Specialized Trigger vs Schwalbe Marathon E Plus

[john peck]

I will update you as I ride these tires more for whatever worth. I am sure there are some experts out there who will give us much better review and comparison.
I will creat a new thread on this also so friends can comment.

I just went to a 29¨ x 2.0¨ marathon. I may not be a tire expert, but dammit, I becoming an expert at
dealing with flats. Meaty tread, thick sidewalls, & higher PSI are my reasons. Lo,I´m a big guy riding
thru the valley of many blackberry & rose thorns. It rolls well, & I can pump it up enuff not to bottom out.
Now, except the size, mine is a regular marathon green guard, used ´em on other bikes for years without
a flat. I looked up the M. E-plus, & it is for all purposes Marathon Mondial. I have one on my spare
motored wheel. The con of the mondial was that it was quite squirrelly new & got only maginally better
broken in. I notice on the E+ it is slightly different at the outside edges of the tread. The mondial was
designed as a durable long distance touring tire. THey last forever, but are not the most comfortable ride
I like the looks of the Schwalbe almotion, but golly, $84??? That´ll buy a passel of cheap Kendas.

 

[Mulezen]

I’m running Mondials on my Allant...have about 1200 miles on them without a hiccup. I would’ve put the marathon e-plus’s on but they were never in stock. Glad I got these instead...meaty, durable and at least 300 grams lighter if memory serves. The ride seems comfortable to me...in the little off road on rutted down hill farm road they were stable.

 

[Nxkharra]

The 2018 one. It was 5.0 in 2017. The 2018 ver 6.0 had the suspension fork added, that's it.

Now:

• The 1.3 motor is newer. Fact. It has 550 W max power against 520 W (1.2s). The 1.3 amplification is 360%, 1.2s sports 320%. Fact. Both have 90 Nm torque. Fact. The 1.3 is a climber (Brose S Alu), the 1.2s is a racer (Brose TF). Fact.
• Brakes in the 2017 5.0 through 2018 6.0 to 2021 6.0 are better than in 5.0 (TRP Zurich, 2 x 180 mm rotor).
• Older 5.0/newer 6.0 has always had the 48T chainring to get onto high speed at lower cadence.
• Specialized have replaced BLOCKS to TCD-W to all owners of 2017 5.0 through 2019 6.0 at no cost. They have added expensive Supernova M99 Pro headlight and Supernova tail-light with braking indicator to all those EU e-bikes per EU regulations for S-Pedelec. Even the rack was replaced as well as the remote and the horn button.
• Electrak 2.0 Armadillo with Gripton component used since 2017 to the present. (These are in the EU Certificate of Conformity as the only allowed tyres).

To put it simple: Specialized discontinued selling the 6.0 for the U.S. and went with it to Europe, where they can charge a premium price for that e-bike.

Not that I wouldn't like to ride current Vado 5.0 if I lived in the U.S.

Reference:

2017 Specialized Turbo Vado 5.0 Review | ElectricBikeReview.com

Price: $4600.00 | Model Year: 2017 | A high-speed urban electric bike with premium tubular fenders, minimalist rack with integrated light, 600 Lumen headlight, reflective stickers on fenders and rims

electricbikereview.com

Great explanation as always. Always amuses me how much knowledge you have on ebikes. I am sure it is the same in other areas...these engineers!!

 

[john peck]

I’m running Mondials on my Allant...have about 1200 miles on them without a hiccup. I would’ve put the marathon e-plus’s on but they were never in stock. Glad I got these instead...meaty, durable and at least 300 grams lighter if memory serves. The ride seems comfortable to me...in the little off road on rutted down hill farm road they were stable.

Mid-drive? MIne´s a hub motor. The mondial just kept trying to spin out from under me; It may have
had something to do with my being built like an offensive lineman? I put a 1000 mi. on it. Hardly
any noticeable wear, but riding it was strictly flying by the seat of my pants.

 

[steve mercier]

Mid-drive? MIne´s a hub motor. The mondial just kept trying to spin out from under me; It may have
had something to do with my being built like an offensive lineman? I put a 1000 mi. on it. Hardly
any noticeable wear, but riding it was strictly flying by the seat of my pants.

I had those on my Hub drive and they worked really well. They helped manage that ill tempered piece of junk until I finally mothballed it. I weigh 155 .

 

[Mulezen]

Yeah...mid drive. After about 1K miles I switched out the stock 2.4 Bontrager. The Mondials are 2.0 yet on my farms 500’ gravel drive feel more secure riding to the road. No experience with a hub motor. I weigh 200lbs

 

[Stefan Mikes]

One thing that came to my mind: Do you guys stick with the tyre size when you change to a different brand or model? I have found out that changing the tyre size (like, say, from 2.0 to 1.75") dramatically affects speedometer and odometer read-outs. The stock Specialized Electrak 2.0 (51-622) inflated to 4 bar (58 psi) used to give a perfect match between GPS and the display. Just replacing Electraks with 50-622 Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus made display readouts differ from the GPS, which is especially noticeable on longer rides.

@Nxkharra: That's why Electraks are in Vado 6.0 spec (one of reasons). Only Electrak 2.0 can guarantee the proper speedometer and odometer readouts as the e-bike has been calibrated for them.

 

[Kam1936]

One thing that came to my mind: Do you guys stick with the tyre size when you change to a different brand or model? I have found out that changing the tyre size (like, say, from 2.0 to 1.75") dramatically affects speedometer and odometer read-outs. The stock Specialized Electrak 2.0 (51-622) inflated to 4 bar (58 psi) used to give a perfect match between GPS and the display. Just replacing Electraks with 50-622 Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus made display readouts differ from the GPS, which is especially noticeable on longer rides.

@Nxkharra: That's why Electraks are in Vado 6.0 spec (one of reasons). Only Electrak 2.0 can guarantee the proper speedometer and odometer readouts as the e-bike has been calibrated for them.

I can't say I agree or disagree with☝ because my Electrak 2.0 are (700 -51). That's actually the size the Specialized dealer recommended for me to get for my 2019 Turbo Vado 5.0. Larger then the stock (700-47) triggers that they came with. I do believe when they update my display they will adjust the tire size accordingly. I'm going to make a point to ask. BLEvo allows you to adjust the tire size. I don't think MC has this function. Will report back.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I do believe when they update my display they will adjust the tire size accordingly. I'm going to make a point to ask.

Please do. FWIW, the wheel circumference as recorded in my Vado is 2255 mm.
(Good point on BLEvo!)

 

[JeffC57]

I can't say I agree or disagree with☝ because my Electrak 2.0 are (700 -51). That's actually the size the Specialized dealer recommended for me to get for my 2019 Turbo Vado 5.0. Larger then the stock (700-47) triggers that they came with. I do believe when they update my display they will adjust the tire size accordingly. I'm going to make a point to ask. BLEvo allows you to adjust the tire size. I don't think MC has this function. Will report back.

MC does show your tire diameter. It's on the Diagnose screen but the LBS has to change it. I guess because that's part of the math that determines the cutout speed for the motor.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Kam certainly knows that. As I understood his sentence, he would ask the LBS to adjust the tyre circumference in his Vado to match the new size.

 

[Kam1936]

Kam certainly knows that. As I understood his sentence, he would ask the LBS to adjust the tyre circumference in his Vado to match the new size.

☝That part.

 

[john peck]

I had those on my Hub drive and they worked really well. They helped manage that ill tempered piece of junk until I finally mothballed it. I weigh 155 .

Got a 100 pds. on ya Steve. I too have an ill tempered POS that´s now a parts bike. Bet we were
riding the same thing. Current bike cost half as much & is less than half as frustrating. It´s dialed
in real nice now with the marathon in back, & the motor just seems to keep getting stronger at 2800 mi.
Had the other bike for 3 yrs. of which 5 mos. were down time.

 

[Kam1936]

☝That part.

This is how I'm rollin. New Ortliebs Q 2.1 Back Rollers. Diggin these bags and the new tires. Expensive bags but worth every penny. Feb. 10 it will be my 1 year anniversary with this bike. I know it's crazy to love things that can't love you back. It goes without saying.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm so happy Kam I feel as if I were you Bear in mind the Ortliebs require occasional maintenance. Tighten the screws in the panniers occasionally. Don't overload the bags. If already don't own it, fill the panniers with Ortlieb Commuter Inserts

 

[steve mercier]

This is how I'm rollin. New Ortliebs Q 2.1 Back Rollers. Diggin these bags and the new tires. Expensive bags but worth every penny. Feb. 10 it will be my 1 year anniversary with this bike. I know it's crazy to love things that can't love you back. It goes without saying.
View attachment 77749

Wow I have those bags but looking at yours I forgot how clean mine used to be. I feel shame ....so I guess I should get out the scrub brush.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Wow I have those bags but looking at yours I forgot how clean mine used to be. I feel shame ....so I guess I should get out the scrub brush.

You don't wanna see mine (Not exactly the same type).

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My Trustworthy Electraks...

...taken out of the rims for winter storage.

 

[steve mercier]

Got a 100 pds. on ya Steve. I too have an ill tempered POS that´s now a parts bike. Bet we were
riding the same thing. Current bike cost half as much & is less than half as frustrating. It´s dialed
in real nice now with the marathon in back, & the motor just seems to keep getting stronger at 2800 mi.
Had the other bike for 3 yrs. of which 5 mos. were down time.

Yeah John ... thinking about the lengths companies will travel to cut pennies. It makes me wonder who would want to put their name on a POS product that could have been a decent performer for only a few dollars more. For them it must only be about lowering the sticker price and buyer beware.

 

[john peck]

Yeah John ... thinking about the lengths companies will travel to cut pennies. It makes me wonder who would want to put their name on a POS product that could have been a decent performer for only a few dollars more. For them it must only be about lowering the sticker price and buyer beware.

That other bike wasn´t exactly cheap, just some of the components. The one now was cheap,
came fairly spartan but with tried & true engineering, a great motor, & vastly better spokes, not
some experimental asymetrical stays that warped. My ´Vega has asymetrical stays, but it´s
Tange Pro tubing, a veritable rolling samurai sword & it doesn´t have to contend with a motor
& an 11 pd battery.