Reason(s) for the harsh Vado ride

[Marci jo]

I concur with Rochrunner and you. The Vado has a harsh ride and the higher speeds only make it worse. The cheap suspension fork does nothing for lighter riders like me. I am going to go the Kinect route as Stephan has suggested. I also run my tires below the recommended pressure. I am seriously thinking of going to a rigid fork and adding an adjustable suspension stem. Also I find that I ride 10% of the time with no hands to relieve wrist stress and also change the stress points on the seat.

Cyklefanatic,
I believe I’m in a similar situation, not totally convinced the front suspension fork is helping me. I’m around #135 lbs (61 kg) and most of my weight on the seat.
Please post if you choose to switch out the front fork on your Vado. It would be nice to get the weight down even a little, but that’s mostly for lifting and hauling it.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Cyklefanatic,
I believe I’m in a similar situation, not totally convinced the front suspension fork is helping me. I’m around #135 lbs (61 kg) and most of my weight on the seat.
Please post if you choose to switch out the front fork on your Vado. It would be nice to get the weight down even a little, but that’s mostly for lifting and hauling it.

I weigh 160# and I have measured the amount of movement on the fork after an average ride at just under 1/4 of an inch. The fork has 2 inches of travel but the spring is to stiff even at the lowest preload. At your weight It must be like a fully rigid fork. I will let you know where I end up.

 

[rochrunner]

I weigh 160# and I have measured the amount of movement on the fork after an average ride at just under 1/4 of an inch. The fork has 2 inches of travel but the spring is to stiff even at the lowest preload. At your weight It must be like a fully rigid fork. I will let you know where I end up.

Let me know too, fanatic. I weigh the same as you and also find it too stiff at the lowest setting. Maybe it's a matter of installing softer springs if they're available? A full fork change could get expensive/difficult.

 

[PaD]

Let me know too, fanatic. I weigh the same as you and also find it too stiff at the lowest setting. Maybe it's a matter of installing softer springs if they're available? A full fork change could get expensive/difficult.

The preload adjustment on the Vado fork don’t do much. Don’t think I feel any difference going from max. to min.
Make sure the fork is not locked
You should try to adjust the rebound with the red adjustment knob at the bottom of right fork leg. I set mine to min. and think I got everything a little bit softer. I’m sure someone will tell us it’s bad for handling to set rebound very low but try it.
I weigh 135lb + clothing and looking at dirt line on fork tubes It looks like I have about 1 inch of fork travel.

 

[Marcela]

I’m 190 lbs with everything set to full soft. As good as it’s gonna get.
Bet the spring rate is the same for all sizes.

 

[abercrombie]

No kidding Rochrunner!

I experienced the same thing with my Vado when I first got it. Thought it was going to hammer my skeleton apart!
Got this info from the customer service rep from Cirrus. By the way, they are fabulous. Very patient and informative.

- Because ebike are heavier the bumps are very jarring. Many ebikes are over 50 lbs.
- Speed. Ebikes are flying over these bumps and thus contributing to the harshness. Kinda like a big pickup truck with no suspension.
- Tires. The manufactures use stiffer tires to prevent flats. My 6.0 came with Electrax 2". I think they had a significant amount of concrete in the sidewall. (lol) I changed them out to Triggers and it helped.
- Shocks or no shocks. My opinion, my spring front shock is useless. But I ride with most of my weight on the seat. Not sure I would get another front shock. That's another thread.
- Seat post! Granted, the customer service rep maybe was trying to sell me a seat post but it worked! Made a huge different in riding comfort. Now I have both ebikes with Kinect seat posts. I considered a Thudbuster but didn't have enough length in the seat post.

OK, something to think about. There's many threads here regarding seat posts.
If you find other points that help, please post them.

Found this thread searching "harsh," since my carbon road bike is so much more comfortable than my Giant eBike. This info helped explain a lot.

 

[rochrunner]

Found this thread searching "harsh," since my carbon road bike is so much more comfortable than my Giant eBike. This info helped explain a lot.

That's going to be true on any carbon vs aluminum bike. I couldn't believe the difference when I went from my old aluminum Specialized Sequoia to my Cannondale Synapse carbon (both road bikes). And newer carbon bikes have frame features designed even more to flex in the right way.

 

[Marci jo]

That's going to be true on any carbon vs aluminum bike. I couldn't believe the difference when I went from my old aluminum Specialized Sequoia to my Cannondale Synapse carbon (both road bikes). And newer carbon bikes have frame features designed even more to flex in the right way.

Yep, so true. My non-powered bike, Trek FX, which I just re-homed to my niece, had only a carbon fork. Couldn't believe how smooth it made the ride! Would love a full carbon frame. Maybe the next ebike?! n+ 1 is the rule to follow.

 

[rochrunner]

Yep, so true. My non-powered bike, Trek FX, which I just re-homed to my niece, had only a carbon fork. Couldn't believe how smooth it made the ride! Would love a full carbon frame. Maybe the next ebike?! n+ 1 is the rule to follow.

There are some carbon-frame e-bikes out there, but they're rare. One issue is that, with road bikes, riders were willing to pay extra $$$ for the weight savings, where saving 5 lbs or so on a 20 lb aluminum bike is a huge percentage difference. But an equivalent weight saving on a 50 lb bike wouldn't seem to make that much difference -- the end result is still heavy! Of course, the smoothness factor in addition to a weight advantage might be enough to swing the deal for some.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

The preload adjustment on the Vado fork don’t do much. Don’t think I feel any difference going from max. to min.
Make sure the fork is not locked
You should try to adjust the rebound with the red adjustment knob at the bottom of right fork leg. I set mine to min. and think I got everything a little bit softer. I’m sure someone will tell us it’s bad for handling to set rebound very low but try it.
I weigh 135lb + clothing and looking at dirt line on fork tubes It looks like I have about 1 inch of fork travel.

I am at minimum preload and rebound fork is not locked. My local LBS is so busy that I am unable to hang around and pick the brains of the mechanics like I normally would. Hopefully in a month things will go back to normal and I can investigate finding a softer spring or replacement fork.

 

[rochrunner]

I am at minimum preload and rebound fork is not locked. My local LBS is so busy that I am unable to hang around and pick the brains of the mechanics like I normally would. Hopefully in a month things will go back to normal and I can investigate finding a softer spring or replacement fork.

I'm also interested in what you find. It seems like Suntour must have a softer spring somewhere in their inventory that would work, although not everything is easy to get as a "replacement part" when the company is mostly an OEM supplier.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Specialized Electrak 2.0 tyres at 2.9 bar (42 psi) do miracles on rough roads. Tested.

 

[Hoppy]

Here is super comfort at half the price of the Vado.

Pace 500, w Schwalbe Super Motos, 2.8" wide, NCX Suspension seat post, Cloud 9 Contour Cruiser seat.

Top speed 31 mph.

Hi Mike,

I am interested in buying a Aventon 500. I currently have a 1997 Surface 604 Rook with a older and larger Dorado Reention battery design. Can I use this battery on the Aventon 500 as a spare? I understand the Aventon 500 battery is also a Reention battery. Thanks.

 

[steve mercier]

Given the number of suspension seat posts mentioned here (and I'll probably join the crowd soon), I suspect I'm not the only one to have noticed this, and I'm simply curious about why this seems to be so.

Mainly, I've been surprised at how jolting the ride on my Vado can be. As an example, there are some concrete streets leading out of my subdivision that I traverse often. Over the years on the older parts, some of the slabs have subsided a bit, leaving about a 1/4" sharp-edged lip when going from one to the next. Riding over these on the Vado it feels like someone's hammering on the base of my spine, which is admittedly tender at this time. Similarly, one of our unpaved rail-trails has a surface with a lot of small stones embedded in it that produce a continual very rough ride.

I remembered that these were not exactly smooth on my other bikes and that I had particularly complained about the trail before, but when I finally got out on my Specialized Crosstrail the other day it was actually very different. The Crosstrail is similar to the Vado in geometry, maybe a bit more of a forward lean, but it has an aluminum frame and rigid seatpost, plus skinnier 700x38 Trigger Pro tires at 10-15psi more pressure. But it went right over the slab joints with much less of a bang, and riding on the trail the ride was smooth compared to the Vado.

So is the difference in ride due mostly somehow to the difference in weight, the Vado weighing about 2x the Crosstrail? Do the Vado tires have stiffer sidewalls? Or maybe since I have to pedal the Crosstrail with more effort, it lifts some of my weight off the saddle?

It does make me more sympathetic with my wife who complained a bit last year about similar issues on her Trek Verve+ compared to her analog Verve, but the Verve+ actually comes with a telescoping spring seatpost (as does the new Vado LTD). Hmm...

These gloves are the best I have found so far and they really help on long rides... they have lots of gel and are worth every penny! You can also get them with full fingers of course. https://www.pearlizumi.com/CA/en_CA/shop/men/gloves/road/mens_elite_gel_glove/p/14141601

 

[Cyklefanatic]

These gloves are the best I have found so far and they really help on long rides... they have lots of gel and are worth every penny! You can also get them with full fingers of course. https://www.pearlizumi.com/CA/en_CA/shop/men/gloves/road/mens_elite_gel_glove/p/14141601

I used to wear normal Cycling gloves but because of the Vado I bought the Specialized Body Geometry gloves. The feature appealing to me is the 6mm padding on the lower pads. After 3,500 km and one wipe out on sharp limestone screening they are still firm. I will replace them next year.

Men's Body Geometry Dual-Gel Short Finger Gloves

Our Body Geometry Dual-Gel Gloves are all about comfort. They feature strategically placed gel pads throughout the palm to alleviate hand fatigue by rel...

www.specialized.com

Maybe Specialized made the frames so stiff to help sell more gloves

 

[Worm]

I am one of the Vado 3 owners who had not ridden in 40 years - so an older guy. I have had the bike now approaching 5 months and have a little over 3,000 k on the clock. I found the bike terrible in the early days every crack in a concrete path seem to be jarring. I immediately lowered the tire (Triggers) pressure below the minimum recommended and also got a suspension seat post and changed the saddle. I am now happier because some of the sinews and muscles that needed to "adjust" have done so. Out of curiosity in recent days I pumped tires back to maximum recommended and I would describe the ride now in that mode as hard but comfortable. I am still experimenting with saddle height and position, ... those elements also seem part of the ride comfort equation. Sometimes its really hard to know if some change is an improvement, ... sometimes you think so, but are not necessarily 100% certain. I am still not happy with my saddle, but have recently learnt guys get divorced after wives discover piles of hardly used saddles in the back of the garage in the quest for the perfect saddle, ... My hands also get numb on longer rides - I need some gloves I guess. Hopefully in another 5 months things will be even better, but its a heavy bike, so some stuff comes along with that. Theres is hope however, I thought I made a big mistake getting the Vado 3 - now things are on the up, - so don't be despondent if you are struggling with the ride at present, ..

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I am one of the Vado 3 owners who had not ridden in 40 years - so an older guy. I have had the bike now approaching 5 months and have a little over 3,000 k on the clock. I found the bike terrible in the early days every crack in a concrete path seem to be jarring. I immediately lowered the tire (Triggers) pressure below the minimum recommended and also got a suspension seat post and changed the saddle. I am now happier because some of the sinews and muscles that needed to "adjust" have done so. Out of curiosity in recent days I pumped tires back to maximum recommended and I would describe the ride now in that mode as hard but comfortable. I am still experimenting with saddle height and position, ... those elements also seem part of the ride comfort equation. Sometimes its really hard to know if some change is an improvement, ... sometimes you think so, but are not necessarily 100% certain. I am still not happy with my saddle, but have recently learnt guys get divorced after wives discover piles of hardly used saddles in the back of the garage in the quest for the perfect saddle, ... My hands also get numb on longer rides - I need some gloves I guess. Hopefully in another 5 months things will be even better, but its a heavy bike, so some stuff comes along with that. Theres is hope however, I thought I made a big mistake getting the Vado 3 - now things are on the up, - so don't be despondent if you are struggling with the ride at present, ..

My experiences are very similar to yours, @Worm. I got used to the bike; moreover, I have been capable to adjust my saddle the way I don't suffer even on long rides.

 

[Marci jo]

I am one of the Vado 3 owners who had not ridden in 40 years - so an older guy. I have had the bike now approaching 5 months and have a little over 3,000 k on the clock. I found the bike terrible in the early days every crack in a concrete path seem to be jarring. I immediately lowered the tire (Triggers) pressure below the minimum recommended and also got a suspension seat post and changed the saddle. I am now happier because some of the sinews and muscles that needed to "adjust" have done so. Out of curiosity in recent days I pumped tires back to maximum recommended and I would describe the ride now in that mode as hard but comfortable. I am still experimenting with saddle height and position, ... those elements also seem part of the ride comfort equation. Sometimes its really hard to know if some change is an improvement, ... sometimes you think so, but are not necessarily 100% certain. I am still not happy with my saddle, but have recently learnt guys get divorced after wives discover piles of hardly used saddles in the back of the garage in the quest for the perfect saddle, ... My hands also get numb on longer rides - I need some gloves I guess. Hopefully in another 5 months things will be even better, but its a heavy bike, so some stuff comes along with that. Theres is hope however, I thought I made a big mistake getting the Vado 3 - now things are on the up, - so don't be despondent if you are struggling with the ride at present, ..

Same here, Worm.
When the Vado was new I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling even the smallest crack in the road. Thought it was just my aging bones.

Then I made 2 significant changes:
- suspension seatpost. Kinect with two different colored springs and the preload dial in correctly.
- different tires. My lbs found some that will run at very low pressure. They’re Schwalbe G-one 2.25” and can go as low as 26 lbs. They fit but the fenders don’t quite wrap around the tires, maybe 80%.

LOVE the ride! Incredibly smooth and I feel no bumps, especially from poorly repaired roads and significant cracks. It would be interesting to test ride a full suspension mountain bike over the exact roads and compare ride. Of course the mountain bike would be better over really big bumps and obstacles but that’s another thread.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Marci jo, I think I can give you some insight. As long as you're riding roads (including gravel and even cobblestone), your customised Vado is not that different from a full-suspension e-MTB. You could even ride a decent fire road quite comfortably on your Vado.

The major difference is real off-road. Don't even try riding the Vado on rock, sand, on deep off-road bumps etc. That's where an e-MTB really shows its talons! On the other hand, FS e-MTB hates paved roads. It is not an all-rounder.

My West Pomeranian rides have opened my eyes. I made a trip consisting of all mentioned types of terrain (except of rock) there. Anything to be described as "road" was good for my Vado. I cried from despair when I rode into a real offroad path with the Vado though...

 

[Marci jo]

@Marci jo, I think I can give you some insight. As long as you're riding roads (including gravel and even cobblestone), your customised Vado is not that different from a full-suspension e-MTB. You could even ride a decent fire road quite comfortably on your Vado.

The major difference is real off-road. Don't even try riding the Vado on rock, sand, on deep off-road bumps etc. That's where an e-MTB really shows its talons! On the other hand, FS e-MTB hates paved roads. It is not an all-rounder.

My West Pomeranian rides have opened my eyes. I made a trip consisting of all mentioned types of terrain (except of rock) there. Anything to be described as "road" was good for my Vado. I cried from despair when I rode into a real offroad path with the Vado though...

Thank you Stephen, excellent insight.
This helps reduce my craving for a full suspension emtb. I have never been nor likely to be a heavy duty mountain cyclist. Long time ago a friend took me out to some single track trails. We both had hard tail mountain bikes at the time and she was a mountain bike racer. I did not do very well. Got thrown from the bike a couple times---ouch! Just don't have the upper body strength to wrestle the bike up and over boulders and logs. These days a rare occasion of going off a curb might happen but my Vado can handle that nicely.
Hmmm.....now which ebike should I put in my sights? You know, the n+1 rule.