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

Tim, while all we agree on the higher torque of the Brose motor, my personal feeling is the Yamaha PW-X2 can deliver far much power in short burst than the Brose TF in my Vado. No hard data available but I rode up a 45+ degree concrete slab with my Trance and the rear wheel almost sent me flying... Never experienced such a feeling with my Vado that has the Brose TF.
Might that be largely the more aggressive gearing on the Trance, i.e. smaller chain ring?
 
I mentioned Canada because I live in Canada. You're right, this would be a great install for anyone living in the EU or Australia. Don't most Vados in the US have a 28 mph speed limiter?
 
Why just for Canada really? Lots of restricted ebikes in the US and Europe, too.
Consider me fortunate. When I found a speed-Vado offer in Warsaw, I went for that immediately, even if it meant painful registration and insurance procedure. It is quite hard to buy an S-Pedelec in Poland because very few people want to buy them and very few importers want to carry them. The only two 45 km/h make/models to be found in Poland are Turbo Vado 6.0 and Haibike SDURO Trekking S 8.0. The latter comes with a 500 W motor, which is perfectly legal for an S-Pedelec.
 
New Thread....don't know where to park my questions so I’m adding them here. Sorry for not following.
Como vs Vado dilemma
3 or 4 for 50-60 k rides with hills and multi surface? Long ride up a steep hill to come home. Necessary to have more torque and Wh for this? Worth the $1000 diff?
Like the upright posture on Como but Vado seems easier to ride up the hills.
rigid fork vs suspension? Not riding any aggressive trails.
Any other comments welcome.
First e-bike so lots to learn.
thanks!
 
Vado seems easier to ride up the hills.
^^This. I respect the Como very much, yet everybody here confronted between Como and Vado made better choice with the Vado. You're in Canada so you can't have the Speed version but if you only can afford it, go for the version 5.0 because of:
  • The latest 1.3 motor, which is powerful; you will thank me later when you have negotiated your first serious hill :)
  • The 600 Wh battery and you'll safe for your 60 km trip including hills and adverse wind. (The hills eat the battery very fast).
The money spent will soon be forgotten!

You've asked about the torque (and you haven't asked for Peak Power). Yes, they are important. You'll notice that in the following situation: You are riding in the Eco mode at good speed and there's a steep hill in front of you. You downshift once or twice, then switch to the Turbo mode. It is as if you were driving your car uphill -- no speed loss at all! You feel as a superhuman!

The suspension fork is better than no suspension though it is a little heavier. The first curb you'll have to jump from and you'll know why. My fixed fork Vado 5.0 (older version) does alright but it is because it has 2" Electrak Armadillo tyres -- by the way they would fit any Vado. I also had to install a suspension handlebars to save my arms and head from vibration on gravel... Having the sus fork you save yourself a lot of future trouble.

I can only invite you to our Club. We all love our Vados. Comos, too!
 
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New Thread....don't know where to park my questions so I’m adding them here. Sorry for not following.
Como vs Vado dilemma
3 or 4 for 50-60 k rides with hills and multi surface? Long ride up a steep hill to come home. Necessary to have more torque and Wh for this? Worth the $1000 diff?
Like the upright posture on Como but Vado seems easier to ride up the hills.
rigid fork vs suspension? Not riding any aggressive trails.
Any other comments welcome.
First e-bike so lots to learn.
thanks!

You are exactly where I was about a month ago. Look up the forum that I started titled ‘HELP- Como vs Vado’. Lots of great responses there by other members.

I bought the Vado and love it.
 
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I mentioned Canada because I live in Canada. You're right, this would be a great install for anyone living in the EU or Australia. Don't most Vados in the US have a 28 mph speed limiter?
Most Comos are 20mph limited. Assume the Vados are the same.
 
New Thread....don't know where to park my questions so I’m adding them here. Sorry for not following.
Como vs Vado dilemma
3 or 4 for 50-60 k rides with hills and multi surface? Long ride up a steep hill to come home. Necessary to have more torque and Wh for this? Worth the $1000 diff?
Like the upright posture on Como but Vado seems easier to ride up the hills.
rigid fork vs suspension? Not riding any aggressive trails.
Any other comments welcome.
First e-bike so lots to learn.
thanks!
How would you rate your cycling conditioning? Do you ride a mech bike regularly?
 
New Thread....don't know where to park my questions so I’m adding them here. Sorry for not following.
Como vs Vado dilemma
3 or 4 for 50-60 k rides with hills and multi surface? Long ride up a steep hill to come home. Necessary to have more torque and Wh for this? Worth the $1000 diff?
Like the upright posture on Como but Vado seems easier to ride up the hills.
rigid fork vs suspension? Not riding any aggressive trails.
Any other comments welcome.
First e-bike so lots to learn.
thanks!
The Como's upright posture is an important personal preference decision but looking at the Canadian specs I see that Como 3&4s are equipped with 48t chainrings whereas the Vado 3&4s have 40t rings giving th Vados an 'out of the gate' climbing advantage. If the upright position is important to you, you might be able to get your LBS to change the chainring for little or no cost.

Other than riding position, the Canadian Como 3 is sepc'd very close to the Vado 3 and similarly for the 4s. The 3s save money but you are giving up some higher spec components on the 4s; 9spd Alivio vs 10spd Deore, Alivio shadow derailleur vs Deroe Shadow+, 11-36t cassette vs 11-42t, 460Wh battery vs 500Wh, 2A vs 4A charger, etc.

The motors are also different; the 3s have the 1.2e motor vs the 1.2 for the 4s. The 1.2e is said to be designed for more electrical efficiency, i.e. less watts per mile. This graph helps illustrate the differnce;
mceclip9.png

The 1.2e motor will use less power, but it also provides less power to the rider; 400+W peak vs 500+W, a big difference on a hill. The peak power for both motors is developed at a candence ~80rpm but the 1.2 motor starts out higher and ramps up its output more quickly passing the 1.2e peak output by the time the candence hits ~45rpm.

Bottom line? Choose between the Como and Vado based on riding position. Test ride them both and compare.

Choose between a 3 vs a 4 based on the asst level you need, esp for hills. The 4s will have the advantage with the 1.2 motor, wider range cassette, extra gear, and smaller chain ring. Regardless of hill asst, the 4s also have an advantage with higher spec components that should help ease the pain of the extra $. More test rides...

Ride on...😎
 
The Como's upright posture is an important personal preference decision but looking at the Canadian specs I see that Como 3&4s are equipped with 48t chainrings whereas the Vado 3&4s have 40t rings giving th Vados an 'out of the gate' climbing advantage. If the upright position is important to you, you might be able to get your LBS to change the chainring for little or no cost.

Other than riding position, the Canadian Como 3 is sepc'd very close to the Vado 3 and similarly for the 4s. The 3s save money but you are giving up some higher spec components on the 4s; 9spd Alivio vs 10spd Deore, Alivio shadow derailleur vs Deroe Shadow+, 11-36t cassette vs 11-42t, 460Wh battery vs 500Wh, 2A vs 4A charger, etc.

The motors are also different; the 3s have the 1.2e motor vs the 1.2 for the 4s. The 1.2e is said to be designed for more electrical efficiency, i.e. less watts per mile. This graph helps illustrate the differnce;
View attachment 53361
The 1.2e motor will use less power, but it also provides less power to the rider; 400+W peak vs 500+W, a big difference on a hill. The peak power for both motors is developed at a candence ~80rpm but the 1.2 motor starts out higher and ramps up its output more quickly passing the 1.2e peak output by the time the candence hits ~45rpm.

Bottom line? Choose between the Como and Vado based on riding position. Test ride them both and compare.

Choose between a 3 vs a 4 based on the asst level you need, esp for hills. The 4s will have the advantage with the 1.2 motor, wider range cassette, extra gear, and smaller chain ring. Regardless of hill asst, the 4s also have an advantage with higher spec components that should help ease the pain of the extra $. More test rides...

Ride on...😎
Too late for the TMI stuff this time for me, Tim. I already bought the 3s. I figured out the battery difference but missed the motor difference that might have mattered. But maybe not. I'm cheap as I mentioned. And may end up with a delimiter when the warranty expires, anyway.
 
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