Specialized Turbo Vado/Como/Tero/Tero X User Club

I picked up a new small vado 5.0 step thru for the girlfriend as a bit more appropriate bike to ride with me when I am riding my Levo SL. I registered so I could ask what suspension post everyone was running on their Vado but I was pleasantly surprised looking at the seat post last night it appears that these new vados come stock with a specalized suspension seat post, though I cannot attest to how well it works. I figure I'll give it a test ride here in a bit .

Photo-Nov-23-6-01-27-PM.jpg
 
celbii said:
I may give it a spin to work, though its blowing hard enough outside right now to make me reconsider.
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Unlike your Levo SL, full power Vado is ideal for headwind rides! :D
celbii said:
Heres a very quick and dirty video of the new suspension seat post, demonstrated poorly :)
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I don't think the suspension seat-post is the most vital feature of the 2020 Vado 5.0 ;) I would be excited with the large battery, improved motor, the new Mastermind display, and the air-fork! ;)
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Unlike your Levo SL, full power Vado is ideal for headwind rides! :D

I don't think the suspension seat-post is the most vital feature of the 2020 Vado 5.0 ;) I would be excited with the large battery, improved motor, the new Mastermind display, and the air-fork! ;)
Click to expand...

Just rode it a few miles(3) into the winds from hell! Certainly powered right through them. Though to be honest I'd rather ride my Levo over the Vado after this ride, but I didnt buy the vado for myself ;). That being said I am impressed with the Vado for sure. Quite comfy and tons of power! Had some issues, but all of them I attribute to the bike store I picked it up from ( Did a 7 hour round trip to get the bike yesterday) whom said it would be ready for pick up in the afternoon, and I called them about an hour and a half out to let them know I was getting closer (around 4:30PM) to which they briskly said yeah ok and hung up. When I got to the store the bike was not on the ready to go rack for pick up and I assume they very quickly finished assembling it when I got there around 5:45 because as I discovered right before I took off for my ride right now the handle bars were crooked which I fixed, and when I was riding I stood up on the pedals to test the suspension and the handle bars flipped over!!! Luckily I wasn't doing anything crazy at the time so I just was able to flip them back but wow to not tighten the stem correctly... I will torque it properly before I ride home. Also the shock was not set up at all it appears because I only weight 130lbs and and light pressure on the front fork depresses the shock significantly so when I get home I will air it up with some pressure for the correct weight.

But other than that beautiful ride and like I said all the actual issues were just the LBS not being ready for it to be picked up I think. Rode great and cut through the headwinds, will be perfect for the GF for us to ride around the paved bike trails and paved lake trails/roads around here :) I am looking forward to riding it back home :D

Edit: I will say for the display, the thing beeps like crazy!!! Non stop almost! That may be the radar feature.
 
celbii said:
Just rode it a few miles(3) into the winds from hell! Certainly powered right through them. Though to be honest I'd rather ride my Levo over the Vado after this ride, but I didnt buy the vado for myself ;). That being said I am impressed with the Vado for sure. Quite comfy and tons of power! Had some issues, but all of them I attribute to the bike store I picked it up from ( Did a 7 hour round trip to get the bike yesterday) whom said it would be ready for pick up in the afternoon, and I called them about an hour and a half out to let them know I was getting closer (around 4:30PM) to which they briskly said yeah ok and hung up. When I got to the store the bike was not on the ready to go rack for pick up and I assume they very quickly finished assembling it when I got there around 5:45 because as I discovered right before I took off for my ride right now the handle bars were crooked which I fixed, and when I was riding I stood up on the pedals to test the suspension and the handle bars flipped over!!! Luckily I wasn't doing anything crazy at the time so I just was able to flip them back but wow to not tighten the stem correctly... I will torque it properly before I ride home. Also the shock was not set up at all it appears because I only weight 130lbs and and light pressure on the front fork depresses the shock significantly so when I get home I will air it up with some pressure for the correct weight.
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Things happen. My first Specialized LBS people forgot inflating the tires... :D

celbii said:
But other than that beautiful ride and like I said all the actual issues were just the LBS not being ready for it to be picked up I think. Rode great and cut through the headwinds, will be perfect for the GF for us to ride around the paved bike trails and paved lake trails/roads around here :) I am looking forward to riding it back home :D
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Many happy miles! The colour of your gf's Vado is gorgeous! We in this Club say: "The red is the fasterestest color!" :D

celbii said:
That may be the radar feature.
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This.
 
Several Vado 5.0 (Speed version) Fixes and Modifications After 2 Years of Use

My brother Jacek did a great job as of today on my "big" Vado:
  • Repairing the STOP indicator switch in a TRP Zurich brake lever
  • Lowering the stem as much as possible
  • Fixing the number plate support at the rear fender
  • Swapping the tyres for Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus 50-622.
1638046540903.png

  1. Tektro Racing Products (TRP) is using a reed switch (at the left) to activate the STOP indicator whenever you depress the Zurich brake lever. The lever moves a permanent magnet that closes the contacts of the reed switch. As you can see, the signal wire was broken. It took Jacek quite a while to use a piece of his own wire to solder, insulate, and place the brake sensor back in the place (it was for the left brake lever).

  2. Two years ago I used a 75 mm stem riser to raise the Vado stem for a more upright riding position. Two years of cycling teaches you a lot. I was experiencing sore butt on any long ride! It was because almost all my body weight was resting on the saddle. Quite recently, I was researching the possibilities for more aero riding position on my Vado SL. It was because the VSL as a low power e-bike has been very susceptible to headwind, and my torso was acting as an air drag brake. Following advice of fellow EBR Forum members, I lowered the VSL stem as low as possible, and I even slammed the Redshift ShockStop stem into -6 deg position! To find out the sporty (forward) riding position was quite comfortable, and a big part of my body weight was shifted on the handlebars. My sore backside issues became the matter of the past!

    Following the suit, I asked my brother to totally remove the stem riser on my Vado 5.0, and place the stem as low as possible (with replacing the main bolt with a shorter one). It worked!

  3. Jacek has fixed the attachment of the number plate holder to the rear fender. It was the last time to do it!

  4. And he has swapped the tyres for winter ones.
The last news:
I finally got my third Specialized 604 W Vado/Como battery. The price was approximately US$1,230 (we pay VAT in Europe). The battery cover is so-called Satin. In fact, it is somewhat Navy Blue. I don't care: I will be able to identify my three batteries easily: Gray, Black/Gray, Navy Blue :) The way to make a double metric century is open for me!

@Rider51, @Brendon@TBSM: Do you think a new battery is in some "hibernated" state and could be stored for say 1 year unused until it were charged for the first time?
 
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I figured I'd hop in here for my first post. My Turbo Vado 4.0 is almost two years old now and crossed over 3540 miles (5700k) this morning with most of the miles being put on in the last fourteen months. It is completely stock save for a bottle cage, Schwalbe Energizer Plus 700x47 tires, and three rear wheel spokes that popped and had to be replaced. I will likely need to replace the chainring, cassette, and chain very soon. I already have a KMC chain but the Shmano HG-500 11-42 seems to be out of stock in most places so I'm going to go with a Sunrace 11-42 and see how that treats me. I'm also going to use a wax lubricant this time around given I ride to work in rain.
 
DCeB said:
I figured I'd hop in here for my first post. My Turbo Vado 4.0 is almost two years old now and crossed over 3540 miles (5700k) this morning with most of the miles being put on in the last fourteen months. It is completely stock save for a bottle cage, Schwalbe Energizer Plus 700x47 tires, and three rear wheel spokes that popped and had to be replaced. I will likely need to replace the chainring, cassette, and chain very soon. I already have a KMC chain but the Shmano HG-500 11-42 seems to be out of stock in most places so I'm going to go with a Sunrace 11-42 and see how that treats me. I'm also going to use a wax lubricant this time around given I ride to work in rain.
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Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have used and enjoyed the Vado. Continue doing so.
 
DCeB said:
. I already have a KMC chain but the Shmano HG-500 11-42 seems to be out of stock in most places so I'm going to go with a Sunrace 11-42 and see how that treats me. I'm also going to use a wax lubricant this time around given I ride to work in rain.
Click to expand...
I went to buy the same Shimano cassette for my indoor trainer that I use on my road bike. I found one online but the same thing that cost me about $60 a couple years ago they wanted $165 for now! Since it's only for the trainer, I guess I'll look for one of the cheaper brands for $100 less.
 
Last I saw, the SunRace 10 speed 11-42 cassettes were anywhere from $60 to $70. They have two (maybe three) versions of varying weights.
 
I had a clicking in my Como drivetrain I noticed the other day, and think I noticed before. This time I thought I had better investigate, the easy stuff first. Got the chain checker out and going around the chain, it appears the master link was the culprit. I had put a gold link in to make it easier to clean and lube so I wouldn't have to look for the master link so hard, eyes getting fuzzy you know. So apparently the gold link was inferior and I replaced with a Shimano link. Everything else checked out OK, low miles on the chain at about 500.

On the other hand, the Vado at 1470 miles did not pass the chain checker test. At the .5 wear mark I can push it through the links finally. So I think I'll replace the chain. I was expecting more miles as I don't use a lot of assist. I'll bet it is the chain line running to the large and small cogs at the rear that puts a lot of stress on the chain parts.

Good enough for government work.

That gold link was a KMC link on a Shimano HG601 oem chain btw.
 
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I was thinking of leaving the chain guard on the front sprocket off to make it easier to see and clean the sprocket. Anybody riding without the front chain guard and how do you like it?

Some used to use the chain guards on karts to save the sprocket if there was an impact. Don't see the sprockets on the bikes in any danger of impact but there are no pedals next to the sprockets on the karts either.
 
Marcela said:
I was thinking of leaving the chain guard on the front sprocket off to make it easier to see and clean the sprocket. Anybody riding without the front chain guard and how do you like it?

Some used to use the chain guards on karts to save the sprocket if there was an impact. Don't see the sprockets on the bikes in any danger of impact but there are no pedals next to the sprockets on the karts either.
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lots of bikes don't have chain guards. it's mostly to protect your pants, shoelaces, etc from coming into contact with a greasy moving chain. may have some value for very rough off road riding too, protecting the chain and front ring from impacts that might cause a dropped or damaged chain. i have one bike with, one without, doesn't make much difference to me.
 
Marcela said:
I was thinking of leaving the chain guard on the front sprocket off to make it easier to see and clean the sprocket. Anybody riding without the front chain guard and how do you like it?

Some used to use the chain guards on karts to save the sprocket if there was an impact. Don't see the sprockets on the bikes in any danger of impact but there are no pedals next to the sprockets on the karts either.
Click to expand...
mschwett said:
lots of bikes don't have chain guards. it's mostly to protect your pants, shoelaces, etc from coming into contact with a greasy moving chain. may have some value for very rough off road riding too, protecting the chain and front ring from impacts that might cause a dropped or damaged chain. i have one bike with, one without, doesn't make much difference to me.
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I ride my Vado with a 38T steel chainring without the chainguard. No issues but I don't mind my shoes or cycling winter trousers getting stained. What mschwett said is the best answer! (For instance, the e-MTB I used to own had a 38T bare chainring but it was also equipped with a chain-guide only meant to protect against chain jumping off in rough terrain).
 
Hi have recently purchased a Vado Sl4 in the UK. It's a terrific bike, but I have succeeded in breaking the front headlight bracket. Is there a more robust metal alternative available anywhere?
Many thanks
Maurice Pyman.
 
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