Specialized Turbo - only Eco and Turbo modes only

[MLWilcox]

Well ... I keep looking for the perfect ebike. I thought I found it with the upcoming Specialized Turbo X. Although I was looking at the new Bosch bikes, I think I am not ready to come out into the open that I am riding an ebike. I like the hidden battery of the Specialized and it's somewhat lighter weight than a Stromer.

This week I headed over to my Specialized dealer and rode the Turbo S to see if I liked the frame, etc. Really loved the bike. I could see how the X could make the bike more comfortable to ride.

I was so surprised that there are only two ride modes - Eco and Turbo. Other bikes I have tried have 4 modes. Did that stop anyone from getting this bike? Does it bother any current owners? Any way to work around this and get at least one more level in between Eco and Turbo? Am I overthinking this?

Share your thoughts.

 

[Brambor]

I don't really miss it. For commuting I just ride at full Turbo and enjoy the speed.

For pleasure, when I go biking with my wife we set our bikes both at ECO to maximize our range. We aren't in any hurry. She has 4 modes on her Stromer but only uses ECO.

I do find the regen on both bikes to be not strong enough. I would enjoy a stronger regen. I find that my best practical use for regen is to save my brakes on steep downhills.

 

[MarcD]

I don't notice the lack of modes too much. ECO is configurable as a % of Turbo (default is 30%), so it gives you some customization options if you are trying to balance range. You can change it on the display in under a minute after you do it once or twice.

Procedure (on a 2013, not sure about joystick directions):
1. Go to any display mode other than Avg Speed
2. Hold Mode for 3 to 5 sec
3. ECO will appear - hold SET for 3 to 5 SEC
4. Cycle through the percent options (10% increments) with the left button
5. Hit right button when you find the percent you want.

Setting is persistent after a power cycle

As with Brambor, I'll keep it in Turbo on my commute, which uses about 50% in 13 miles, then top off at work. If I need more range on flats, I keep it at 30% and click up to Turbo if I hit a big hill. If I am looking at needing about 30 miles of range with hills I set it to 50% and that gives me about 32 miles with 1,400 feet of climb and some wind. I am 260lbs, so keep that in mind.

I change the setting much less often than I used to, generally keeping it at 30% and just use Turbo when needed.

 

[Marko]

Does it bother any current owners? Any way to work around this and get at least one more level in between Eco and Turbo? Am I overthinking this?

Share your thoughts.

I haven't really missed more variety in the levels of support. I usually commute in 30% eco and switch to turbo only when the wind gets to nasty and I still want to have speeds of 20 mph or higher. In the city area, where there is a lot of other cyclists and pedestrians and high speeds are not possible I use no support or regen modes. Like was already stated above with the possibility to adjust the eco % you can set your assist level to whatever you think is sufficient in normal ride. I tried 10% support once, but it is not very noticeable. With 30% it is possible to maintain 25-28 mph for some time if the headwind isn't too hard.

 

[Brambor]

is there a YouTube video showing how to adjust the assist? I'm embarrassed to say I never tried it.

 

[Marko]

is there a YouTube video showing how to adjust the assist? I'm embarrassed to say I never tried it.

I haven't seen any videos but I think MarcDs instructions above are good. Although I have not noticed that being in the Average Speed mode would matter. By pressing on the Mode button for 5s you enter a menu where in addition to the eco % you can also change the units (kmh or mph) and the wheel circumference, which could be useful if you change tire type.

As a side note, I find it a bit strange that the manual does not mention pairing the computer to the bike; it only mentions the HR belt.

EDIT: This reply concerned only the 2013 models.

 

[Brambor]

It doesn't seem to be working for me. Mode button is the joystick buttin right? pressing on it you mean just pressing down and not left, right, up or down right?

If I just press the button for 5s nothing happens.

 

[MarcD]

Marko: I avoid avg speed because you pair the battery from that screen and I am just in the habit of being somewhere else when I start mashing buttons so I don't unpair the battery.

Brambor - looks like Spesh finally put a revised manual up. Here is what I found: http://service.specialized.com

Page 17 at the top has the joystick motions. Slightly different.

 

[Marko]

Marko: I avoid avg speed because you pair the battery from that screen and I am just in the habit of being somewhere else when I start mashing buttons so I don't unpair the battery.

Good to hear this because I have been wondering how to get the battery pairing done. Do you need to press both the Mode and Set buttons when in Avg speed screen? Yesterday (again) the pairing to battery was lost by itself. I could not get the pairing screen visible any other way but resetting the whole computer. Even went ahead to buy a new battery for the computer which of course did not solve it. Although it could be that this type of losing connection to the main battery results from low computer battery. Specialized should update the manual which is totally silent about the battery pairing procedure.

BTW, has anyone checked if the default wheel circumference is accurate with the std tire (I think it is set to 2205 mm). I once tried to measure it but concluded that due to measurement errors any result would probably be way off and decided to keep the default figure.

 

[MarcD]

Marko - easy one first - the default circumference yields distance measurements accurate when compared to GPS over a distance of 30+ miles, so I don't think there is much improvement there. It will be off by maybe 1/10 of a mile at that distance.

As for pairing the battery (on a 2013/Non-Joystick) -
Go to Avg Speed Screen
Hold SET for 3 sec.
Display will read PAIR?
Select YES
Make sure battery is installed and powered on.
Screen will read BIKE FOUND
It will also pair a heart rate monitor at this point.
I usually power down then restart at this point.

 

[Chris Nolte]

Marco - That sounds about right for the circumference on a 700c. I have a bike that is 2250, but the tires are a touch larger than the Turbo. It's pretty easy to measure though, you just marke the tire with something and measure the two marks on the floor as you roll in a straight line. Chalk can work or a magic marker if you don't mind marking up your floor.

Hope this helps.

 

[Marko]

Ok, thanks for those answers and advice.

Sorry for continuing off topic, but has anyone else had the problem of the cyclocomputer resetting the Avg/max speed/Dist on its own. I certainly havent resetted them myself and it seems to set to zero all the time. I have not figured out what sets it to zero. I actually even needed to update the battery software (to ver. 1.8) to stop the odometer from autoresetting. Now the odo seems ok, but I would still want to have the control over the reset of the other numbers too. This issue should not concern the 504 Wh batteries or newer.

 

[Marko]

Ok, thanks for those answers and advice.

Sorry for continuing off topic, but has anyone else had the problem of the cyclocomputer resetting the Avg/max speed/Dist on its own. I certainly havent resetted them myself and it seems to set to zero all the time. I have not figured out what sets it to zero. I actually even needed to update the battery software (to ver. 1.8) to stop the odometer from autoresetting. Now the odo seems ok, but I would still want to have the control over the reset of the other numbers too. This issue should not concern the 504 Wh batteries or newer.

Judging from the silence apparently this is a "feature" that was not in the US bikes. At least based on what was reported in a German ebike forum the bug was in the early 2O13 models in Europe. And, from what I understood, it took quite convincing before Specialized came up with a bugfix for this. It just seems that the issue was not completely fixed after all. Oh well, there is a 1OOO€ fix, buy the new 5O4 Wh battery.