Specialized Turbo Availability in Australia

[Admin]

Hey guys, I recently got a comment on YouTube asking about when and where the Specialized Turbo electric bike will be available. I reached out to Specialized and got the following response and press release. Sounds like it will be hitting stores in early February 2014!

Sincerest apologies for the delay in getting back to you. We have just got back from the Tour Down Under where we had the Turbo available for test rides for the first time in Australia.

We have approximately 15 Dealers across Australia that will stock Turbos within the next couple of weeks. These Dealers are currently going through product training with our education arm of the business and then the bikes will be shipped out to stores.

In Australia, the Turbo has a slightly different offering – the top pedal-assisted speed is 25km/hr – due to Australian regulations, which you may already be aware of. The recommended retail price (RRP) in Australia will be $7,499.

The following Dealers in Australia will be stocking the Turbo:

• South Australia (SA): Bike Society, JT Cycles
• Queensland (QLD): Planet Cycles, Bicycle Riders, Graceville
• Western Australia (WA): Wembley Cycles, Ride Advice
• New South Wales (NSW): Jet Cycles, Manly Cycles, Woolys Wheels
• Victoria (VIC): Hampton Cycles, Total Rush, Bike Now, Bayswater Cycles

I hope this helps Court. Please let me know if you require any further information.

Best wishes,
Laura

 

[James]

Boooo for the 25km/hr limit!

 

[Admin]

Seriously! What if you need to outrun a boxing kangaroo, cassowary bird or taipan snake in the road... Australia is full of crazy animals and it's a big place (just like the USA) so it seems like they should adopt the same higher speed limits for electric bikes that we enjoy over here. Crashing on your bike seems like the least of your worries... according to this song

 

[James]

In all seriousness it does seem weird that a huge place like that would limit the top speed.
I wonder how much the oil and gas guys get involved in that sort of law making or lobbying to keep the electric bikes on the fringe?

 

[Richard Simpson]

I bought a specialised turbo i had my eye on for a while. After a disastrous run with a $2000 AUD dilinger outlaw i decided to take the owner to court and get at least some of my money back and then put it towards a bike that i could get decent service out of in Australia and that was actually built to a standard that would mean i was safe on the road with the power i wanted.

Although the bike is a pedalec it is a real joy to ride and the components are very robust. I'm pretty hard on the brakes though as i have had the bike derestricted and normally sit on about 40 kmh. I have been up to 60 but this is down hill and the assist cuts out at 45 Kmh. I get a very decent range from the bike and I am totally stoked with it. It was 5K AUD but really worth it for the experience it is to ride.

I run my dog with it and commute and just go for a spin. It's like being 10 years old again. "You only better" is such a great description for this bike and experience. You feel like superman and you can put in as much effort as you like. Because of the pedalec nature of the set up (which i totally get) you get the experience of being superhuman and i catch myself laughing all the time on this bike.

I can thoroughly recommend this bike. It retails for around 7K but because they could not find a buyer the bike sat for ages. I believe they are bringing a down spec model out which is around 5K but i have mine now and am totally stoked like i said.

Definitely worth the money and having been through the pain of a cheap and nasty and dangerous Chinese import with no service in Australia I can thoroughly recommend this bike.

By the way in order to absolve the sellers of any warranty or legal issues i wrote a note which stated that i understood that in derestricting the bike it was no longer legal for the road. I signed it and handed it over and they handed me back a 750W peak power pedalec which will sit on 42 K's with a moderate effort.

To limit this bike to 26 Kmh is really ridiculous in my view and makes it a waste of time and money to ride. But at 46 kmh its worth every cent !!!

Go for it.

 

[Richard Simpson]

Hey Court,

Looks like the site is growing. See my post below regarding my dilinger outlaw and now specialised turbo. It's a fantastic bike.