If you were me, which Turbo Vado SL would you buy? Redux....

[paterbil]

Many thanks for the replies to my 10 May thread.

As both the thread & I have wandered, here is a recap:

I am 72, and looking for a bike to ride on the up n' down roads north of Pittsburgh PA, with my son. No commuting, we both ride for exercise, typically about 20 mile loops, roughly an hour.

My choice ended up being a Turbo Vado SL5, which now has a couple of hundred miles.

I got the XL (6'2", 180#), as the L just seemed a little small. After riding a bit, I could have stretched out the L seat etc. but think it was close enough to go either way.

That said, the bike itself is bigger, as I ride a Trek FX6 in Florida, where I live.

For me, the mass of the SL5 is not noticeable in the handling, it is crisp and responsive. The extra heft is comforting, particularly descending @ 38 mph on rural PA roads. Go that fast in FL, I have gone off a bridge into the Gulf.

The Pathfinder tires run smoothly, and I have noticed a little tread 'bite' on sharper turns. I run 32 gatorskins in FL, wider to deal with sand, so the feel is new.

Future Shock will be changed out to get tighter. The trade off is the comfort of shock adsorption vs the feeling of lacking control. The new-ness of the speed may come into play, I am not certain. But having the choice is definitely a plus.

I don't think you should have to read a manual to ride a bike. And I am right, dammit. But if you want to ride the bike efficiently, get a grip on the way the power assist works. I admit that I still am working that out. Resentment or lazy, I don't know. ( I do know that when my son wants to draft me as I ascend in Turbo Mode, well, it's nice to be needed, lol)

The SRAM setup has worked without a hitch. As a Shimano person (fishing & bikes), this was a concern for me. The somewhat clunky appearance of the RD & cassette threw me, partly as I was unfamiliar with SRAM. When you consider what you are asking the mech to do, bulk isn't bad. It is not like I am worried about shaving grams here.

The 1x12 configuration provides a huge range of effortless pedaling, or gives me as much of a workout as I could want. My primary goal is exercise, I use as little boost as I can get away with.

Since it is easy to be a critic: Why charge the bike and have the lights discharge at the same time? I am a big believer in lights, but a single beam is not as effective as a flashing pattern, fore & aft. A solid front light is nice for commuters, and 'always on' protects; but variable beam choices would be a plus.

I have been running my Garmin 130 in conjunction with the Mission Control app on my phone. I think it would be less distracting to have all data onto the handlebar. No, I will not text and pedal. Not sure which way to go here, but the mount is nice to have.

Objectively, the SL5 checks all my boxes. It is not inexpensive, and obviously is well thought out, engineered, and manufactured.

As with many things, value becomes more important than price. In my situation, the SL5 fills the bill.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Just on the 'always on' lights. I was confused at first, do I need them? And they don't flash. But now I love them simply because they are always on. The big thing or things(!) is that I can see cars react and slow around a bend even in daylight. It gives a second or two more driver reaction time which on our bendy narrow lanes is invaluable. And in winter its like a lighthouse through the murk. But the main thing is that I never need worry I've forgotten to charge the lights as constantly happens on my other bikes.

I got passed once on a long drag of a hill in the winter rain by a proper old roadie, must have been in his 70s lean and battered looking, old Knight of the road, on a classic old steel frame flying up the hill no motor needed easily passing me and he shouted in my ear as he flew past that my rear light was "bloody fantastic" As I can't see it when on the bike I was delighted to hear it. And also left thinking if I live to be 100 I'll never be as fit as him.

So yeah for ease of use and safety with inattentive drivers the 'always on' feature is invaluable. If you ride with a lot of traffic maybe add some flashers front and rear. You can't have too many lights.

 

[JeffC57]

...and you can turn off the lights while charging by simply powering down the bike. It will continue to charge the batteries.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Paterbil, congratulations on your Vado SL 5.0, and thank you for a great write-up!

My comments:

• As Jeff said, just switch your e-bike off while charging. You will notice the full charge when the red LED on the charger turns green
• As Ras said, the headlight on the Vado SL is excellent, and your SL 5.0 has even a better light than my SL 4.0! Flashing lights can be distracting for the drivers and many of them feels growing aggression at the sight.

Let me tell you three short stories about the Lezyne:

Quite recently, I rode my Vado SL on a long straight MUP during a bright day. I could see a woman far away; she was shouting and waving her arms and it was certain it was related to me! As I approached her to discover it was a nice senior woman, I stopped and politely asked what was that all about. She exclaimed enthusiastically:
'Now! (You are) The first cyclist I could see who is visible at distance!' -- anxious, I asked her -- 'Was my headlight blinding you perhaps?" -- to which she said -- "If so? Let it blind the drivers! Let them see you! I need to tell you your bike light is phenomenal! Is it battery powered?' -- and we exchanged pleasantries (I thanked her for the high opinion on the Lezyne before I continued my ride).

Earlier this year, I was returning from a shopping ride at the dark. Upon entering the block of flats I live in, I met an agitated man. 'Neighbour!' -- he exclaimed -- 'What is that diabolically strong bike light you're using? It is as strong as the car headlight! Unbelievable!'

This photo of my Vado SL 4.0 was taken from some 1,000 ft, 10x smartphone zoom lens. I wonder what driver could not spot it

 

[Ben J]

Just on the 'always on' lights. I was confused at first, do I need them?

You should be able to turn them off with a long press of the "F1" (top) button. But they will default to "on" each time you power on the bike.

Future Shock will be changed out to get tighter. The trade off is the comfort of shock adsorption vs the feeling of lacking control.

I'm not a future shock expert but I did watch a video about them out of curiosity. That guy mentioned that he rode for quite a while before realizing that the accessories that came with the bike included some springs of different stiffness meant to go in the shock. He had been riding it with no extra spring at all.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm not a future shock expert but I did watch a video about them out of curiosity. That guy mentioned that he rode for quite a while before realizing that the accessories that came with the bike included some springs of different stiffness meant to go in the shock. He had been riding it with no extra spring at all.

That is correct. The Future Shock comes with the main spring only, and there is an empty chamber for a "helper spring" that should be delivered together with the bike.