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

[Sierratim]

I just did an ODO check on the Como using a measuring wheel.

At the Como ODO indicated 1 mile mark, the measuring wheel indicated 4879, or 401 ft. short of 5280, or 1 mile.

The Como tire circumference is set to 88.78.

Using my old math skills, I come up with the tire circumference needing to be 96.

At the half mile mark because the numbers were different and not exactly half, the math indicated the Como tire circumference needed to be 99.

Interesting the difference between the 1/2 and 1 mile mark.

Rolling wheels are pretty accurate. I've had several styles. In retirement I kept my favorite, it has a 48" circumference wheel with 4 cogs that trip a resetable mechanical counter that displays feet.

What type did you use? Did you roll it along side when you rode the bike for the 1 mile measurement?

 

[Marcela]

I have a 3 ft. wheel. I walked it. The Como duplicated the recorded distance to within a few feet. The Vado was closer to the marks but not by much, don't know what the circumference is at for it. I'll have to do it another day. I'm guessing the vado would have to be in the low to mid 90's.

 

[Marcela]

I installed a Brooks B67 saddle on the Como. That is a match made in heaven!

 

[Sierratim]

I have a 3 ft. wheel. I walked it. The Como duplicated the recorded distance to within a few feet. The Vado was closer to the marks but not by much, don't know what the circumference is at for it. I'll have to do it another day. I'm guessing the vado would have to be in the low to mid 90's.

Out of curiosity, I followed my old wheel measurement technique; chalk mark on the tire sidewall, and on the pavement then 10 rotations with a 2nd set of marks. Without a rider my Vado rolled 73'8" over the 10 revolutions. This works out to tire circumference of 88.5"/2247mm. With a rider, the 10 revolutions were 2'4" short of the original mark indicating an effective circumference of 85.6"/2174mm.

I used the front tire for this setup. It was at 54psi. The distance was measured with a 100' fiberglass tape measure pulled to 10lbs tension. Ambient temperature was 84F.

I repeated the distance measurement with my 48" circumference rolling wheel. I did 4 runs removing any rocks, sticks, etc being careful not to let the wheel lose contact with the smooth pavement. For each run, I initialized the wheel to have a measurement cog just past the indicator lever to assure a full foot for the first measurement. I followed the tensioned tape measure as closely as possible to get a straight run each time. I estimated fractions of a foot by observing where the next cog was positioned in relation to the counter lever. My 4 runs averaged 73-1/2 feet with a variance of +/-1/4 foot for the non-rider distance indicating a circumference of 88.2"/2240mm. I repeated this wheeled measurement twice more allowing the wheel to hit small rocks and sticks on my driveway. The measurements were as high as 74-1/2', the additional distance being caused by the wheel losing contact with the pavement but continuing to spin.

Bottom line, I'm OK with industry recommendations of 88.6"/2250mm for my Trigger Sport tires.

BTW - I've done this in the past for each of my bike/tire combos. The measurement is always close to industry numbers. I just go with industry numbers now.

 

[Marcela]

Good for you. My gps is still closer btw. It was over the mile mark indicating 1.05.

 

[Ebiker53]

Are there closer dealers that don't stock the Specialized e bikes? They can still perform the service side of things, should they desire.

Blows me away that you could have the Specialized line and not align with the ebike side of things. I get it if you're strictly a specialty shop, but why not have the ability to do the basic service??! It's not that hard!

It's the fastest growing market segment with solid demand and yet shops keep thumbing their nose. Amazing.

The other Specfilaized dealer in town doesn't carry ebikes because as they put it "our customers don't buy bikes at that price point." They don't service them either.

 

[Sierratim]

Good for you. My gps is still closer btw. It was over the mile mark indicating 1.05.

Hey, just presenting a data set that should be reproducible. Coincidently, it matches industry published figures pretty well. It also suggests a tendency for rolled wheel measurements to elongate measurements on the order of 1.2%. Combining that with the gps variance of 5% to the wheeled measurement yields an apparent tire circumference that will differ from industry figures.

 

[Marcela]

We are all proud of you.

 

[SoCalDave]

The other Specfilaized dealer in town doesn't carry ebikes because as they put it "our customers don't buy bikes at that price point." They don't service them either.

There are higher end Specialized road and mountain non-e bikes that cost more than most mid-range and even some higher end e-bikes. Does the shop not sell those?

 

[Nxkharra]

First motor error and not responding after 1,900 miles on the new motor.
Vado 5 stoped responding, display showed flashing “motor error” and “no battery” message.
did SOP turning the bike off and then on after 30 seconds or so. No improvement after three try. activated Mission Controls which showed the issue.
turned the bike off and waited few minutes. I then turned the bike on and no more error message.
I took the battery off and put it back on at home to ensure there was no loose connection.
uploaded the issue to Specialized.
will be checking with LBS soon.
hope it is not sign of things to come.
I was riding in turbo mode a lot due to my knee acting up today. Wonder if the motor and battery got hotter than usual and connections issues....

Update-longer ride today (33 miles). Mostly in Eco mode, some Sport, and seldom Turbo. No issues.
now wondering if riding in turbo mode cause motor heating and or connection from battery to motor or motor to display,....
Any ideas?

 

[Marcela]

Re centering calipers, if you clamp the disc with the caliper pulling the brake lever and the caliper is still not centered, you can use a feeler gauge on whichever side is still rubbing, I used .003 as it was handy, insert the feeler gauge on the rubbing side, clamp the disc with the lever then tighten the caliper. You could even probably use an index card. Works on those rotors that are not perfectly flat and you can't find the right spot to make the adjustment.

hth

 

[Fred Quasko]

I am enjoying my new 5.0 very much! I found a low profile drone carrier from Adorama that fits the front rack perfectly. It is a Lowepro DroneGuard CS 200.
Bike gets great range, is very smooth, powerful, stable, and the riding position is quite comfortable. Saddle is great, too.

 

[Marcela]

That Como 5 is a nice rig, I'm liking mine more than the Vado.

 

[Art Deco]

That Como 5 is a nice rig, I'm liking mine more than the Vado.

I don't think you are suppossed to admit to liking the Como more than the Vado.

 

[Marcela]

Went on a 26 mi round town ride on the mostly new Como 5 today.

Stopped by the LBS and changed the tire circumference setting. Disappointingly, I had my ratios reversed, the tire circumference number needs to be smaller to make the computer think the tire is going to have more revolutions per mile. When I got back and checked the distance it was shorter! Big bummer there, the guys at the lbs like me though, now that they have a concession stand open I bought them a cold one. New numbers will be 82 for the Como and 84 for the Vado I believe.

I like the tires on the Como. The smooth tread, seems to be less rolling resistance than the Triggers on the Vado and I have more confidence in the smooth tread in cornering on pavement.

First long run on the very new Brooks B67 saddle. It is a keeper. The OEM saddle was chaffing the back of the leg where it meets the front of the saddle. Dowsed the Brooks saddle in neetsfoot oil and it is good to go. Think I got the last one in the U.S.!

Also installed 200 mm brake rotors front and back, leftovers from the Vado experiment. Certainly a difference in stopping. Note: was on the Vado a few weeks ago running downhill on a sidewalk where it meets an overpass with a curve before it crosses the road, the road also has a curve so an oncoming cars line of sight is not the farthest, mine was farther and I came to a pretty quick stop with some scratch laying and sideways movement of the back tire. He came to a stop also but I don't think I could have made it across the road before he crossed my path. Like to think the brakes saved me on that one.

Also noticed on the Como the seating position is rearward almost directly over the back tire, because of this the movement of the front tire over bumps is felt very little at the ass point.

Can't go wrong with the Vado or Como, but I'm really liking the Como. Ride on!

 

[Art Deco]

I don't think you are suppossed to admit to liking the Como more than the Vado.

See this thread among others on Como vs Vado]

Reason(s) for the harsh Vado ride

Given the number of suspension seat posts mentioned here (and I'll probably join the crowd soon), I suspect I'm not the only one to have noticed this, and I'm simply curious about why this seems to be so. Mainly, I've been surprised at how jolting the ride on my Vado can be. As an example...

electricbikereview.com

 

[Yogajohn]

I just got a Vado 5.0. Really loving and got me back to riding after 15 years. In my commute I need to take the battery out to charge, and leave the bike outside. Is it ok to do that?

 

[Art Deco]

I just got a Vado 5.0. Really loving and got me back to riding after 15 years. In my commute I need to take the battery out to charge, and leave the bike outside. Is it ok to do that?

Suppossed to be OK., but if you can cover it to keep rain out of the comppartment, that's better.

 

[Sierratim]

I just got a Vado 5.0. Really loving and got me back to riding after 15 years. In my commute I need to take the battery out to charge, and leave the bike outside. Is it ok to do that?

Shouldn't be an issue as long as it's not too dusty or wet. In that case I'd suggest a water proof rain cover for the bike. Otherwise the frame mounted battery terminals can get contaminated.

 

[Yogajohn]

Suppossed to be OK., but if you can cover it to keep rain out of the comppartment, that's better.

That makes sense. the terminals are totally exposed. The thing is carrying a bike cover with me. Maybe there is something that would just cover the battery area.