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

[Stealph]

We are not made equal, Barry Or equally healthy. Would you guess why I bought my e-bikes?


Yes, it is an extra item for US$25.

@Ebiker53:
Not sure if you could ride without the cover. Certainly it wouldn't look good. Besides, I am of the opinion batteries should be rotated as it gives both greater longevity.

Whoa, yours was only $25? It took 2 weeks for me to get mine during the pandemic and at the time the LBS didn't know the price...they said it was about $85. is there a link somewhere..now I feel I was robbed

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Yes I'm so happy having the 2nd battery now. Just as you said, it really is pretty quick and easy to pull over and change the battery. I forgot who asked but I did use the 2nd battery without a cover (as I was waiting the 2 weeks for it to arrive I just cleaned it after every ride and made sure not to ride it/ have it exposed during downpours.


So what was the verdict on when to charge. Do you guys top off after each ride...Charge but stop the charge when it is around 80% or just plug it in after a ride and let it recharge? I remember reading different school of thoughts of this earlier...now that I have a 2nd battery I am willing to be a little more responsible

There's another thread that has best battery practices. I charge after every ride as I ride the bike 5 days a week so sitting with a full charge for a day isn't a big deal. I charge till all 5 lights aren't lit anymore. The last few percent take some time to top off.

 

[Stealph]

There's another thread that has best battery practices. I charge after every ride as I ride the bike 5 days a week so sitting with a full charge for a day isn't a big deal. I charge till all 5 lights aren't lit anymore. The last few percent take some time to top off.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look for that thread. Very cool, that is basically what I have been doing all along as I'm also riding it every day. This is by far my favorite purchase all year.

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look for that thread. Very cool, that is basically what I have been doing all along as I'm also riding it every day. This is by far my favorite purchase all year.

Congrats! The more you ride the better it gets! Make sure to swing by the shop every 1k miles or so, the chain needs to be inspected on these bikes. Some users replace every 1k miles, I've got about 2k on mine and it's time to replace. Cassette and brake pads are also areas of increased wear as you'll ride more than you think!

 

[Stealph]

Congrats! The more you ride the better it gets! Make sure to swing by the shop every 1k miles or so, the chain needs to be inspected on these bikes. Some users replace every 1k miles, I've got about 2k on mine and it's time to replace. Cassette and brake pads are also areas of increased wear as you'll ride more than you think!

Yup, I have a new cassette on order and recently got brake pads replaced. Unfortunately during a greenway ride at about 1300 miles my chain mysteriously broke. Fortunately I was not to far from my car... They inspected everything but could not tell why it did that.

They ended up replacing the chain but had to combine two chains to fit the size of the Como ebike.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Stealph: You can use Mission Control, Diagnostics, Battery to see how many charge cycles have been registered in your original battery. Try to ride more often on the new battery than on the original one, and rotate them sometimes or when necessary to increase the range. At some time both batteries will reach a similar number of charging cycles. Such practice will help making both batteries live long.

Now: It would be ideal to keep each battery charge between 20 and 80% but if you ride for big distances or using Turbo support mainly, just recharge both batteries as you wish. Batteries are there to be used

(If you don't plan winter riding, keep the batteries in some storage at room temperature, the best at 60% charge, and give both of them a short charge once in a month.)

Good to know you can ride without the battery cover. Mind sharing a picture?

 

[Stealph]

@Stealph: You can use Mission Control, Diagnostics, Battery to see how many charge cycles have been registered in your original battery. Try to ride more often on the new battery than on the original one, and rotate them sometimes or when necessary to increase the range. At some time both batteries will reach a similar number of charging cycles. Such practice will help making both batteries live long.

Now: It would be ideal to keep each battery charge between 20 and 80% but if you ride for big distances or using Turbo support mainly, just recharge both batteries as you wish. Batteries are there to be used

(If you don't plan winter riding, keep the batteries in some storage at room temperature, the best at 60% charge, and give both of them a short charge once in a month.)

Good to know you can ride without the battery cover. Mind sharing a picture?

Very cool, I will adopt this battery practice!

@Stefan Mikes Unfortunately I didn't snap a pic of the battery without cover. I'll do this if I ever end up removing the cover again...

 

[Brendon@OEB]

Yup, I have a new cassette on order and recently got brake pads replaced. Unfortunately during a greenway ride at about 1300 miles my chain mysteriously broke. Fortunately I was not to far from my car... They inspected everything but could not tell why it did that.

They ended up replacing the chain but had to combine two chains to fit the size of the Como ebike.

That means the didn't use an e bike chain. Not a big deal, but it's best to use e bike spec'd chains to avoid any sort of conversation if something fails. No cause for concern, just food for thought next time around. I like KMC stuff, but Shimano is fantastic too.

 

[GuruUno]

So, to make life easier (as the discussion regarding chains, types, brands, sizes [links], direction has taken place adding to a lot to digest to get the summary overview result, is it possible to list the chain specifications, etc., in some easy to digest form?
Such as:
Como
1> Brand. Links. Direction. Link.

Vado
1> Brand. Links. Direction. Link.

Vado SL
1> Brand. Links. Direction. Link.

Levo
1> Brand. Links. Direction. Link.

I would love to have a spare chain for those times that it may be more of a necessity rather than be inconvenienced waiting for the LBS to order one, or have Amazon deliver one, etc., etc., and to be sure to order the right one, as that seems to be the issue (in my comprehension) of the previous discussions as, to how many links, which brand, is it directional, and so forth.

 

[Marcela]

This is in reference to a KMC X11e review:

If you have a Shimano HG style drivetrain this chain will not work. Although it is heavy duty it will not run smoothly on a shimano 11 speed Bosch mid drive. . This lesson cost me $ $50.00,

The Vado 5 and Como 5 use HG601 chains. The Como is the longest of the two at 124 links. All std components.

The Vado and Como 3 and 4 use KMC chains.

Maybe it matters, maybe it don't.

 

[Billperry]

The Vado 5 and Como 5 use HG601 chains. The Como is the longest of the two at 124 links. All std components.

Maybe it matters, maybe it don't.

 

[Billperry]

Specialized Rider care told me that the 2020 Como 5.0 came with 126 links. A LBS replaced the worn original chain with 128 links and everything worked well. I eventually replaced that with 126 links and that works well. So, like you said. . . maybe it matters, maybe it don't.

 

[Marcela]

Specialized Rider care told me that the 2020 Como 5.0 came with 126 links. A LBS replaced the worn original chain with 128 links and everything worked well. I eventually replaced that with 126 links and that works well. So, like you said. . . maybe it matters, maybe it don't.

My Como counted 124 links. The chain is bought with 126 links. You see where this is going...

Probably depends on the size also. Mine are Large.

 

[sealevelguy]

@Stealph: You can use Mission Control, Diagnostics, Battery to see how many charge cycles have been registered in your original battery. Try to ride more often on the new battery than on the original one, and rotate them sometimes or when necessary to increase the range. At some time both batteries will reach a similar number of charging cycles. Such practice will help making both batteries live long.

Now: It would be ideal to keep each battery charge between 20 and 80% but if you ride for big distances or using Turbo support mainly, just recharge both batteries as you wish. Batteries are there to be used

(If you don't plan winter riding, keep the batteries in some storage at room temperature, the best at 60% charge, and give both of them a short charge once in a month.)

Good to know you can ride without the battery cover. Mind sharing a picture?

Speaking of batteries. I had a little issue with my 2020 Vado 4.0. Turned the bike on, everything boots normally and off I go.
Looking down at the TCDW I notice "Lo Bat" flashing continuously so I stopped, turned the bike off for 45 seconds then back on, no change. The TCDW showed 9 bars and all of the battery lights were on. Later when I got back I started Mission Control checked the battery status and battery updates. All Ok. Motor and Display updates aren't current but the bike works normally, no problems. Anyone seen this before?

 

[Stealph]

Speaking of batteries. I had a little issue with my 2020 Vado 4.0. Turned the bike on, everything boots normally and off I go.
Looking down at the TCDW I notice "Lo Bat" flashing continuously so I stopped, turned the bike off for 45 seconds then back on, no change. The TCDW showed 9 bars and all of the battery lights were on. Later when I got back I started Mission Control checked the battery status and battery updates. All Ok. Motor and Display updates aren't current but the bike works normally, no problems. Anyone seen this before?

I've seen strangeness like this on my Como 4 maybe a total of 3 times in 3 months but there error was more of the lines like, "No battery" however after turning it off and back on, it seemed to 'find' the battery again. I never lost power when these happened..very strange. My firmware was at the latest and diagnostics never turned up anything.

 

[sealevelguy]

I've seen strangeness like this on my Como 4 maybe a total of 3 times in 3 months but there error was more of the lines like, "No battery" however after turning it off and back on, it seemed to 'find' the battery again. I never lost power when these happened..very strange. My firmware was at the latest and diagnostics never turned up anything.

I had read about the no battery issue but mine definitely reads Lo Bat. Funny thing, it isn't low and the bike works just fine. Hopefully it will either go away or wait until I can arrange a visit to my LBS. I did send a diagnostics report from Mission Control to my dealer. Perhaps a stray electron.

 

[Sierratim]

I had read about the no battery issue but mine definitely reads Lo Bat. Funny thing, it isn't low and the bike works just fine. Hopefully it will either go away or wait until I can arrange a visit to my LBS. I did send a diagnostics report from Mission Control to my dealer. Perhaps a stray electron.

A plastic friendly contact cleaner on the battery and frame mounted power connectors can go a long way to resolving many of these spurious errors. My Vado dropped power and displayed a motor error early on, but not since cleaning the contacts.

 

[Sierratim]

That means the didn't use an e bike chain. Not a big deal, but it's best to use e bike spec'd chains to avoid any sort of conversation if something fails. No cause for concern, just food for thought next time around. I like KMC stuff, but Shimano is fantastic too.

My Vado was originally equipped with Shimano's CN-HG601-11 chain. My replacement chains are their CN-HG701-11. Many sellers don't note that these chains are ebike rated by Shimano, despite being promoted by Shimano as a part of their STEPS mid-drive system. These chains are working very well for me, though I am one of those that changes chains early and often, with frequent cleanings in between.

They are available in lengths up to 126 links, though this isn't noted on the Shimano description.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've used Shimano CN-E8000-11, a definitely e-bike chain Because I could!

 

[Brendon@OEB]

My Vado was originally equipped with Shimano's CN-HG601-11 chain. My replacement chains are their CN-HG701-11. Many sellers don't note that these chains are ebike rated by Shimano, despite being promoted by Shimano as a part of their STEPS mid-drive system. These chains are working very well for me, though I am one of those that changes chains early and often, with frequent cleanings in between.

They are available in lengths up to 126 links, though this isn't noted on the Shimano description.

To be completely transparent, "e bike rated" just means it's a decent chain. A fit road/mountain cyclist can put out much more power than any mid drive e bike. The "e bike rated" chains are always longer thus allowing you to only run one quick link. Granted two quick links isn't the end of the world, but it's not as clean of a repair in my eyes. Maybe I'm too critical, but to quote the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together...