Need help choosing.

Stefan Mikes said:
As long as the warranty is valid, failed motor is replaced by Specialized. In pre-covid times, they often replaced entire e-bike.
What's your ride, because I can't remember?
Click to expand...
Trek hybrid standard bike, Ride1Up 700 e-bike. But like many of you on this forum, I would like to have more than one e-bike - no hurry though, maybe next year. It's Ride1Up that I mentioned a little earlier that has introduced a new bike using Brose motors, but it's not available yet.
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eMTB Options For 2021-2023

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Ride1UP Mid Drive Teaser

Hey folks, Kevin, the owner of Ride1UP, recently posted a couple of photos teasing the latest mid-drive bike to be introduced later in 2021, initially without any additional details. I thought I'd share the photos here with you as well. Product page: https://ride1up.com/product/prodigy/...
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Stefan Mikes said:
Aha.
Click to expand...
Exactly, and I'm pretty happy with it, so that's why I was particularly interested in the Ride1Up Prodigy until I heard about the Brose motors. Anyway, there are plenty of options, and I have plenty of time to decide if I choose to add another e-bike as many of you have. Nearest bike shop (Trek dealer) is 2 hour round trip, but I've always done all of my own maintenance on bikes.
 
Don't be afraid of a Brose powered bike. Mine has been excellent, but it is not powered by a Brose motor modified by Specialized. Extremely smooth, quiet, torquey and intuitive. Riden on technical single track on rolling hills in N. Carolina near Charlotte.
 
I walked into two LBS' today with an open mind. I tried out a few bikes. I had my mind made up already between the Vado 3.0, Vado 4.0, or Verve 2. The first shop I went to had 2 Trek bikes in stock (verve 2 and 3 along with their top-end stuff that I didn't even want to look at), the 2nd shop had the Vado 3.0.

Verve 2 - I test drove this first and it was ok. It had that natural cycling feeling that I was going for. I liked the color (blue) a lot more than the pictures online and I am a Trek guy for mountain biking. It felt too large for me though. It was a nice bike and felt like it was at home around 15mph, which is what I usually cruise at anyways. One thing that was a huge negative for me was the quil stem.

Verve 3 - More impressed with this than I thought. The fit and finish on it was nice and I like that I can get a range extender for it. This was a serious contender that I didn't expect. If they didn't have the Vado 3.0 I would have been happy taking this one.

2020 Vado 3.0 - I went in wanting to test the 3.0 and 4.0. Their site said they had both in stock in large. Turns out their site has a shared pool of stock between all of their stores and they only had the 3.0 in stock at that location. I wasn't about to drive across town to try the 4.0, especially since I had already spent the morning at another bike shop across town. I jumped on the 3.0 and took it for a ride on the amazing protected bike lanes in Seattle (I'm seriously jealous). I fell in love. The bike felt so natural. It encouraged me to click through all the gears. It felt like I was the one doing the power and the bike was helping, something that was really important to me coming from a Lectric XP where I felt like the bike did all the work and I was just there for the ride. The bike shop salesman didn't know the dirty details of what the difference was between the 3 and 4 so I walked around on my phone looking it up. I could have justified the price ($500 more) with the drivetrain ugprade, slightly better fork (maybe? I cant find any info on it), and thru-axel front, but the 3.0 was there and I was ready to be done so I could go and enjoy it. Both those things are small things that I can upgrade in the future anyways if it really is an issue.

My only gripe is that everything that I read and watched on the 2020 model said that the MSRP was supposed to be $2900. I really wanted the 2021 but that's all they had. With how scarce bikes are right now, I was happy to get what I could get so I didn't argue or try and haggle or anything. Thank you everyone for the help, especially @Stefan Mikes , you really sold me with the connectivity stuff.
 
Did you end up with actually buying the bike, @lloose?
  • First of all, don't worry about the 2020/2021 matter. 2021 Vado e-bikes are exactly the 2020 models, only more expensive... Good choice!
  • That blue colour looks fantastic on 3.0!
  • 3.0 has a 460 Wh battery while 4.0 is equipped with a 500 Wh one. The difference is not that big. In far future, you might opt to buy the 600 Wh battery (and a battery cover) for a grand or so; all Vado/Como batteries are compatible.
  • 3.0 has 1.2E motor, and 4.0 is equipped with somewhat stronger 1.2 motor. As long as there are no dramatic hills in your area, no problem. 1.2E is expected to be more economical on the battery, especially as you don't expect to be riding very fast.
  • The fork: I would not dramatize about it and even wouldn't have replaced that. Bear in mind you cannot just replace the fork: you would also have to replace the wheel hub.
  • 9-speed drivetrain. Honestly, a good choice. It is fairly easy to buy spare parts for 9-speed drivetrain and these parts are inexpensive. Great saving on maintenance cost for the future!
If you have purchased the 3.0, I can only congratulate you your wise and good choice! Many happy miles! And don't forget to share some photos!
 
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lloose said:
I walked into two LBS' today with an open mind. I tried out a few bikes. I had my mind made up already between the Vado 3.0, Vado 4.0, or Verve 2. The first shop I went to had 2 Trek bikes in stock (verve 2 and 3 along with their top-end stuff that I didn't even want to look at), the 2nd shop had the Vado 3.0.

Verve 2 - I test drove this first and it was ok. It had that natural cycling feeling that I was going for. I liked the color (blue) a lot more than the pictures online and I am a Trek guy for mountain biking. It felt too large for me though. It was a nice bike and felt like it was at home around 15mph, which is what I usually cruise at anyways. One thing that was a huge negative for me was the quil stem.

Verve 3 - More impressed with this than I thought. The fit and finish on it was nice and I like that I can get a range extender for it. This was a serious contender that I didn't expect. If they didn't have the Vado 3.0 I would have been happy taking this one.

2020 Vado 3.0 - I went in wanting to test the 3.0 and 4.0. Their site said they had both in stock in large. Turns out their site has a shared pool of stock between all of their stores and they only had the 3.0 in stock at that location. I wasn't about to drive across town to try the 4.0, especially since I had already spent the morning at another bike shop across town. I jumped on the 3.0 and took it for a ride on the amazing protected bike lanes in Seattle (I'm seriously jealous). I fell in love. The bike felt so natural. It encouraged me to click through all the gears. It felt like I was the one doing the power and the bike was helping, something that was really important to me coming from a Lectric XP where I felt like the bike did all the work and I was just there for the ride. The bike shop salesman didn't know the dirty details of what the difference was between the 3 and 4 so I walked around on my phone looking it up. I could have justified the price ($500 more) with the drivetrain ugprade, slightly better fork (maybe? I cant find any info on it), and thru-axel front, but the 3.0 was there and I was ready to be done so I could go and enjoy it. Both those things are small things that I can upgrade in the future anyways if it really is an issue.

My only gripe is that everything that I read and watched on the 2020 model said that the MSRP was supposed to be $2900. I really wanted the 2021 but that's all they had. With how scarce bikes are right now, I was happy to get what I could get so I didn't argue or try and haggle or anything. Thank you everyone for the help, especially @Stefan Mikes , you really sold me with the connectivity stuff.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you have found your bike. Congratulations. I ride a Como3. Same motor and drivetrain. Really a very good bike.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Did you end up with actually buying the bike, @lloose?
  • First of all, don't worry about the 2020/2021 matter. 2021 Vado e-bikes are exactly the 2020 models, only more expensive... Good choice!
  • That blue colour looks fantastic on 3.0!
  • 3.0 has a 460 Wh battery while 4.0 is equipped with a 500 Wh one. The difference is not that big. In far future, you might opt to buy the 600 Wh battery (and a battery cover) for a grand or so; all Vado/Como batteries are compatible.
  • 3.0 has 1.2E motor, and 4.0 is equipped with somewhat stronger 1.2 motor. As long as there are no dramatic hills in your area, no problem. 1.2E is expected to be more economical on the battery, especially as you don't expect to be riding very fast.
  • The fork: I would not dramatize about it and even wouldn't have replaced that. Bear in mind you cannot just replace the fork: you would also have to replace the wheel hub.
  • 9-speed drivetrain. Honestly, a good choice. It is fairly easy to buy spare parts for 9-speed drivetrain and these parts are inexpensive. Great saving on maintenance cost for the future!
If you have purchased the 3.0, I can only congratulate you your wise and good choice! Many happy miles! And don't forget to share some photos!
Click to expand...

I bought the 2020 3.0 in the gray color (not the blue gray, the one that is actually gray).

I wish I would have known about the 1.2 vs 1.2e motor. When I was at the bike shop, the sales guy said that they had the same motor when I was asking for the differences between the 3.0 and 4.0. If I would have known it was a slightly more powerful motor with more torque, I would have at least test drove the 4.0. I didn't realize the 4.0 also came with a faster charger (4a vs 2a). The components alone for $500 more would be nice but not a huge deal. The components + slightly better motor + fast charger would have probably been enough for me to go to the other location and test ride the 4.0. I wish Specialized was more forward with their motor specs too, I could have made a better choice if I just knew that the motors were slightly different.

I am probably overthinking this though. I wanted this bike because it felt more engaging to ride. I could shift through gears and give the bike more, allowing a longer range. Riding my Lectric XP was fun, but the opposite of what this bike feels like. The XP was more in charge of the ride than I was. If I turned off the motor, the XP was grueling to pedal. The Vado feels like a normal bike without the motor on. I love that I get rewarded for shifting through my gears on the Vado 3.0. The gears on my XP are just a novelty to be honest, I rarely ever shifted out of the highest gear because the motor was pushing all the time anyways.

I still think that my 3.0 was probably the better choice. I just need to go up a few hills to put my mind at ease. If not, I have a 30 day return policy and I don't think they would mind me returning it as an exchange for the 4.0. I really don't think its going to be an issue though.
 
lloose said:
I bought the 2020 3.0 in the gray color (not the blue gray, the one that is actually gray).
Click to expand...
Photo, please! :)

Just ride, ride, ride and discover the capabilities of your new steed! There would be not many hills to be not conquered in granny gear and 100% Turbo assistance. Lower torque pays dividends in extended range, compensating the 40 Wh difference with the 4.0 battery. (Besides, 1.2E is optimized for low cadence).

Charger... The 460 Wh battery is 36 V / 12.8 Ah. I estimate the charging time from 0 to 100% as 7 hours. 4 A charger would shorten the charging time to half. You could of course order the 4 A charger.

I don't know the geography of the region you live in. @Art Deco rides a Como with 1.2E motor, and could chime in.

I don't know how physically fit you are but you might gradually discover the motor actually gives you too much assistance, and then you'd reduce both the assistance levels and maximum motor power with Mission Control or BLEvo app.

On the other hand, if you feel buyer's remorse, book a 4.0 at the other LBS and promptly return your unscathed 3.0 :)
 
I did a quick 5 mile ride around my neighborhood. Went up the tallest hill in my town, and while I did have to downshift quite a bit and put more into it, I got up it no problem. I am still comparing it to my Lectric XP which isn’t fair and is against the reason I bought the bike anyways. I wanted more of a natural feeling ride, this bike is 100% that. It still got me up that nasty hill just fine.

I’m keeping the 3.0. I am still thrilled to have it in my stable. Picture coming later today.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Photo, please! :)

Just ride, ride, ride and discover the capabilities of your new steed! There would be not many hills to be not conquered in granny gear and 100% Turbo assistance. Lower torque pays dividends in extended range, compensating the 40 Wh difference with the 4.0 battery. (Besides, 1.2E is optimized for low cadence).

Charger... The 460 Wh battery is 36 V / 12.8 Ah. I estimate the charging time from 0 to 100% as 7 hours. 4 A charger would shorten the charging time to half. You could of course order the 4 A charger.

I don't know the geography of the region you live in. @Art Deco rides a Como with 1.2E motor, and could chime in.

I don't know how physically fit you are but you might gradually discover the motor actually gives you too much assistance, and then you'd reduce both the assistance levels and maximum motor power with Mission Control or BLEvo app.

On the other hand, if you feel buyer's remorse, book a 4.0 at the other LBS and promptly return your unscathed 3.0 :)
Click to expand...
Yes, ArtDeco will chime in.... As always .I didn't catch on to the lower torque and smaller battery until after buying my bike either, when @Sierratim posted a chart of torque curves in this forum.
But I climb hills that fit young riders on manual bikes must carry their bikes up, and I get similar range to the 4 series on a lighter bike b/c of the smaller battery and motor.
Originally I was worried about the range and power and fussed with power settings in mission control . Today everything is set back to factory defaults, and I ride in the middle power settings that it wakes up in with no worries at all.
I am not riding centuries like @StefanMikes or climbing the Serria mountains like @Sierratim, but I never intended to do that anyway, and I am cheap enough to realize that for me, this bike is a better deal.
It is the same geometry at half the price, the 9 speed trigger shifters and hydraulic brakes are way better at what they do than I am at using them, and my dealer has my back. A win.
 
lloose said:
I did a quick 5 mile ride around my neighborhood. Went up the tallest hill in my town, and while I did have to downshift quite a bit and put more into it, I got up it no problem. I am still comparing it to my Lectric XP which isn’t fair and is against the reason I bought the bike anyways. I wanted more of a natural feeling ride, this bike is 100% that. It still got me up that nasty hill just fine.

I’m keeping the 3.0. I am still thrilled to have it in my stable. Picture coming later today.
Click to expand...
A wise choice.
 
Oh yeah. Senility is a terrible thing. Welcome to the Turbo Vado Como Owners Club, @Ilose. We are glad to meet you.
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Specialized Turbo Vado/Como/Tero/Tero X User Club

Majority of EBR Forum owners of Specialized e-bikes ride either a Turbo Vado or a Como. This is natural, as these two major models have been designed for an average cyclist. Turbo Levo and Kenevo are technical ride stuff, discussed on e-MTB fora. Creo is for road cycling fanatics :) It is...
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Here she is. I just ordered a fast charger for it too. Looking forward to putting some miles on it.
A2B8D38A-2233-48D5-899E-5935C1A5E4FA.jpeg
 
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