Mission Control Documentation and Support

[Douglas Ruby]

I got this as a translation from a German publication:

"On the Friday before the start of the Eurobike 2018, exactly on 06. July 2018 at 09:00 o'clock, has the electronics specialist BLOKS. have to file for bankruptcy at the Munich district court. The company, which manufactures innovative displays, control units and electronic components for e-bikes, has fallen into difficulties for unknown reasons.

Despite the fact that the company, with locations in Munich and Hong Kong, always seemed so successful from the outside, and that the products were also used by numerous manufacturers on their e-bikes and pedelecs, it does not seem to be going on regularly."

 

[Dave E]

Specialized got screwed.

*WE* got screwed.

 

[Douglas Ruby]

*WE* got screwed.

Dave, my pardon....Yes indeed, purchasers of the Vado (in particular) got screwed. The Vado was shown in prototype form in late 2016 and launched in the US market in April of 2017. As a higher end bike competing against Stromer and various BOSCH equipped bikes, Mission Control capability was promised as an upgrade and "just around the corner" over the last 1.5 years.

I wonder if there is any kind of "make good" here? I worked in technology for nearly 30 years. I dealt with situations where a technology subcontractor (like BLOKS) did not deliver on promised developments and the ripple affect can be devastating to the end user.

Consider all of the vendors and customers of BIONX. OHM is still shipping bicycles, but where do they and their customers go now?

I believe this is part of the shake out in a developing marketplace. Unfortunatly, we (the riders) end uip being the guinea pigs.

Doug

 

[Carterk]

Such sad news. Really glad I bought my Raleigh Redux- the promise of Mission Control was one of my few reasons to hesitate.

 

[Massii]

Wow..thank you for the info
Finally I know the thruth. Now I know why I returned 2! Turbo Vado 5.0... both showing the exact same problems. Waiting for my refund though...

 

[eBikr]

There was an update to the app on Android to version 2.0.5. Still nothing about connecting with Vado. Release notes only say:

Fixed issues with some email addresses (e.g"-", .com.au)
Ride list improvements and map fixes, mark Strava uploaded rides
Improved offline functionality
Stability fixes
Persist order of widgets
Terms of use link fixed

Interestingly, the notes also say, emphasis mine:

Mission Control is compatible with all Turbo Levo, Turbo Kenevo, all future Turbo models, and Model Year 2016/17 Turbo S and Turbo X models.

Now, the Vado is labeled "Turbo" all over the frame. So what are they doing to address compatibility with their flagship commuter bike for model year 2016/7?

 

[fklane]

I called Specialized in November and asked them about Mission Control for my 2019 Turbo Vado 6.0. They said they were working on an entirely different app for the Vado. They however did not have a timeline. It sure would be nice for SPECIALIZED to share some plans and satisfy customers who have spent a considerable amount of money on their product.