Specialized Creo 2 owners
- Thread starter vado5.0slcreo2
- Start date
They're currently out of stock online, but my local bike shop just got a shipment in. That's how I got mine. Bike shops often place orders way in advance. It's spring time, which is bike buying season, so bike shops are stocking up. I prefer to buy at my local bike shop whenever I can instead of online. I want to support small town bike shops. I'm not sure where you live, but chances are good you can find one in a bike shop. I live in New England. Before I got my Creo 2, because they were out of stock online, I did a search of bike shops within driving distance. They were available in multiple locations.
vado5.0slcreo2
Member
- Region
- USA
SbSteve
Member
- Region
- USA
I found one! I bought one! I drove to a dealer 90 miles away to get it. (Central California.) My LBS recommended this shop and now I'm happy to be able to support two small independent shops, both of which are quite knowledgeable in Specialized bikes and e-bikes. I got the Comp in blue. Not quite blue, not quite teal, maybe more cyan. They actually call it "Metallic Deep Lake" which sounds better than blue and is easier to pronounce than cyan. I do like the sparkly metallic. The other color the Comp comes in is "Cypress Metallic" which looks like army green to me. This will be my first e-bike, my first carbon fiber bike, my first bike with wireless shifters, my first bike with a dropper seat-post. New Bike Day is a bit of a let down 'cause it's raining, so no pictures yet, but I'm pretty excited!
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Bummer about the rain, but a big Yay! about the rest. My Vado SL was a huge advance over all previous bikes, and you've gone that much farther. We expect a full report — and lots of ride photos.
Santa Barbara, right? Lots of gorgeous but very steep topography away from the water there. Do you know Oprah?
;^}
SbSteve
Member
- Region
- USA
I'll start out with the gorgeous but not-as-steep topography closer to the water and then make my way up to some of the steeper roads in the mountains. If I see Oprah on one of the bike-paths, I'll say hi for you.
SbSteve, Big time congratulations!! You're gonna love it!!
Teddys By The Sea in Carp is a great spot to stop for lunch. You can park your bike right next to your table if it’s not too busy on the patio.I'll start out with the gorgeous but not-as-steep topography closer to the water and then make my way up to some of the steeper roads in the mountains. If I see Oprah on one of the bike-paths, I'll say hi for you.
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Looking forward to a few days in Carpinteria later this year. Thanks for the tip!
SbSteve
Member
- Region
- USA
Took the new bike for a first ride today, about 12 miles (20 km). What a joy to ride, and definitely a good workout. I used 87% eco mode, 3% sport, and 8% off. I guess the other 2% was coasting. Going into a brisk headwind for much of the ride, I really appreciated the motor assist. With a tail wind on the way back, I turned off the motor for some time, and the bike felt just like a regular bike. A bit heavy, maybe like my old bike with under-inflated tires. I weighed the bike using a bathroom scale (not too accurate.) It weighs about 32 lbs, or about 3 lbs heavier than my 10 or 15 year-old 29er Trek aluminum frame mtn. bike hard-tail with front shock. The motor on the Creo sounds about the same as the big knobby 2.4" tires on my mtn. bike on pavement. I was hoping for a quieter and lighter bike, but on the whole I'm quite pleased, and I'm sure I'll be happy riding this. I'm very happy with how the carbon frame and future shock fork absorbs bumps and irregularities in the road. I feels more comfortable than my mtn. bike. By default, the future shock has the medium spring installed, and that seems just right for my weight and riding style. I did a bit of riding off-pavement hopping on and off the paved bike path onto a parallel dirt path, and riding (slowly) down a short stretch of steep rocky terrain. I have to say the bike handled great, and it's a lot of fun to ride. I put the dropper seat down for the steep rocky bit, but I kept forgetting to use it to dismount, or at traffic lights. On the whole, I found the mechanism to use the dropper seat quite cumbersome. And my bum is sore despite wearing padded shorts, so I might be in the market for a seat upgrade. Thanks to everyone here on these forums who helped me in my search for a new e-bike!
vado5.0slcreo2
Member
- Region
- USA
peddle faster before Cali bans them! 
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Specialized makes excellent saddles. I see a problem with the bike fit. Instead of going for the "Holy Saddle Quest", perhaps it is better to order several bike-fitting sessions at the Specialized dealer? (Specialized RETÜL).
You see, our body rests on the hands, bum and feet. Sub-optimal bike fit makes the majority of your body weight rest on your bum instead of being spread equally between all the contact points. I greatly recommend bike-fitting before your drawer gets full of saddles and your bum and groins are ruined
Calcoaster
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I second Stefan’s suggestion of a good bike fit. Another easy thing to check is the saddle tilt angle. My Creo saddle bothered me for the first 500 miles until I learned the front 1/3 or so of the saddle is what should be leveled. That makes the whole saddle appear tilted down but in reality the seating surface is level. And be sure it’s perfectly aligned (parallel with top tube) too - a little bit off makes a difference! A trick I learned for that adjustment is to hold a string with one end on the head tube center and the other on the center of the saddle rear edge. Then see if the saddle nose is right in line with the string.
vado5.0slcreo2
Member
- Region
- USA
yes bike fit before you buy the bike! hopefully the bike shop has saddles you can try out and let you switch stems
peddle faster!
peddle faster!
SbSteve
Member
- Region
- USA
Yes, I did get a bike fit before I bought this bike. I got the bike fit at my local shop on the aluminum frame, and I bought a carbon frame version at a different shop. My local shop was very helpful, and since I paid for the bike fit, when I brought the new bike in to them, they made adjustments based on the initial measurements. My first ride, that I reported above, was on the bike before I got it fitted. Without the initial fit, I would have bought the wrong size based on my own height. The initial fit also recommended flipping the stem over to raise the handlebars. When I came in with my bike, they made adjustments to the saddle height, the saddle angle, and the saddle fore/aft position, and also to the angle of the brake levers. Now, after the fit, and after having ridden it a few times, I think I could get used to the saddle. Part of my issue is I haven't ridden much at all over the past few years, and it's been even longer since I've ridden with drop bars. I already love the bike, and I'm sure I'll get to like it more and more as I ride it.
vado5.0slcreo2
Member
- Region
- USA
peddle faster! never really used the drops, coming from a Vado/Vado sl
had issues with the stock saddle, it's way too narrow
had issues with the stock saddle, it's way too narrow
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Not chafing your groins.
vado5.0slcreo2
Member
- Region
- USA
yes this is an Creo 2 sl forum, but I would like to say, good bye to brose motors, you failed me 7 times, hopefully yamaha/brose have something for the full powered vado too
cali already banned the levo 4
peddle faster!
cali already banned the levo 4
peddle faster!
Last edited:
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
How so? 720 W is within the U.S. Class system?cali already banned the levo 4
I've never found the stock Specialized saddles to be comfortable. My first Specialized bike was a Vado 4 that I bought in March 2020. Through the this forum, I found out about Selle Anatomica saddles. A number of folks said they were the most comfortable saddle out there. I gave one a try and really liked it. They're leather saddles with a split in the middle, so the saddle kind of acts like a shock absorber. I bought two of them for two of my bikes. Since then the price has doubled from $99 to $199. I decided for the Creo 2 to try something else. The bike shop where I bought the Creo 2 has a deal where you can borrow any saddle they have in stock for up to a month. If it doesn't work, you can exchange it for something else. I ended up going with the Terry Falcon Y saddle for my new Creo 2. It's pretty comfortable. I don't know if I love it, but I definitely like it and I like it a heck of a lot more than the stock saddle that came with the Creo 2.
In regards to California already banning the Levo 4. (I don't know if that's true?), I'm totally freaked out about the negative public and political perception about e-bikes. A big reason that I bought a Creo 2 over the new Vado SL 2 is that the Creo 2 is a much more incognito, low key, e-bike with that same new motor. With my range extender battery, the Creo 2 has similar battery power as the Vado SL 2 (a little less, but pretty close). Sometimes I ride with the range extender and sometimes without it. I definitely like having that option too. I also like that the Creo 2 doesn't have a handle bar mounted display, lights that don't turn off and a much trimmer frame. Where I live in rural New England there aren't many e-bike restrictions yet, but that can change. And maybe someday, I'll move back to California. I want to keep riding. So I went with the Creo 2.
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