New Vado SL 4.0 - harsh ride!
- Thread starter hankj
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pete H
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- United Kingdom
I had been suffering very sore shoulders and wrists which were being caused by pot holes and general bad road surfaces. Kept me awake at night it was so bad. I thought i was going to end my cycling.
I was getting physio and eating Ibuprofen Within 2 weeks of fitting the Redcroft sports stem i had significantly recovered. The ride became so much smoother and although potholes are still unpleasant it really takes the sting out of them. I also have fitted one to my Hybrid Boardman.
Highly recommended
I was getting physio and eating Ibuprofen Within 2 weeks of fitting the Redcroft sports stem i had significantly recovered. The ride became so much smoother and although potholes are still unpleasant it really takes the sting out of them. I also have fitted one to my Hybrid Boardman.
Highly recommended
Stefan Mikes
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- Mazovia, Poland
Think of Innerbarends, too!
AvalancheRun
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Often I will place my fists (or wrist) on the bicycle with thumbs faced upwards. In practice do innerbarends offer better comfort than this?
AvalancheRun
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Specialized engineer at 1:25 on why Future Shock is important on an ebike “because of the inherent design with the bigger down tube to house the battery, e-bikes normally have a lot stiffer ride quality.”
EXACTLY what I feel in my hands, but almost all online talk seems to say the opposite.
EXACTLY what I feel in my hands, but almost all online talk seems to say the opposite.
Stefan Mikes
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In the proper position, an Innerbarend is just a supporting point for your hand but it is not a grip. You hand actually rests loosely and relaxed with a big portion of it still resting on the regular grip, and the fingers delicately supported on the brake lever. The latter makes the access to the brake instant (helping save a kid that suddenly appeared in front of your e-bike, for instance).
I was thinking of Innerbarends on my latest Vado SL ride in really harsh terrain: it was a dry dirt road only consisting of deep bumps (made by tractors). I could have kept the regular grips but no, I noticed riding in the Innerbarends was giving me total confidence! It is only good to ride in gloves (fingerless ones for the warm season) for long distance as the IBE is hard; no need to wear gloves on relatively short rides though.
It is crucial to tweak the Innerbarend angle. In no case you should feel pressure or stress on your hand resulting from the Innerbarend (the bad sensation occurs when the IBE angle is too steep or too low).
Properly inflated wide tyres and the suspension fork on your Gazelle should do the work and I cannot explain the reason for your harsh rides.
Just to add per @Stefan Mikes mention: I have the Vado SL 4.0 and recently added the RedShift stem. The most similar RedShift stem when compared to your stock/OEM specialized stem for that bike would be the RedShift 80mm 6 degree stem. Like the Specialized stem....this stem can be installed to provide an upward angle or if reversed a downward 6 degree angle.
The installation is dead simple and requires nothing aside from allen wrenches although a torque wrench would be best.
As others mentioned....RedShift offers other stem lengths so this would be an excellent time to consider whether you might like your bars further out or closer....but the 80mm is so very very close to OEM configuration that you are unlikely to notice a difference when compared to your current setup (Specialized installs the stem at the upward angle configuration). At first install I wasn't sure that I was getting much benefit if any from the suspension.....which in hindsight is a good thing....because this stem will not provide so much suspension as to 'distort' the character of the bike or make your handling squishy. After some miles I really do enjoy the RedShift suspension stem and find it to be a worthy addition....in fact my hands no longer become numb after long rides. Just understand that you will not be suddenly astonished at the results from this suspension stem....it is subtle....again a good thing.
Important Note To Consider: Your front headlight mounts to your OEM stem and is handled via a Specialized plastic mount which affixes/slides into a 'notch' which is part of the bottom portion of your OEM metal stem. Once you remove your OEM stem to replace with the RedShift stem you lose the mounting notch and you will need to find an acceptable solution to re-mount your headlamp. I pondered many of these solutions which can be found here at the forum....some more sophisticated than others but few satisfactory to me. I came across a Lezyne (the manufacturer of your headlamp) stem mount part number 1-LED-RP-EMTSTM-V104. Surprisingly this part is not so easily available via retail but I found it here on ebay for $20 https://www.ebay.com/itm/275113452048 While I waited for this to arrive....I simply zip-tied the headlamp to my RedShift stem.
This Lezyne headlamp stem mount arrives with everything that you will require to smartly mount the headlight along with your RedShift suspension stem. It will mount to your choice of the front top two stem mount screws or the bottom two stem screws....whichever works best for you (I used the lower screws). I had posted some photos of my installation here somewhere.....but it results in a clean, smart looking, and very secure way to re-mount your headlight....in fact better than original in my opinion.
Here is your OEM stem uninstalled from the bike.....bottom view....and this 'notch' or cut-out is where the plastic mount atop your headlamp slides into the stem for mounting purposes. Once you give up the OEM stem you also give up this method of mounting the head lamp.
and here is a photo of the headlamp mounted with the Lezyne stem mount along with the RedShift stem:
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If I recall....the Specialized OEM stem is 75mm......so the RedShift 80mm is very very close.
I think differently. The stem upgrade to RedShift is easy peasy.
If you wish to keep your rear tail light as-is....using the RedShift suspension seat post requires modification. I haven't yet tackled this, however, with proper PSI and the suspension stem installed I am no longer eager to spend time and money on the suspension seat post upgrade.
Stefan Mikes
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- Mazovia, Poland
I beg to disagree. The first issue people experience with RedShift stem is the proper elastomer selection. Interestingly, using Innerbarends (especially in the sporty riding position) calls for the "drop bar" selection of elastomers, that is, two elastomers instead of one.
Some people think selecting the softest elastomer will give them the most of ride cushioning. Not. Too soft elastomer makes the stem compressed immediately with almost no dampening action. I use the blue and yellow elastomers together with my long stem and IBE setup like it were drop bars. It is because a big part of my body weight has been shifted forward.
P.S. Your post #107 is excellent! Thank you @mfgrep!
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pete H
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- United Kingdom
I guess the best course of action is to experiment and not to just go with what the instructions say. Remembering that the elastomers do take a little while riding to 'bed in'
I've had multiple surgeries on my neck and shoulders, and shaky rides are a killer for me. I've had other gravel bikes and always bring my Redshift stem from bike to bike. I found the stock 4 SL to be an extremely stiff ride and, for me, painful. But I moved my Redshoft stem and my SQL inner bar ends and upgraded the handlebars to carbon ones, and everything is dreamy now. Improved the ride immeasurably. While all those things helped, the Redshift stem was the most improving, and then the carbon handlebars. Get the stem; you won't regret it.
PS. I also added a Redshift suspension seatpost because I'm a softie.
PS. I also added a Redshift suspension seatpost because I'm a softie.
pete H
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- United Kingdom
Thankyou. I had not considered replacing the bars. I presume apart from the weight loss they will flex a little adding to the shock absorbing. Now looking for inner bar ends too.
AvalancheRun
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- USA
Did you happen to try the Vado 5.0 with future shock? Given that one of the primary differences between the two Vados is a vibration/comfort improvement I would like to know if 5.0 owners are fully satisfied.
Given that the Redshift stem is so good, and it would probably not recommended in tandem with futureshock, I wonder if 4.0 + Redshift could be the better bike for hand/vibration comfort.
AvalancheRun
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Stefan uses some and has several threads on them.
Stefan Mikes
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I used the Future Shock with carbon fork on a Diverge EVO and can attest this damper together with the carbon fork (as it is on Vado SL 5.0) is even better than the RS!
No, there were no 5.0's available when I got my 4.0, so I have nothing to compare it to.
I think carbon bars make a much better ride than the stock aluminum ones. I run carbon SQLab risers on my mountain bike and swear by them, but they are not cheap. I chose a cheaper carbon bar on my 4.0, but it still works great.
I think carbon bars make a much better ride than the stock aluminum ones. I run carbon SQLab risers on my mountain bike and swear by them, but they are not cheap. I chose a cheaper carbon bar on my 4.0, but it still works great.
pete H
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- United Kingdom
So on the advice of you guys my ordered parts arrived today and straight on the bike! Test ride tomorrow.No, there were no 5.0's available when I got my 4.0, so I have nothing to compare it to.
I think carbon bars make a much better ride than the stock aluminum ones. I run carbon SQLab risers on my mountain bike and swear by them, but they are not cheap. I chose a cheaper carbon bar on my 4.0, but it still works great.
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I'll be interested to hear your thoughts. That bar looks like a 'dead ringer' in form/shape/sweep when compared to the OEM Vado SL bar....BUT CARBON!! Shweet.
