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

[Sierratim]

Bear in mind friends an e-MTB is meant to either ride in mountains or off-road. On my first true MTB trip I didn't miss the speed: the uphill ride was inevitably slow (18 km/h) but I was reaching 50 km/h (30 mph) downhill. My brother tells me only my e-MTB would do in "his" off-road terrain. Riding roads is something different and I own e-bikes made for that.

BLOKS to TCD-W Upgrade (45 km/h EU Spec)

View attachment 52910
New remote, new horn button, new display. The long inwards lever is for my suspension dropper post. I had to cut the Ergon GP3 Small left grip a little to fit the smartphone mount on the shock-absorbing BAM Trek handlebar.

View attachment 52911
The automotive-grade Supernova M99 Pro headlight. Thank you, Specialized!

View attachment 52912
The registration plate/taillight/plate-illuminating LED/brake light/rear reflector combo is mounted on the mudguard now. As a consequence, Specialized replaced the rack, too.

I think what I paid for the Vado was some US$4000 and now it is equivalent to new Vado 6.0 worth US$5200. Of course I spent some money on upgrades, of which the grips, the dropper post, the handlebars, the saddle, pedals as well as the spare battery with a charger were the most expensive. The bargain I made on the 2017 Vado 5.0 covered the cost of the battery and more.

With all the controls on the left side of the handle bar, does the bike tend to tilt left?...

 

[Sierratim]

Stefan, how well does your mirror work out in that position? The first time I saw it I thought maybe I'd change mine from it's more usual outboard-and-up position, but checking out the details it looked like it would be partially blocked by my body but definitely blocked by my hand or wrist and I'd have to always move them to take a look. Is this true for you? I prefer mine where I can check it often at a quick glance.

I tested a right hand Hafney mirror mounted on the left under the bar. I had a clear view of the mirror but found it took my eyes off the road to even glance at the mirror. It feels safer to glance at the mirror mounted above the bar.

 

[Sierratim]

You can have both options with a motorbike type end bar mirror. You simply reverse mount it. It's what Haibike did on some models 45km/h models. There's 1 screw to remove and you swivel it. Surprised more companies don't jump on the bandwagon. It's a really easy please-everyone solution. You can even swivel the mirror outwards if you want.


View attachment 52923

Some cycling grips, like Ergon, wouldn't be compatible with a bar end mirror, esp if you install their popular bar end extensions. Probably why cycling mirrors are often made with an arched L/R mounts to allow mounting at the inside edge of the grip rather than at the bar end.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Nice horn button, but where did they hide the horn?

The horn is in the motor chamber and the honk goes through the ventilation grille. I don't like the sound so I keep a bell too.

Stefan, how well does your mirror work out in that position? The first time I saw it I thought maybe I'd change mine from it's more usual outboard-and-up position, but checking out the details it looked like it would be partially blocked by my body but definitely blocked by my hand or wrist and I'd have to always move them to take a look. Is this true for you? I prefer mine where I can check it often at a quick glance.

Not the best, works for me.

With all the controls on the left side of the handle bar, does the bike tend to tilt left?...

All...?

 

[Sierratim]

I suppose 'all' is a lazy man's way of saying 'an over whelming majority'...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

There's a lot of space on the right side for even more accessories

 

[Phyz]

There's a lot of space on the right side for even more accessories

#CockpitGoals

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Kam1936, I feel overwhelmed by BLEvo. It connects, disconnects, can collect parameters, cannot collect the parameters... Was the app working 100% OK for you from the beginning?

Anyone, please describe your experiences with Mission Control. How good does the Smart Assist work for you?

 

[Sierratim]

There's a lot of space on the right side for even more accessories

YES! More stuff, esp tech stuff...

 

[rochrunner]

@Kam1936, I feel overwhelmed by BLEvo. It connects, disconnects, can collect parameters, cannot collect the parameters... Was the app working 100% OK for you from the beginning?

Anyone, please describe your experiences with Mission Control. How good does the Smart Assist work for you?

Yes, I find BLEvo confusing to use, and since it is not entirely compatible with my Vado 4.0 I only use it on occasion to collect in-depth performance stats.

I haven't tried MC's Smart Assist yet since I'm happy with the way I currently have the normal assist levels set. But I might play around with it sometime. Let us know how it works for you.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Let us know how it works for you.

I and my brother are considering what to do for our Saturday's ride. He has time on Saturday only but rains and thunderstorms are forecast. Vado has the fenders but not the FS. We'll see ;-)

 

[Nxkharra]

I and my brother are considering what to do for our Saturday's ride. He has time on Saturday only but rains and thunderstorms are forecast. Vado has the fenders but not the FS. We'll see ;-)

I just used Smart Assist the other day for the first time.
Not a good experience for me.
the order of assist changed, only two level of assist, and it kept changing to low assist on steep hill and I had to keep changing.
Not sure if I was doing it correctly.
need more reading on this.

 

[Nxkharra]

@Stefan Mikes her is a sob story for you.
picked up the Vado today. They changed The chain. They used KMC top of the line so all was good on that. The mystery of me needing the new chain ring is solved.
a noise like walking on the wooden floor is coming from the front chain ring.
his explanation was the chain ring is worn out. The old chain was looser so it wasn’t making noise. The new chain is tighter hence the noise.
the chain ring is ordered but takes two weeks to get.
I rode the bike (20 miles).
the noise is very annoying.
not sure I can ride it for two weeks with this noise.
will be calling to see if they can expedite the shipping.
On the other note @Sierratim they had no clue about the new anti theft security feature. The owner called Specialized and left a message so hopefully we will get an answer soon. Hope

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Let me tell you another story @Nxkharra.

Since the LBS manager wrote me my Vado was to be picked up on last Tuesday (and I had other business in Warsaw on that day as well), I drove up the LBS at 1 p.m. The mechanic looked miserable.

-- You see, I thought that would be the standard Shimano 11-speed cassette, the one with 42 teeth on the wide end. Yet, it turned out your bike was specced with the 46 teeth one, so I had to order that from our warehouse. Then, it turned out we needed a longer chain, the one with four links more, specifically the 120-link one. Had to order that as well. I'm sorry. The parts should be delivered in an hour or two...

Wat do. I had to drive back home and revisit the store after some 4-5 hours. Professionals, phooey!

 

[Phyz]

Let me tell you another story @Nxkharra.

Since the LBS manager wrote me my Vado was to be picked up on last Tuesday (and I had other business in Warsaw on that day as well), I drove up the LBS at 1 p.m. The mechanic looked miserable.

-- You see, I thought that would be the standard Shimano 11-speed cassette, the one with 42 teeth on the wide end. Yet, it turned out your bike was specced with the 46 teeth one, so I had to order that from our warehouse. Then, it turned out we needed a longer chain, the one with four links more, specifically the 120-link one. Had to order that as well. I'm sorry. The parts should be delivered in an hour or two...

Wat do. I had to drive back home and revisit the store after some 4-5 hours. Professionals, phooey!

So I should be thankful my LBS is about 1km from my home?

 

[Sierratim]

@Stefan Mikes her is a sob story for you.
picked up the Vado today. They changed The chain. They used KMC top of the line so all was good on that. The mystery of me needing the new chain ring is solved.
a noise like walking on the wooden floor is coming from the front chain ring.
his explanation was the chain ring is worn out. The old chain was looser so it wasn’t making noise. The new chain is tighter hence the noise.
the chain ring is ordered but takes two weeks to get.
I rode the bike (20 miles).
the noise is very annoying.
not sure I can ride it for two weeks with this noise.
will be calling to see if they can expedite the shipping.
On the other note @Sierratim they had no clue about the new anti theft security feature. The owner called Specialized and left a message so hopefully we will get an answer soon. Hope

Checked my Vado chain today after cleaning it. It's still in spec, but I'll be changing it out in the next week or so as is my normal Spring practice. With just over 1,000 miles and regular maintenance I'm hoping to avoid replacing the chain ring as well. I'll know soon enough. Got 4 chains to change out...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

So I should be thankful my LBS is about 1km from my home?

Yes you should In my case it could be 200 km one way or more, depending where I lived. It is some 30 km one way though.
Now I've just realised Americans don't talk distances but the trip time. OK, it is 1 hour round trip now during the covid. The Giant LBS is at the same driving time distance although in the opposite part of Warsaw.

We're having unpleasant weather now which is frustrating for the end of May. Having as many as three e-bikes and feeling unable to ride out sucks. Today, picking up a remotely controlled handlebar display (Giant RideControl EVO) which is costly compared to the similar Specialized TCD used in Levos, Kenevos and Creos. And buying a water bottle.

 

[Sierratim]

Yes you should In my case it could be 200 km one way or more, depending where I lived. It is some 30 km one way though.
Now I've just realised Americans don't talk distances but the trip time. OK, it is 1 hour round trip now during the covid. The Giant LBS is at the same driving time distance although in the opposite part of Warsaw.

We're having unpleasant weather now which is frustrating for the end of May. Having as many as three e-bikes and feeling unable to ride out sucks. Today, picking up a remotely controlled handlebar display (Giant RideControl EVO) which is costly compared to the similar Specialized TCD used in Levos, Kenevos and Creos. And buying a water bottle.

Woke up to more rain this AM, 3rd day in a row. Fresh snow up on the mountain. But we're riding tomorrow with 80F temps. Spring in the Sierras...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is 4:30 a.m here and only 7 C outside! That madness has to stop!

 

[Nxkharra]

Don’t want to rub it in. Sunny San Diego...in 70s. Everyday is riding weather.
Already have 1,000 miles on the new motor that I got in March.