New Vado 5.0 IGH in stock? My LBS's say go for it, they can't get 'em
- Thread starter GuruUno
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GuruUno
Well-Known Member
Picked up both Vado IGH bikes today.
Nice red color, like a candy apple.
Odd, both with less than 20% charge on batteries, you'd think they would at least charge 'em. (disappointing)
Wham, slap, bam, outta the box, put the bike together, out the door.
One weird thing, there is a 'sticker' in the manual box (the box with the charger, keys, book, etc.) that says "Class 1 20 250W 20mph'
We shall see, I'll bet it's for those parts of the world where it has to be.
HOPEFULLY, the LBS checked it all
Nice red color, like a candy apple.
Odd, both with less than 20% charge on batteries, you'd think they would at least charge 'em. (disappointing)
Wham, slap, bam, outta the box, put the bike together, out the door.
One weird thing, there is a 'sticker' in the manual box (the box with the charger, keys, book, etc.) that says "Class 1 20 250W 20mph'
We shall see, I'll bet it's for those parts of the world where it has to be.
HOPEFULLY, the LBS checked it all
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Holland-Tim-Allant+8S
Active Member
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- USA
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- HOLLAND
You get to be our window into the future of ebike drivetrains. Looking forward to the reports. Congratulations. It’s only money and the government prints more of it every day. With inflation we can argue this actually an investment! Tim
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
I guess it is a "cheat sticker" so you can pretend you are riding a Class 1 e-bike where the Class 3 is not allowed. Note: Class 1 (etc) is the solely American idea. It even does not exist in Canada.
GuruUno
Well-Known Member
I'm going to go over the bike tomorrow, as it's a rainy day here all day.
A few comments.
Although the bike is nice, I'm not particularly thrilled about the interaction from the staff as far as reviewing the bike, not having the battery charged, not having the serial number sticker placed on the last page of the book, assigning each set of keys to the correct bike, etc.
I've watched many of these bike shops get the box, open the box, take the bike out of the box, put the front wheel on, set the handlebars on the stem, install the seat and, they are done for all intents and purposes.
I got the feeling that by choosing HILLTOP Bicycles (whose all 7 stores are owned by Specialized) my "experience" would be of a higher degree than my past interactions with Kims in New Brunswick.
Don't get me wrong, Kim's does it the same way, wham, bam, out the door, but there was communication, REVIEW, ETC, AND THE BATTERY WAS FULLY CHARGED upon picking up my previous 2 Vados at Kim's.
I MADE MY CHOICE TO USE HILLTOP SPECIFICALLY FOR THE anticipation of an "ADDED VALUE" OF DEALING WITH A "COMPANY STORE" and not the previous independent LBS. (even though I could have saved 50% of NJ sales tax by using Kims, as he is in an 'economic recovery zone' which offers businesses to sell at 1/2 the sales tax to promote more sales. But I thought the "experience" would have been better. So I could have saved1/2 of $367.69 on each bike if I did not use the 'Company Store'.
My stupidity, or maybe my "test"
In the long run, hopefully, I'll have minimal problems that will be addressed by any bike shop if needed but I thought it would be helpful to post this frustrating experience.
Finally, that damn stupid "Rider Care" phone, do you think that someone someday may actually answer it or reply to messages? Scary crap.
A few comments.
Although the bike is nice, I'm not particularly thrilled about the interaction from the staff as far as reviewing the bike, not having the battery charged, not having the serial number sticker placed on the last page of the book, assigning each set of keys to the correct bike, etc.
I've watched many of these bike shops get the box, open the box, take the bike out of the box, put the front wheel on, set the handlebars on the stem, install the seat and, they are done for all intents and purposes.
I got the feeling that by choosing HILLTOP Bicycles (whose all 7 stores are owned by Specialized) my "experience" would be of a higher degree than my past interactions with Kims in New Brunswick.
Don't get me wrong, Kim's does it the same way, wham, bam, out the door, but there was communication, REVIEW, ETC, AND THE BATTERY WAS FULLY CHARGED upon picking up my previous 2 Vados at Kim's.
I MADE MY CHOICE TO USE HILLTOP SPECIFICALLY FOR THE anticipation of an "ADDED VALUE" OF DEALING WITH A "COMPANY STORE" and not the previous independent LBS. (even though I could have saved 50% of NJ sales tax by using Kims, as he is in an 'economic recovery zone' which offers businesses to sell at 1/2 the sales tax to promote more sales. But I thought the "experience" would have been better. So I could have saved1/2 of $367.69 on each bike if I did not use the 'Company Store'.
My stupidity, or maybe my "test"
In the long run, hopefully, I'll have minimal problems that will be addressed by any bike shop if needed but I thought it would be helpful to post this frustrating experience.
Finally, that damn stupid "Rider Care" phone, do you think that someone someday may actually answer it or reply to messages? Scary crap.
Exactly. I just ordered a Vado 4.0 via the portal. “Specialized Bay Area Flex” was the only “shop” on the drop down. “SBAF” will be delivering the bike and supposedly will provide a point of delivery orientation, fitting, training and ride just to iron out any kinks. The issue is there is no actual brick and mortar “Specialized Bay Area Flex” store. Most likely just a centralized shipping and assembly warehouse. I contacted one of the biggie local LBS chains which was sold to PON Holdings, a Dutch conglomerate. They said Specialized cut them off after the sale last year and they no longer do certified warranty work and basically no longer stock Specialized bikes. So, I guess if I need any warranty work, I would have to drive a few minutes more to a certified shop. In retrospect, I can’t complain too much. I am fortunate the SF Bay Area for now, at least has a fair number of Specialized certified bike shops. Looking forward to my new Vado 4.0 and hopefully I don’t encounter some of the battery/connectivity problems others have had. Probably will sell my 2020 Turbo Vado 3.0, love that bike but it is slightly underpowered for long steep uphill climbs, especially with loaded panniers. Great forum and discussion. Always good to read insights and opinions from other users.
Interesting. May be that Specialized Delivery is just spinning up the process. When I ordered my bike off the website a few weeks ago, there were no options for delivery in the South Bay. Today, there are at least a half dozen LBS within 20 miles tho SF Bay Area Flex is not one of them. If I put in the address for Mike's Bikes in SF, Berkeley and Walnut Creek - SF Bay Area Flex is the only specialized delivery option. Was wondering if Specialized was giving them exclusives for the territory. But then I tried Palo Alto Mike's Bikes address and the South Bay area LBS's showed up - along with SF Bay Area flex. Looks like the range for delivery is about 25-30 miles. Meaning an hr round trip for the delivery person. In addition to whatever they do at delivery - this could really cut into the extra 25% the LBS receives for Specialized Delivery service - depending on the bike. Still, it is really surprising not to see any East Bay shops show up. Perhaps Specialized is just slow in adding qualified Specialized Delivery shops to their website.
Speaking of whatever they do at delivery, it would be good to hear how your delivery experience goes.
Speaking of whatever they do at delivery, it would be good to hear how your delivery experience goes.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
And the American distances are big! The Warsaw Specialized LBS only delivers inside the city, even if I live just 34 km (21 mi) from them, and the drive time to my place is just 30 minutes by freeways.
(I realize I'm responding to a three week old comment, but I recently learned something related to this)
Apparently the new model isn't good for all dealers.
I stopped by my preferred Specialized dealer on Saturday as it was time to replace my helmet. Turned out they had both the 2022 Tero 5.0 and Vado 5.0 in stock so I was able to get a good in person look at the two. Found it interesting that the Medium Tero 5.0 standover was higher than the Large Vado 5.0 -- but that's 29er wheels vs 650b.
Chatted with the salesperson about the new Pick-Up and Specialized Delivery D2C options, and I asked what the lead time would be if I ordered from the store. Turns out they're basically screwed - that store isn't part of the click-to-collect program, and he claimed they can't place specific orders. What they received is what they had available to buy. I neglected to follow up with a question of how they chose what they received, but the general gist of the conversation was that if I wanted to buy a Specialized ebike from them I'd have to just wait until what I wanted happened to show up - I couldn't use the D2C program and couldn't place an order.
This particular shop also sells other brands, so perhaps Specialized is treating them as a red headed stepchild. Though one of the places I could order for pickup is a motorcycle/atv dealer that's branched into ebikes, and another place also sells a couple other brands, so I'm not sure why the difference.
It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
kahn
Well-Known Member
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- USA
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- northWET washington
But you also show why being able to straddle and then test ride these things is important. The fact that the standover height is different than expected. How does one glean that from reading online specs.
To be clear, I wasn't surprised at the Tero's standover height. I knew the Medium Tero would be higher than the Medium Vado (807 vs 771).
What I found interesting was that the Large Vado was also lower than the Medium Tero. But that's mostly 'cuz I never looked at the Large Vado geometry and didn't realize it has the same standover as the Medium Vado frame.
Yet to your point - yes test rides and in-person feel is important. Yet if there's no in store stock in your area, best we can do is make our best estimate with the geometry tables - especially if we can compare to an existing bike of a similar style which fits you well. Many/most can't do that though, so hopefully Specialized is true to their word about the return period if not satisfied.
Tero vs Vado standover height is also due to longer fork on the Tero. I think this contribute to the extra steep slope of the Tero top tube. On my Large size Tero, the difference between the low and high points of the top tube is around 10 inches. So standover height really depends on where you measure.
Same experience with the order website for LBS pickup. Pretty clear the sales staff doesn't like it and it was bare bones pickup. No adjustments/instructions offered. The shop also sells other brands and for sure Specialized isn't trying to do this shop any favors. They have no idea when anything they order will show up.
OTOH, I note that the motorcycle/ATV dealers in the area are more likely to have e-bikes I've been looking for in stock. Probably intentional on Specialized's part since these dealers will have greater exposure to folks who won't normally browse bike shops.
As I've always understood it, standover height is typically measured just ahead of the seat, i.e. where you'll tend to stand over the top tube. Thus the name.
Yes, for the same size frame, fork length is longer on the Tero (516mm vs 480), though that's offset by the less steep headtube angle (66.4° vs 68°). Other factors are the taller BB height (313mm vs 285) and lesser BB drop (57mm vs 70). All said, the Tero has about a half inch higher stack (651mm vs 639), which when added to the BB height gives a total height at the top of the head tube of 964 vs 924mm which is a little bit more than the standover height differential (807 vs 771mm). Measurements for Medium frame - and FWIW I already had all these geometry numbers in a spreadsheet for comparison to my conventional hybrid bike.
Yes, this is kinda clever product placement when you think about it - particularly in today's world you'll have people looking for more fuel efficient transportation and thus will tend to first look at scooter/motorcycle shops. By offering ebikes those shops can tap into a segment that wouldn't have otherwise thought about a bicycle being suitable for short commutes / errand running. and thus wouldn't have visited a traditional bike shop.
... and having done plenty of my own wrenching on cars, motorcycles, and bicycles IMHO there's little reason a motorcycle mechanic can't be up to speed on bicycle wrenching pretty quickly.
Ordered the 2022 Turbo Vado 4.0 from the the Specialized website. This was March 27th. All the while the Specialized rep kept me up-to-date with the order status on an almost daily basis. Surprisingly, this past Sunday, April 3rd, I received a text asking me to pick a date this week for delivery of my new Turbo Vado 4.0 Needless to say, I chose the next day, April 4th between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. Indeed, the driver arrived the very next day, April 4th, at 12:55 PM. He was driving a mid-size Specialized branded fully equipped Mercedes service van. The driver/representative unloaded the fully assembled and supposedly fully tuned Vado and walked it into my garage. We chatted for awhile about the new Specialized direct to customer service and touched on the business models sustainability. I told him I was impressed with the service: 8 days after ordering the bike, it was here in my garage. I took it for a spin. I live in a hilly area and was able to test the various settings, gearing, SRAM NX shifting, I checked for the tightness of bolts, ran over a few speed bumps to activate the front shock and suspension seat post. The bike handled like a champ and seemed much more nimble than my 2020 Turbo Vado 3.0. Maybe the change to 650b tires and/or the new geometry. My weight seemed more evenly distributed over the bike frame. Climbing a 1/2 mile 15% grade hill near my house seemed effortless, even while in Sport mode, so much for my concerns about the relatively big 48 tooth Praxis chainring. The 48/42 seemed to do the trick as far as my fears about attacking steep hills. Of course, the 70nm of torque helps alot. Lol. I returned to my house with a big grin on my face, just like the Specialized commercial. I chatted more with the Specialized rep and he assured me that his "shop" Specialized Bay Area Flex, (he did admit, SFBAF is essentially a Specialized owned warehouse, repair and assembly center and not an actual customer facing store), would also do a home visit in order to provide the complimentary new bike tune up as well as any possible repairs under warranty or even out of warranty. Appointments could be scheduled online. Overall, an impressive experience. The only minor glitch is it took a few turns to finally have Mission Control recognize my bike. I think you should definitely register the bike first. The new settings are nice and helpful, but a Garmin GPS map type of interface would have been even more primo. Who knows if this model of service will be successful over the long haul, but just based on this anecdotal experience and if Specialize does follow up with home visit repairs, I don't see how this model can fail. It's currently a level of service the LBS can't match. I enclosed some pics of my new Vado. I ended up spending the next few hours moving some of my accessories over from my Vado 3.0. Btw, the new MIK HD rack will not work with my old Rack Time panniers and trunk bag. Looking forward to my next real ride! Ride on folks!
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
This is rather typical
I have connected Mission Control to several Specialized e-bikes (including the latest MasterMind ones). I have only registered the e-bikes I actually owned (later). There always was some initial glitch to recognize the e-bike but after several attempts and properly confirming the PIN, it worked.Congratulations on your new Vado! And especially for the speedy delivery and service at home!
Congrats on the bike and thanks for the nice writeup on SF Flex. Did the rep hang around while you did your test ride? The website service seems to imply service is a drop off/pickup at their will call locations, tho it sounds like they will come to your home for the intial service/check. Did they happen to mention where the service will call locations are?
Also noticed it looks like they used the clamp on mount for the Mastermind display. Did they also include the stem mount in the accessory package?
Also noticed it looks like they used the clamp on mount for the Mastermind display. Did they also include the stem mount in the accessory package?
Thanks Nubnub. When I ordered my bike, one of the two choices was "Specialized Delivery" which is a version of their "white glove" service. The rep delivers the bike driving a fancy Mercedes service van with Specialized logos painted on it, provides an orientation, registers the bike, shows you the new features for Mastermind on the TCD-2, and of course allows for a test ride. He did stick around until I completed my short 15 minute ride around the neighborhood. He was friendly and professional. I did not see the stem mount for the TCD. He implied the service call locations would serve most of the bay area within a certain range to their South San Francisco office. Was not clear what the radius would be, but it seemed cities away as Walnut Creek and Antioch could be within their mobile service range. Assuming Specialized actually follows through with this model, and executes it well, it could be a win for the consumer, at least from a pure convenience POV.
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