Ok, I get it now...

[Avg_Joe]

I've been riding my Rad Rover ST for many months / 1100 mile so far and love it! However I got the urge for something different/more, and focused on torque sensored mid-drives, more of a "real bike" feel. Did all my research, narrowed my choices to what I could source locally in order to have a LBS relationship, and finally went and did my test rides yesterday.

I rode numerous models of bikes - Como, Vado, Gazelles, Treks, Cannondales. There was 1 bike that the moment I started pedaling just felt completely perfect and whisked away every thought or concern except for "My goodness, this is awesome! I could ride this all day every day!"

Proud owner of a 2022 Specialized Vado 3.0! I am so thrilled with it already, even though I've only done a short get-acquainted ride. Finally managed to get Mission Control synced up this morning as well, so still exploring that. I did have a very rough & long ride scheduled for this morning on my Rover, so my first real ride will be tomorrow. I cannot wait - I want to fall asleep and wake up tomorrow and ride my Vado!

O, I like the color too. TBH I wanted a 4.0, but with shortages etc the pickings were slim, and this one will be perfect for my riding.

I totally understand the fervor around Specialized's lineup of bikes. Even though the Como and Tero are nice, this one hit that sweet spot for me and is just an elegant, refined, and fun ride!

 

[CodyDog]

Congrats on your new bike. I also had a Rad before my wife and I got into the Specialized e-bikes. Definitely a difference!

 

[Avg_Joe]

I did a 13 mi ride yesterday to get a better feel for this bike and - I am blown away! So smooth, quiet, efficient, nimble, just an absolute treat to ride. I started out in Sport, but did almost the entire ride in Eco or with assist off (~600ft elevation changes on my ride). Haven't even tried Turbo yet.

2 things I'll change: I miss having a suspension seatpost, so one is en route. I need to raise the handlebars approx. 1" and back about an inch as well, and the riding position will be perfect. Been reading threads in this forum on stem risers, adjustable stems etc and hope to make a decision shortly.

As an added bonus, for the 1st time in my almost-57 yrs on this planet, I spotted an owl in the wild! We were talking with neighbors recently about some owls in our neighborhood, I mentioned a bucket list item for me was to see one in the wild - check!

 

[Onimaru]

Which seat post did you get out of curiosity? Glad you’re enjoying it. Funny you mention the owl. I took the family analog mountain biking this weekend to prepare for the season (my daughter signed up first year for a local MTB club and has me coaching) and this buzzed my wife on the trail. Flew about 5 feet in front of her face and scared the out of her.

 

[mattie_b]

I need to raise the handlebars approx. 1" and back about an inch as well

I am working on something similar on my Vado. Please let us know what you decide on and how the changes impact your ride.

I installed my first attempt at this over the weekend. I installed Jones H Bars with a 2.5" rise. I also got the stem from a size small and medium Vado, which is 15mm (0.59") shorter than the stem on my size large Vado.

My first impression of my mods are positive. The riding position is a bit more upright and the bars closer to the rider. But I have only ridden around the block a couple times since I installed these. Looking forward to a longer ride to see how these changes impact comfort on 40+ mile rides.

 

[Avg_Joe]

I am working on something similar on my Vado. Please let us know what you decide on and how the changes impact your ride.

I installed my first attempt at this over the weekend. I installed Jones H Bars with a 2.5" rise. I also got the stem from a size small and medium Vado, which is 15mm (0.59") shorter than the stem on my size large Vado.

My first impression of my mods are positive. The riding position is a bit more upright and the bars closer to the rider. But I have only ridden around the block a couple times since I installed these. Looking forward to a longer ride to see how these changes impact comfort on 40+ mile rides.

@mattie_b this is good stuff, please keep us updated on how this works out for you! (or if you have a thread somewhere, I'll follow along)

I had been looking at the Jones H bars and they seem like a great solution. I'm thinking that trying $30-$40 stem riser might be a good 1st step before investing in new bars. Kind of a difficult sell to my CFO that I just paid eleventybillion dollars for a bike, and now need to spend more.

 

[Avg_Joe]

Which seat post did you get out of curiosity? Glad you’re enjoying it. Funny you mention the owl. I took the family analog mountain biking this weekend to prepare for the season (my daughter signed up first year for a local MTB club and has me coaching) and this buzzed my wife on the trail. Flew about 5 feet in front of her face and scared the out of her. View attachment 125460

That is so cool! I spotted the owl, stopped, and tried to get close enough to snap a photo. The owl screeched and flew off to a much higher branch on another tree, so the only photo I got is bad. We have plenty of hawks around here, one brushed my shoulder as I was grilling one day - talk about getting the heart beating!

I ended up going with the Suntour NCX 17, should have it late this week I hope. It's cheap, but the NCX 12 works very well for me on my Rover. The additional grams don't bother me, and I figured out how to re-arrange the mount so the seat isn't offset so far rearward.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

I replaced a 100mm stem on a Yamaha Civante last year with a Ritchey 80mm/30 degree rise stem for the same reason… wanted the bars about an inch higher and an inch closer. It was close enough, as they say, and worked out perfectly. Also nice not to have to swap everything onto a new set of bars, even though we do have fun playing with this stuff! I think it cost about $40 or so.

 

[Avg_Joe]

I replaced a 100mm stem on a Yamaha Civante last year with a Ritchey 80mm/30 degree rise stem for the same reason… wanted the bars about an inch higher and an inch closer. It was close enough, as they say, and worked out perfectly. Also nice not to have to swap everything onto a new set of bars, even though we do have fun playing with this stuff! I think it cost about $40 or so.

Appreciate this, @Saratoga Dave I was struggling with height and how much adjustability to go for, this is a huge help!

 

[Alaskan]

Appreciate this, @Saratoga Dave I was struggling with height and how much adjustability to go for, this is a huge help!

The nice thing about an adjustable stem is that it allows you to make small adjustment up & down (which is also back and forward). If you are not sure where the sweet spot is for you, an adjustable lets you find it.
This one by Ritchey is strong, comes in several lengths and reasonably priced at $55.

• Angle:+/-55-degree range of height adjustability

https://us.ritcheylogic.com/us_en/bike/stems/4-axis-adjustable-stem

 

[mattie_b]

Does anyone have pics of a Vado with an aftermarket stem?

The Vado uses the Flowset stem and spacers, which are tear drop shaped. Curious how a traditional round stem will look and interact with the other tear drop shaped components. I am also curious what additional parts are needed when switching to the traditional stem. For instance, a stem cap will be needed since the Flowset stem does not use one.

 

[Avg_Joe]

I've done around 200mi now, including a long ride in gravel yesterday. Some followup thoughts:

• The Suntour NCX17 seatpost + my Bontrager seat have made this bike even more comfortable. They've not changed my riding position at all, just makes it a pleasure to cover the miles with no rear end or back fatigue.
• The fenders are annoying! Everything the tires catch and throw makes noise. Just a nit.
• I stopped back in to the LBS where I purchased the Vado to ask about raising the handlebars. As noted by several commenters, it is not trivial to change, so I may try some other slight adjustments such as rotating the bars a bit, different grips, bar ends.
• The Pathfinder tires that came on the bike are good tires. However, the center rib == plenty of lost traction in dirt and gravel esp when trying to power up hills. I've fussed with psi, but it's not been satisfactory. Schwalbe Hurricanes are en route, hoping they are as good as other posters here have suggested.
• <edit> The front suspension fork does a disservice to this bike. Curious choice imho.
• Reconfigured my Rad Rover for my wife to ride, incl street tires. I've taken it for a few rides and just hate the cadence sensor now. And the weight.

Absolutely thrilled with this bike, I need to ride it every day even if it's 10-12 mi (the heat and humidity here take a huge toll on me / I'm a baby). Really looking forward to a long relationship with this bike, and for cooler weather so I can do long rides.

 

[John in CA]

The Suntour NCX17 seatpost + my Bontrager seat

May I ask which Bontrager seat you bought and find comfortable? The seat that came on my Vado SL 5.0 isn't bad, but my butt does feel it after a while.

I love your enthusiasm for your new bike. My first e-bike was similar to one of the RadPower bikes, with a huge battery, and weighed about 65 lbs. It didn't feel like riding a bike. The Vado SL not only feels like a "real bike," some people who see it don't even think it has a motor. The color of your bike is beautiful.

 

[Avg_Joe]

May I ask which Bontrager seat you bought and find comfortable? The seat that came on my Vado SL 5.0 isn't bad, but my butt does feel it after a while.

I love your enthusiasm for your new bike. My first e-bike was similar to one of the RadPower bikes, with a huge battery, and weighed about 65 lbs. It didn't feel like riding a bike. The Vado SL not only feels like a "real bike," some people who see it don't even think it has a motor. The color of your bike is beautiful.

Hi John, I have the Bontrager Boulevard saddle size L. We all know how subjective saddle comfort is, but this one is perfect for me: just enough padding for the sit bones w/o being springy, provides excellent butt comfort and support, narrow nose for my thunderthighs. I tried a few other saddles and they all hurt. I've used this one for over 1k miles on my Rad and now on my Vado, if it gets stolen or worn out, I'll get another asap.

I completely agree w/ your assessment of riding the big, heavy bike. I do love my Rad and am grateful I bought it as it's propelled me into this hobby and better health. But it is a handful to handle, transport. I set it up more cruiser-style for my wife, including street tires, so she can ride around the neighborhood; and she's happy with it.

This red Vado was the only one in stock locally, I am the anti-Henry Ford - any color but black!

 

[John in CA]

Hi Joe.... thanks for the seat info. My Vado has a light built into the seat, so I'll have to figure out if I can switch the seat and keep the light. I wouldn't want black either (!), so I was glad mine is silver.

 

[Avg_Joe]

Hi Joe.... thanks for the seat info. My Vado has a light built into the seat, so I'll have to figure out if I can switch the seat and keep the light. I wouldn't want black either (!), so I was glad mine is silver.

I didn't have a light on my Vado seat, I've been using a small light with 5 patterns (steady, flashing) zip-tied to the back of my helmet. Not the prettiest thing, but having that light up high makes me feel better, not sure if drivers see it...

 

[Avg_Joe]

Today was fun, but I broke a cardinal rule in my profession: don't make multiple changes at once! This makes a mess of sorting out each individual change.

First, the Schwalbe Hurricane tires. I went with 27.5 x 2.25 instead of the 2.4 wide. As I've only had the stock Pathfinder tires on my Vado, take this fwiw:

• PSI range for us cavepeople in the US is 30-50psi. I set them at 40 psi to get a feel for them.
• They are quiet. "Whisper quiet" per the Schwalbe marketing? I suppose, no difference between them and the Pathfinders that I can discern.
• They seem to roll as well, maybe slightly better than the stock tires. They run a bit smaller (about 1/2" less diameter), which is obvious in the fender clearance.
• The side lugs are not as pronounced as I expected, but they are beefier than the stock tires.
• On the dirt hills, traction was similar to the stock tires. One part of a nasty hill I enjoy riding up had a fresh layer of sand (!) and I could not get any appreciable bite and had to walk it up. After a good rain when the surface is back to usual state, I'll see how they do. The stock tires just spun on this hill.
• They are definitely more supple and compliant, esp in the rough stuff...
• ...and they took some nasty rocks just fine, sidewalls got scuffed up pretty severely but no issues.
• They "look" better imho; however, safety is somewhat compromised since they do not have the reflective stripe all the way around.
• I'll revisit after some miles, but initial impression is they are a good replacement tire - not a huge upgrade nor transformative by any means.

I also removed the stock pedals and put on some old Race Face Chester pedals I had. This completely transformed the bike! I know it is old hat/common knowledge, but my feet kept slipping off the stock pedals w/ the grip tape. Now, they are 100% planted throughout the pedal cycle - when I thought this bike couldn't be any better to ride, it now is! Gaining that confidence that the feet will stay in place and power through is just awesome.

Did a fun, long ride today, and had my first crash on the Vado. Going down another truly nasty dirt hill, my right hand lost grip due to sweat, I hit a rock and got thrown. Bike suffered no damage whatsoever, I escaped with cuts on one elbow and palm, but nothing serious. Thankfully.

Some current pics.
120 seconds before the crash:

Tire closeup:

Love these things for grip and easy replacement of the nuts:

 

[Avg_Joe]

The Hurricanes are working out well for me. I had the chance to ride them in some wet conditions, and I'll just say - their grip exceeded my abilities and confidence. I'd rather not crash, so I take it easy in the wet stuff, slow down, extra-cautious. They stuck well, quite happy. And I'm really appreciating how supple they are. Kind of settled on 42f/45r and this is working for me.

I removed the plastic extender on the front fender, it was driving me nuts between kicking it, the noise, yada yada. Got some $0.29 nylon plugs at Ace, inserted them into the open holes, snipped the ends off in case the fender ever gets pushed into the tire. IMHO it looks much better, sounds better .

Grips are next, the stock grips are like trying to catch a fish by hand when my hands are sweaty/wet.

 

[BioWheel]

The Hurricanes are working out well for me. I had the chance to ride them in some wet conditions, and I'll just say - their grip exceeded my abilities and confidence. I'd rather not crash, so I take it easy in the wet stuff, slow down, extra-cautious. They stuck well, quite happy. And I'm really appreciating how supple they are. Kind of settled on 42f/45r and this is working for me.

I removed the plastic extender on the front fender, it was driving me nuts between kicking it, the noise, yada yada. Got some $0.29 nylon plugs at Ace, inserted them into the open holes, snipped the ends off in case the fender ever gets pushed into the tire. IMHO it looks much better, sounds better .

Grips are next, the stock grips are like trying to catch a fish by hand when my hands are sweaty/wet.

You have to solve the sweat problem with gloves. Because the stock grip isn't the problem. You could buy and install $100 grips made of graphene infused leather and you'll have the same result when you sweat - slippery as hell.

 

[Avg_Joe]

You have to solve the sweat problem with gloves. Because the stock grip isn't the problem. You could buy and install $100 grips made of graphene infused leather and you'll have the same result when you sweat - slippery as hell.

Understood, but I do not have this problem with another brand/set of grips on my other bike. The rubber seems tackier, and there is more channeling of air and water. If my new grips end up not alleviating this, then yes - gloves are next.