After about 5000 miles on my 2020 Vado 4, I want to replace the tires. I'd like to get thinner tires to help go farther and faster. Do you know how narrow of tires that I can get with these rims? The Vado comes with 700 x 47 tires. The Vado SL comes with 700 x 38 tires. Can I go to 700 x 38 or even 700 x 32 on the Vado? I realize that I can ask my LBS, but it's been a while since I've posted anything and thought it'd be more fun to ask you all. Thanks in advance and Happy New Year!
Narrower tires for Vado 4?
- Thread starter Mr. Max
- Start date
Luto
Active Member
Part of it depends upon the width of the rim. The Vado 4 specification don't show the width. But that tolerance is more about having the tire width being 120% of the rim width and running tubeless.
I am very much with you on getting more performance and tires are a huge factor. Rene Herse Ultralights will change your bike feel more than most people will believe is possible. I would run Rene Herse Ultralight, and tubeless, if possible, using Panaracer sealant (non fiberglass). Depending on how much off road you do I would recommend these.
Some off road and more grip
700C x 35 Bon Jon Pass TC Tire – Rene Herse Cycles
Almost all road.
700C x 32 Stampede Pass Tire – Rene Herse Cycles
Best to 2021.
I am very much with you on getting more performance and tires are a huge factor. Rene Herse Ultralights will change your bike feel more than most people will believe is possible. I would run Rene Herse Ultralight, and tubeless, if possible, using Panaracer sealant (non fiberglass). Depending on how much off road you do I would recommend these.
Some off road and more grip
700C x 35 Bon Jon Pass TC Tire – Rene Herse Cycles
Almost all road.
700C x 32 Stampede Pass Tire – Rene Herse Cycles
Best to 2021.
Luto, are the ultralight tires more susceptible to flats or punctures? Especially with the Vado's weight I'm hesitant to trade performance for reliability. I ride on both streets and forest preserve trails and have (thankfully) yet to experience a tire issue.
e-levity
Active Member
I think your Vado 4 came with Trigger Sport 700x47 tires.
These are 60tpi, have a wire bead, and weigh ~600g.
You might take a look at Specialized's Pathfinder Pro.
Thes Pros are 120tpi, are foldable and tubeless ready, and weigh 540g (700x42) or 480g (700x38). Either size is probably OK on your rim.
Both sizes will smooth out your ride due to the smooth center strip and supple side walls. They'll also liven up the handling.
We like the 700x42 on our Creos - great on and off road. We set them up tubeless, no punctures or flats to date.
These are 60tpi, have a wire bead, and weigh ~600g.
You might take a look at Specialized's Pathfinder Pro.
Thes Pros are 120tpi, are foldable and tubeless ready, and weigh 540g (700x42) or 480g (700x38). Either size is probably OK on your rim.
Both sizes will smooth out your ride due to the smooth center strip and supple side walls. They'll also liven up the handling.
We like the 700x42 on our Creos - great on and off road. We set them up tubeless, no punctures or flats to date.
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Luto
Active Member
The make a regular and heavy duty. Of course they will be more fragile but some people ride over stuff, and don't stop to pull out the debris. Seriously, one only gets flats by running over stuff (or hard strikes-cuts). Simple solution is not to run over so much stuff (avoid strikes), and when you do, stop and check your tires. Probably I have pulled stuff out of the tread 20 times for every flat I have gotten. If I had not, most of those 20 times would have resulted in a flat. Also tubeless with sealant covers a lot of case where you unknowingly hit stuff.
It sound like you are not getting many issues to begin with, but it is personal choice. I think it is a huge performance increase that is worth it, especially with tubeless and sealant, imo. You get moving faster, corner more sure footed, balance easier, maintain speed and roll faster. But then again, maybe I am just looking for an excuse to buy expensive tires that feel like tubulars (sew-ups). Also E-bikes are not as nearly sensitive to resistance-momentum difference in tires. So, YES you are trading performance for reliability, but you might have "reliability" to spare, given the number of issues over 5000 miles with "regular" performance tires.
PS: those "tack" thorns are the worse, but it does not take much to recognize the plant along the road-path. When you see it , watch were you are riding, and don't let a tack stay in your tire more than 2-3 revolutions. But of course you can put heavy tires on, put on shields, put in tubes etc.
Thanks, that’s good info. And yes, those tack thorns are the worst!!
Sierratim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
Tire fit is as much a function of wheel diameter as rim width. Schwalbe offers a rim fit chart that I've uploaded to this post.
I'm not sure of the Vado rim width but it is easy to measure, once the tire is off! Assuming that it is 23mm, the attached chart would spec a tire as narrow as 37mm as an example.
In any case, I would recommend a tire that carries the industry 'E50' rating to be sure it can handle the weight and speed of your Vado 4. Most major manufacturers offer these. The final tire choice should depend on your riding conditions; mostly pavement, some gravel, etc.
In regards to tubeless, my sons are all in for this tech on their MTBs. They tell me my 2020 Vado 5 does not have tubeless ready rims. In the early years they used conventional rims in tubeless setups with ongoing issues. One son is now an engineer for a bike component company. He tells me that these issues have all been resolved with one big improvement being the profile of the tubeless ready rims; they're designed to grab the tire bead much better.
For me, lacking tubeless ready rims, I'm OK with tubes for my riding; pavement with some gravel and dirt. I do use thorn strips/tire liners to minimize flats. Haven't had a flat in ~1,500 miles on the Vado, more on my bio-bike.
Hope this helps.
You won't get a significant improvement in range or speed but it will be significantly worse in comfort.
Instead you may wanna go for a faster rolling 2.0 tire and maybe some innerbarends to improve the aerodynamics..
In terms of installation it depends on your rim width. You can use a chart like the one here
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
I concur with Johnny. Specialized "Electrak 2.0 Armadillo with Gripton compound" slick tyres (28 x 2.0"):
- Fit any "full" Vado with fenders
- Are very hard to puncture (Armadillo)
- Are certified for high-speed e-bikes
- Have exceptionally low rolling resistance
- Have unbelievable road grip, also at low temperatures (the Gripton compound)
- Are silent
- 2" size makes them soften the ride very much.
Just to follow up on this thread. I ended up procrastinating and not buying new tires until this week when I finally got my first flat. I bought the Vado 4 in March 2020, rode the heck out of it and didn't get a flat until this month. So that was pretty good! When I took the tire off to fix it, I saw that I had worn the tire down past the rubber and onto the inner belts in multiple places. What rubber that was left in the center of the tire was only about .5 mm. I brought the old tire down to our LBS to make sure that I got the right size. They all joked and said that I didn't have miles left, but feet. Anyway, I ended up getting a pair of Crossroads Armadillo's 700 x 38c. Since then, I've gone for two 20 mile rides on rural NH winter roads. I like the Crossroads a lot. I like the substantive tread pattern, narrower width and the higher pressure. I think they'll work good for my circumstances. Again, thanks for all of your feedback. Ride on! https://www.specialized.com/us/en/c...261?color=229440-156261&searchText=00316-0338
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Was your wheel circumference in the system updated? Or, does your display agree with the GPS now?
Boy, nothing is ever easy in life. I tried to figure out how to change the wheel circumference myself in Mission Control. I didn't see a way? Googled the question, which took me to Specialized support.
Here's the answer:
How do I change my wheel circumference in Mission Control?
Due to legal requirements, this is not supported. Please contact your authorized Specialized retailer to adjust the wheel circumference values in the system to match your setup. You will need to physically bring your bike to the retailer.
Back to the bike shop, I go.
Here's the answer:
How do I change my wheel circumference in Mission Control?
Due to legal requirements, this is not supported. Please contact your authorized Specialized retailer to adjust the wheel circumference values in the system to match your setup. You will need to physically bring your bike to the retailer.
Back to the bike shop, I go.
Sierratim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
Yep, the 'majors' don't allow owners to set their own wheel size as this would make defeating the Class (1, 2, or 3) ebike ratings trivially easy.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
The "wheel circumference" matter is rather cryptic with Specialized e-bikes. @Kam1936 made several experiments after replacing his Trigger tyres with Electrak 2.0, involving visits at his LBS, manipulating the wheel circumference figure in BLEvo app, etc. Nothing worked. In any case, there was a significant deviation between the Vado distance readout and GPS. Final conclusion was: "Even if true circumference of Electrak 2.0 is 2286 mm, the default value of 2255 mm gives the best match between the Vado computer and GPS".
I gave up. 2255? Let it be.
I gave up. 2255? Let it be.
The difference between wheel circumference numbers effects the distance readout more than anything. The mph readout varies maybe 3-4 mph max at the higher speeds between 2100-2400 wheel circumberence inputs, lower speeds smaller amounts. You are not going to effect the max speed of the bike to any extent in my experience, the readout will change, but the actual speed won't, and at the most if it does 3-4 mph. So don't get too excited about the whole thing. The computation skills of the tcd appears to be lacking, you can ride a distance twice and the indicated mileage will probably not be the same.
I'll add I did find 2103 pretty exact circumference for the Como. When I tried to translate via percentage that number to the Vado it was way off so I was closing in on the correct distance readout by changing the number and on my last effort it jumped to too much distance for some reason and I gave up at that point. And I was surprised at the inability to duplicate a readout on same distance runs. I believe it boils down to the magnet sensor missing rotations or slow computation skills of the tcd. BTW, decreasing the number increases distance readout.
I'll add I did find 2103 pretty exact circumference for the Como. When I tried to translate via percentage that number to the Vado it was way off so I was closing in on the correct distance readout by changing the number and on my last effort it jumped to too much distance for some reason and I gave up at that point. And I was surprised at the inability to duplicate a readout on same distance runs. I believe it boils down to the magnet sensor missing rotations or slow computation skills of the tcd. BTW, decreasing the number increases distance readout.
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
All right Marcela. You have convinced me it makes little sense to dwell on the wheel circumference subject.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
2255 mm for the Vado it is!Just my experience that might save someone some time. Feel free to create your own experience.
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