New Specialized Como SL

Does anyone know if the steer tube on a Turbo Como 5.0 could be modified to accept the front basket mounting hardware?

The front rack on my Turbo Como really messes with the steering at any load above 10 lbs. or so.
 
Lectric Bill said:
Does anyone know if the steer tube on a Turbo Como 5.0 could be modified to accept the front basket mounting hardware?

The front rack on my Turbo Como really messes with the steering at any load above 10 lbs. or so.
Click to expand...
That’s what I found. I ended up hanging panniers from mine.
 
Yes, panniers are better because they're lower, I guess.
I use them along with panniers on the back rack when I grocery shop.

But I'd still like a basket after seeing the steer tube mount on my neighbor's RadMission 1.

Basket Mount.png


If I ever get around to it, I'll look into having two split rings made to go around the outside of the steer tube.
The front surfaces of the rings would be milled flat and drilled at the same spacing required for the Rad Power basket.
Not a burning need, so I may never act.
 
I test rode a COMO SL 5.0 yesterday and have decided it's not for me.

For starters, and one that might be easy to solve, there's no handlebar-mounted assist-level control (which the VADO SL has), which means the only way to change the assist level is to reach down to the tube and push the button multiple times. Doesn't sound that daunting until you are doing 25 miles per hour trying to look down there in bright sunlight. Yikes!

Also, the basket is always facing the direction the body of the bike is facing rather than the direction of the fork/handlebars. So when you turn, the basket doesn't follow the your moves. Very weird at first but something I am sure you'd get used to.

Plus, the shifting on the Alfine internal hub is quite different - you have to stop pedaling to shift. And again, something one would get used to. I had an Alfine on a recumbent, but I don't remember it being so fussy.

Finally, the work to make the bike go, even on TURBO, is a good deal more than the effort needed at the stock settings on the previous COMOs. On flat, even land, it's HARD to push it past 22/23 mph. I also test rode the VADO SL, and due to its lighter weight, you don't notice this as much.

One more thing - on my Como 3.0 (2020), I have had a riser installed to raise the bars. With the COMO SL, there's no way you can do this - what you get is what you keep. On the VADO SL, you can add a riser/change bars.

So, for me, I'll stick with my Como 3.0 (2020).
 
Last edited:
I LOVE the new Como step thru. Wow. I wish they had that when I bought my bike! Getting on looks so much easier. Sometimes I struggle with my double knee replacements. I manage but it can be a bit crazy at times. lol. I think for me the regular weight is fine. I've gotten use to that. Not sure I'll ever be used to how I get on my bike. I also like the security feature. So cool! Ohlalah that price keeps a climbing doesn't it? The SL would not be for me either. I'm sticking with mine as well. ... Although .... that step thru is really what I wanted when I got my Como.
 
does anyone here have one of these? looking at bikes for the wife - she’s a much much smaller person than i, and the weight listed for the como SL is all over the place! some reviews say 45, some say 35, specialized now says 29.3 which is WAAAAY lighter than i’d have thought given that step through bikes are usually heavier, not lighter than traditional frames.

A9B3069E-80A3-425F-BE43-555F6FCA43C7.jpeg
 
mschwett said:
does anyone here have one of these? looking at bikes for the wife - she’s a much much smaller person than i, and the weight listed for the como SL is all over the place! some reviews say 45, some say 35, specialized now says 29.3 which is WAAAAY lighter than i’d have thought given that step through bikes are usually heavier, not lighter than traditional frames.

View attachment 106596
Click to expand...
I don't know, but I don't trust the weight on the Specialized website. There have been occasional discrepancies on there, so it could be a typo (error) .
 
mschwett said:
does anyone here have one of these? looking at bikes for the wife - she’s a much much smaller person than i, and the weight listed for the como SL is all over the place! some reviews say 45, some say 35, specialized now says 29.3 which is WAAAAY lighter than i’d have thought given that step through bikes are usually heavier, not lighter than traditional frames.
Click to expand...
I don't know where do you got 29.3 from, but as far as we are talking about lbs and not kg ;-) you can judge this yourself.
29 lbs is a usual Creo SL weight (1-2 lbs less with light&expensive road parts, 1-2 more for gravel use).
Vado starts at about 32-33 lbs naked and about 36-37 lbs as EQ.
The Como SL is about 45-46 lbs with front rack and basket.

My wife and I tried Como SL and Vado SL. You see&feel that the Como SL is the heavier bike but it's still much lighter&better than most other ebikes of this type "low city comfort". You can easily loose two pounds dismounting the front rack+basket and one more with smaller tires. The rest of the lbs is shared between frame, handle bar stem combo, rear hub, bulky frame and mudguards+rear rack. So you get something for the extra weight, more comfort and easy of use for example with the geared hub. The question is what the rider wants&needs.
As my wife is very small&light, I "pushed" here to the Vado SL. Also I hated the upright and fix handle handle bar stem combo of the Como SL and found it bad at higher speeds. But feelings&needs of my wife are different, even if she sees&feels the advantages of the Vado Sl, she felt good on the Como SL and felt the bigger comfort. Also the position on the Vado was much too "sporty" for her and we had to change the handle bar to one with more back&up sweep and rise. She is somewhere between the two, the Como SL a little bit less bulky and normal (adaptable) handle bar+stem would have been her's.

I wouldn't make the decision due to weight. It depends on your wife, if she is light and used to a sporty position, not much suspension and normal gears, the Vado SL is her's. If she is bigger and prefers bikes "grandma's style", the Como SL is her's. If she is somewhere between like my wife and your salaries are better than ours, take both! ;-)
Just try/ride both!
 
jodi2 said:
I don't know where do you got 29.3 from, but as far as we are talking about lbs and not kg ;-) you can judge this yourself.
29 lbs is a usual Creo SL weight (1-2 lbs less with light&expensive road parts, 1-2 more for gravel use).
Vado starts at about 32-33 lbs naked and about 36-37 lbs as EQ.
The Como SL is about 45-46 lbs with front rack and basket.

My wife and I tried Como SL and Vado SL. You see&feel that the Como SL is the heavier bike but it's still much lighter&better than most other ebikes of this type "low city comfort". You can easily loose two pounds dismounting the front rack+basket and one more with smaller tires. The rest of the lbs is shared between frame, handle bar stem combo, rear hub, bulky frame and mudguards+rear rack. So you get something for the extra weight, more comfort and easy of use for example with the geared hub. The question is what the rider wants&needs.
As my wife is very small&light, I "pushed" here to the Vado SL. Also I hated the upright and fix handle handle bar stem combo of the Como SL and found it bad at higher speeds. But feelings&needs of my wife are different, even if she sees&feels the advantages of the Vado Sl, she felt good on the Como SL and felt the bigger comfort. Also the position on the Vado was much too "sporty" for her and we had to change the handle bar to one with more back&up sweep and rise. She is somewhere between the two, the Como SL a little bit less bulky and normal (adaptable) handle bar+stem would have been her's.

I wouldn't make the decision due to weight. It depends on your wife, if she is light and used to a sporty position, not much suspension and normal gears, the Vado SL is her's. If she is bigger and prefers bikes "grandma's style", the Como SL is her's. If she is somewhere between like my wife and your salaries are better than ours, take both! ;-)
Just try/ride both!
Click to expand...

yeah. the number is written directly on the specialized website (see screen shot!) and is certainly not believable. there aren't any Como SL nearby to test, but your description eliminates it from consideration. She is small, 162cm and 50kg, and would need to lift the bike in many circumstances - to hang up, put on the bike rack on a bus, steps to get into our building, etc. while a small difference in weight (say 30 vs 35, 35 vs 40) is likely not a deal breaker a bike as big and heavy as you describe won't really work. i do like the step through design, integrated racks and lights, belt drive, and IGH though.......... other interesting options are the vanmoof x3 (uggggggly) and lemond dutch (might be vaporware, never even seen one).
 
mschwett said:
does anyone here have one of these? looking at bikes for the wife - she’s a much much smaller person than i, and the weight listed for the como SL is all over the place! some reviews say 45, some say 35, specialized now says 29.3 which is WAAAAY lighter than i’d have thought given that step through bikes are usually heavier, not lighter than traditional frames.

View attachment 106596
Click to expand...
I’ve been searching their site, but can’t find where this screen shot came from. Can you point me to it?
 
Uburoibob said:
Thanks. Typo fixed! But, where on their website is this page? I couldn’t find it at all
Click to expand...

i’m on mobile at the moment, so it’s probably different. bottom of the main como sl page. might be different formats for mobile, tablet, desktop.

www.specialized.com

Turbo Como SL

From seasoned pros and weekend warriors to kids and commuters, if you ride, we’re here for you. We believe that bikes have the power to change lives, and this simple truth drives us to be and do better.
www.specialized.com www.specialized.com
 
That's what I've been complaining about. NO WEIGHT info. Folks claim that there are the different sizes (s, m, l, xl) so that it would be difficult to list weight. But their charts have all of the geometry for those different sizes and one more row or column with weight would easily be possible except that they are trying to hide it. And, yes, they could even throw in an ASTERISK * noting that the variations in things like fenders, lights, racks might add more weight.

No where do they show that folks need ramps to get these things on bike racks. Never mind trying to get them on public transit.

Frankly, while my ALUMINUM Creo is not extra light, I have two tiers of steps to climb to get to my house. It was a definite consideration about how much these things weigh. It was a tradeoff since I could tell the Creo had less power than my converted bike but any more power would have added another 10-15 pounds, at least.

Maybe the next iteration where the frame is constructed of UNobtainium and the batteries are hydrogen generators, they will have honest figures.
 
I also can't understand that a producer of light ebikes with such a fine and unique drive like the SL doesn't announce the great weight much more/more clearly. Many brands put a clear entry or average weight of each of their models to the model data, I don't see any disadvantage here. Or if so, more for the ones who don't do it...

mschwett said:
but your description eliminates it from consideration. She is small, 162cm and 50kg, and would need to lift the bike in many circumstances - to hang up, put on the bike rack on a bus, steps to get into our building, etc. while a small difference in weight (say 30 vs 35, 35 vs 40) is likely not a deal breaker a bike as big and heavy as you describe won't really work. i do like the step through design, integrated racks and lights, belt drive, and IGH though.......... other interesting options are the vanmoof x3 (uggggggly) and lemond dutch (might be vaporware, never even seen one).
Click to expand...
Most things are true for my wife as well, she is also still struggling with the "medium low" frame of the Vado SL. She is only 1,53m and with short legs and used to have a very low frame before.
But as I said, each of all the nice Como SL features automatically increases the weight and this is true for any brand. You won't find any brand or model with all this with 35 lbs... I also think that the Vado SL is much easier to carry some steps for my wife as the Como SL. But we did not really check this out, maybe she can't do it with the Vado SL as well...
So just try/let her try both, if you find a possiblity for the Como SL...
 
jodi2 said:
I also can't understand that a producer of light ebikes with such a fine and unique drive like the SL doesn't announce the great weight much more/more clearly. Many brands put a clear entry or average weight of each of their models to the model data, I don't see any disadvantage here. Or if so, more for the ones who don't do it...


Most things are true for my wife as well, she is also still struggling with the "medium low" frame of the Vado SL. She is only 1,53m and with short legs and used to have a very low frame before.
But as I said, each of all the nice Como SL features automatically increases the weight and this is true for any brand. You won't find any brand or model with all this with 35 lbs... I also think that the Vado SL is much easier to carry some steps for my wife as the Como SL. But we did not really check this out, maybe she can't do it with the Vado SL as well...
So just try/let her try both, if you find a possiblity for the Como SL...
Click to expand...

i swear, when i made that screen cap, there was a very clear weight listed for the creo (it said 26.9 or something, s works version obv), the vado sl, and como sl!
 
The weight of Turbo Como SL 4.0 size L is...

21.6 kg (47.6 lb)

Weighed for me at Specialized Warsaw at 13:15 Central European Time :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Stefan Mikes
The Weight of Specialized Full-Power E-Bikes Listed As Dry Weight (Without Battery)?
Replies
10
Views
1K
mschwett
mschwett
Douglas Ruby
Vado SL and Vado SL 2 assist levels
Replies
7
Views
621
JoeDirt
JoeDirt
M
Contemplating the Specialized Vado or the Vado SL?
2 3
Replies
50
Views
8K
AvalancheRun
AvalancheRun
D
Battery Tech and weights Creo 2 / Vado SL2
Replies
4
Views
287
Dazmanturbo
D
G
Considering a Specialized, got a few questions
7 8 9
Replies
170
Views
14K
GaryInCO
G
Back