the range calculator is super conservative initially. It definitely needs time to learn from a few rides before you can rely on it or any of the fancy range-based features.

Every time I have gone up a hill and thought, "That's it, that's 1st gear," I was in 3rd gear.

View attachment 153126

Hello Ben, is there a way to adjust the acceleration? I remember on my Turbo Vado 5.0 I had the option to adjust the acceleration, but not on my turbo Tero X. For instant, when I stopped at the stop sign or red light, my turbo Vado would pick up the speed really fast as soon I hit the pedal. With my turbo Tero it takes few paddling before it can start accelerating. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Ben J]

Hello Ben, is there a way to adjust the acceleration? I remember on my Turbo Vado 5.0 I had the option to adjust the acceleration, but not on my turbo Tero X. For instant, when I stopped at the stop sign or red light, my turbo Vado would pick up the speed really fast as soon I hit the pedal. With my turbo Tero it takes few paddling before it can start accelerating. Am I doing something wrong?

There are at least two more tuning options on some bikes, "acceleration" and "shuttle". I don't see them on my Tero X. I don't know if the dealer can enable them.

I've found the bike to be plenty responsive at stoplights. What gear are you starting in? I rarely go below 3 or 4 when out on the street.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

There are at least two more tuning options on some bikes, "acceleration" and "shuttle". I don't see them on my Tero X. I don't know if the dealer can enable them.

Only Levo and Kenevo.

 

[kencopen]

Hi Ben, great post, i've been close to settling on the Tero X 6.0. Since it's so pricey I'm wavering a bit. I'm wondering a few things:

1. What kind of riding do you generally do, meaning road vs off-road?
2. I noticed you got new tires, did that make a nice difference when you are road riding?
3. Do you find you can comfortable to do like a 30 mile "fast" ride on it on the road?
4. Have you ridden it on a relatively non-technical single track and how did it do?

Probably obvious that i'm debating if it can really be a "do-everything" bike for me. If i'm being real with myself, I will probably ride it 60% on roads, 40% on fire roads/gravel/single tracks etc with my mountain biking brother.