I love the blue 2019 3.0 Vado color but 2020 4.0 seems much better...still...blue is my fav color...at what price?

[OmahaBiker]

So the 2019 Vado 3.0 is better than the 2020 3.0 Vado, from what I gather from posts on here. The 2019 Vado is on sale for 3,104.99 (reg price 3450.00).
But I can get the Vado 4.0 (2020) for 3,550.00) I love the blue on the 2019 (blue is my color) but I do like the gray/white on the new 2020 4.0 Vado.
My local dealer does not have the 2019 3.0 in stock, so I can't try to get the price lowered, although I wonder if he can't order one and I pay an agreed upon price. Or should I just get the 4.0 and like my color instead of love it, since it might be the better deal. I wonder what 2019 3.0 price would make it worthwhile?

 

[CoastChimes]

I had the 2019 Vado 2.0 with the more powerful motor, and feared I would miss that when it was replace with the 3.0. Only on the very steepest hills do I even begin to miss the power, and for those it just means I generally shift down a little lower than I would have on the 2.0. As a plus, I note a significant increase in distance as the motor on the 3.0 does not gulp power like the 2.0 (or, presumably the 2020 4.0). I also love the blue (that's the one I got), and while it might seem superficial to have that enter into the decision, it is important to feel happy with your choice. Not sure if the 2019 3.0 comes with the BLOK or TCD display, if the BLOK, the TCD is a significant upgrade, and you should defiantly take that into account. Anyway, I do have the 3.0 for several weeks now, and I am more than happy with my choice.

 

[PaD]

If we go strictly by the Specialized website the difference between a 2019 3.0 and a 2020 4.0 is the display and a battery with + 8.7% Wh. (rear light is different too)
Same motor, gears/shifters, brakes and front lighting.
I like the new display, TCD, that works with the Mission Control. With the app you can e.g. adjust the support levels to either save battery energy or raise e.g the Eco mode support.
If Specialized offers to change the display for free on the 2019 3.0 then the alternatives are very much alike.

 

[RickNStl]

The two local Specialized dealers I spoke with before buying the 2019 Vado 5.0 both offered to replace the old computer with the TCD so that I could use Mission Control app. It was no-charge replacement. Since then I've learned to adjust the power on through the app and can easily get 100 miles on a charge with enough assist to average 18+ mph.

 

[OmahaBiker]

I ended up buying the 2020 Vado 4.0 from a dealer a mile from my house. He gave some bucks off and now I ha e the warranty too. I’m happy with it.

 

[rochrunner]

The two local Specialized dealers I spoke with before buying the 2019 Vado 5.0 both offered to replace the old computer with the TCD so that I could use Mission Control app. It was no-charge replacement. Since then I've learned to adjust the power on through the app and can easily get 100 miles on a charge with enough assist to average 18+ mph.

As a future 4.0 buyer, I'm curious to know what settings you used. I'm much more about distance than speed and am not looking to cruise at 20+, and would like to hear what you've learned about "tuning" the e-boost.

 

[PaD]

As a future 4.0 buyer, I'm curious to know what settings you used. I'm much more about distance than speed and am not looking to cruise at 20+, and would like to hear what you've learned about "tuning" the e-boost.

You didn´t ask me, you asked RickNStl so he should report his settings and findings but I´ll try to give some additional info.
Note that RickNStl has a Vado 5.0 with a 604Wh battery when talking about actual miles covered on one full charge.
There is also information from another owner in this thread

Mission Control App - Turbo Vado Solution Now Available

I´ve just picked up the bikes at LBS today. Both the Vado 4.0 and Como 5.0 were upgraded to the new TCD-W diplay at no cost for me:D. Both bike were bought in november 2018 and at that time they were still announced as compatible with Mission Control App. I live i Denmark and there might be a...

electricbikereview.com

I lowered the Eco mode from 35% to 25% ( or was it 30%) on my Vado 5.0 and I got got better milage but not as much as 20% better. Maybe 10-15%. Perhaps I didn´t adjust Peak power, only Support level.
Speed is what makes the big difference ( and of course a bigger battery as on the 5.0)
Specialized used to have a range calculator on their website but I can´t find it now. It was really easy to see how average speed have an influence on milage.
The price difference, $1.600, between a 4.0 and a 5.0 in the US is surprising. In Sweden the difference is $1000. Still a lot of money.
As I have a large battery and happy with the range I went back to standard settings of support levels as the Vado is fun with more power.

 

[PDXzap]

Specialized used to have a range calculator on their website but I can´t find it now.

To get to the range calculator go to this page, select a model, the range calculator for that model should appear.

 

[PaD]

To get to the range calculator go to this page, select a model, the range calculator for that model should appear.

Thanks. Works now on my iPad. I couldn’t reach the range calculator eatlier today from my computer at my office. Maybe a browser problem?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I lowered the Eco mode from 35% to 25% ( or was it 30%) on my Vado 5.0 and I got got better milage but not as much as 20% better. Maybe 10-15%. Perhaps I didn´t adjust Peak power, only Support level.
Speed is what makes the big difference ( and of course a bigger battery as on the 5.0)

Thank you for the figures, PaD. I believe adjusting Peak Power takes significant effect on the range. It is because as you accelerate, high current is drawn from the battery. My needs involve long travels, so once the dreaded BLOKS display is replaced with the TCD-W, I intend to carefully tune the mode plans. My 2019 Vado 5.0 gives me too much support and acceleration in Eco mode. I own another hybrid bike (with rear hub motor) and with careful restricting the pedal assistance I was able to ride for 135 km on a single charge, 576 Wh battery. My new Vado allows me 66 km on Eco with default settings, which seems a little bit ridiculous, taken the 604 Wh battery in the account.

Fast ride in Sport mode is of course a lot of fun if I do not plan a long journey.

 

[PaD]

Thank you for the figures, PaD. I believe adjusting Peak Power takes significant effect on the range. It is because as you accelerate, high current is drawn from the battery. My needs involve long travels, so once the dreaded BLOKS display is replaced with the TCD-W, I intend to carefully tune the mode plans. My 2019 Vado 5.0 gives me too much support and acceleration in Eco mode. I own another hybrid bike (with rear hub motor) and with careful restricting the pedal assistance I was able to ride for 135 km on a single charge, 576 Wh battery. My new Vado allows me 66 km on Eco with default settings, which seems a little bit ridiculous, taken the 604 Wh battery in the account.

Fast ride in Sport mode is of course a lot of fun if I do not plan a long journey.

My 2020 Vado 5.0 is a 25km/h restricted bike so I get great mileage. 120km in Eco mode without draining the battery completely.
Cut off speed is now 29km/h and I have Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires and that reduces the range.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My 2020 Vado 5.0 is a 25km/h restricted bike so I get great mileage. 120km in Eco mode without draining the battery completely.
Cut off speed is now 29km/h and I have Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires and that reduces the range.

That makes sense. The air resistance has huge impact on power consumption. Mine is L1e-B so I travel at 30 km/h or faster, even in Eco mode. The other e-bike I have is restricted to 25 km/h and has narrow tires, so long range. Once my Vado is Mission Control compatible, I intend to use Smart Control and see how the Vado would behave with very much limited pedalling assistance.

 

[RickNStl]

As a future 4.0 buyer, I'm curious to know what settings you used. I'm much more about distance than speed and am not looking to cruise at 20+, and would like to hear what you've learned about "tuning" the e-boost.

I found that turning ECO mode to 10% Support/25% Peak will basically offset the weight of the bike and provides about 120 miles range on my Vado 5.0. Then setting the Sport to 25%/60% gives a great boost of power when you have a pace to keep. After turning Turbo down to 65/100 for a while, I eventually turned it up to 100/100 because I don't often use the Turbo mode but when I do, it's because I want the strong assist. It was disappointing when we "played" with the smart control -- the bike just seemed dead and both times we tried it, we ended up stopping mid-ride and restarting everything to turn it off.

Once I found the Tune settings that I liked, it was just a matter of factoring in topography and wind speed/direction to guesstimate how much battery a given ride would use. It seems very predictable now on out-and-back rides--a strong headwind going out will "cost" about 10% more battery and a good tailwind will save about the same. If I can keep the battery at 60% or more after a ride then I don't need to charge it for the next ride, thus extending the battery's life.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I found that turning ECO mode to 10% Support/25% Peak will basically offset the weight of the bike and provides about 120 miles range on my Vado 5.0

Thank you for the very useful information @RickNStl .

It was disappointing when we "played" with the smart control

Good to know!

 

[rochrunner]

I found that turning ECO mode to 10% Support/25% Peak will basically offset the weight of the bike and provides about 120 miles range on my Vado 5.0. Then setting the Sport to 25%/60% gives a great boost of power when you have a pace to keep. After turning Turbo down to 65/100 for a while, I eventually turned it up to 100/100 because I don't often use the Turbo mode but when I do, it's because I want the strong assist.

Thanks, that all makes sense, especially since I don't want to give up the fitness benefit of riding the bike much of the time. When I had an older model as a rental for a couple days and was trying to ride with my wife on her Trek with us both in "Eco" mode, the Vado kept trying to surge ahead. The Trek's Bosch assist is spread over 4 modes to the Vado's 3, and I plan on at least tuning mine to be more compatible with her normal settings.