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

Stefan Mikes said:
You see, each and every of my e-bikes is equipped with a Spigen Gearlock smartphone mount (it is based on the principle similar to the popular Quad Lock). Yet the phone I carry is certainly not any expensive iPhone. I stick to Honor phones (Android, by Huawei), which are relatively inexpensive (around 300 dollar), and surely unavailable in the U.S. (you know why) :) I admit I lost a single Honor: I didn't notice the mounting screw loosened in one of these mounts. Quad Lock with integrated iPhone case is certainly better but I would indeed hesitate to put a one-thousand-dollar smartphone on the handlebars...
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But you always have a bag on your bike. And so do I. Not my wife . She doesn't want to take her phone or purse, so that empty lower boss would be a visable reminder.
 
With The Stems on The Vado The best mount I found was Rokform : I think that's what it's called : It mounts using the stem bolt : And a Super strong Magnet : But these days riding around with a $1000.00 Phone on the bike isn't the Best idea : Pocket or even in a Trunk bag to the best idea it seems. Or you could just not bring it and not worry about all that DATA > ;)
 
An Expensive Lesson Learnt

1603113021212.png

"You better care of the drive-train". (The photo is rather symbolic. The cassette is to be cleaned with the rear wheel removed). Yet the chain is to be de-greased, wiped, lubed and wiped again often.
 
Ta-dah!

Exactly one year ago, I prepaid 25% of the price of my Vado 5.0. The great adventure was to start on November 1st, 2019. 4247 km (2648 mi) ridden so far.

Taken into account so many negative reports on Vados, I shudder to think what might have happened to me :)
 
There's so much talking about the "motor noise". What's that? :D

I can hear road noise, wind... Where's the motor?!

Anyone of you riding Vado 5.0 with the Specialized 1.3 motor: Does your motor produce any noise?
 
Stefan Mikes said:
There's so much talking about the "motor noise". What's that? :D

I can hear road noise, wind... Where's the motor?!

Anyone of you riding Vado 5.0 with the Specialized 1.3 motor: Does your motor produce any noise?
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Of course, usually at full load of the motor there's always going to be noise, it's just a heck of a lot less than any other motor out there.

At the lower assist levels it's much quieter, but in full turbo you can definitely hear the motor work. Much like hearing the rider pant during efforts!
 
Brendon@TBSM said:
Fair enough, I can certainly hear my 1.3, but I only ride it in Turbo going to the shop and you can believe it's working hard!
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I get some noise from my 1.3 motor as well. It increases with the assist level, but never to,the point that I can't hear the world around me; wind, tire noise, oncoming cars.... The 1.3 motor is quite a bit quieter than other ebikes I encounter on my rides.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
A renowned member of this Forum (not sure whether he allowed me to mention his name) has just sent me spare cogs for my Vado from his great country. Impossible has become possible! There are fantastic people in this world...

View attachment 69432
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What do you need the cogs for? Are you thinking of replacing those instead of the entire cassette?

Wind noise is what I notice more than motor noise, doesn't interrupt the NPR podcasts though!
 
Brendon@TBSM said:
What do you need the cogs for? Are you thinking of replacing those instead of the entire cassette?
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Exactly this. Already done for the 12-speed cassette in Trance E+, now it's the time to do the same for Vado. (Me & brother have been able to ignore the chain wear, and now we're paying the price for the negligence...)
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Exactly this. Already done for the 12-speed cassette in Trance E+, now it's the time to do the same for Vado. (Me & brother have been able to ignore the chain wear, and now we're paying the price for the negligence...)
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I’m curious, what were the symptoms that caused you to replace the cogs? I haven’t noticed any noise or problems shifting. I’m pretty careful; back off pedaling, click it in gear, resume pedaling. And regularly clean the chain.
During the off season I usually get the brakes bled so I’ll have them look at the cogs. Needed new chain this past Spring but the bike had zero symptoms.
 
There are no symptoms, and that's the worst of all. The stretched chain gradually makes damage to the cogs. It is actually grinding them to adjust them to its new, stretched length. The effect is the most pronounced on the smallest cogs as these have few teeth and are least tolerant. On some day, the chain starts slipping on the cogs during the ride. If so happens, not only the chain but also cassette are damaged, and the expensive and hard-to-buy chainring might be already worn, too.

There is some car analogy: the timing belt. The timing belt is to be replaced at scheduled intervals. If not replaced, the belt will break, making severe damage to the engine.

P.S. @TS25 taught me to take a digital caliper, stretch the chain on the bike, and precisely measure the pin-to-pin distance on 10 consecutive links. New chain is at 5" sharp. The chain should be replaced at 5.04", and 5.08" typically indicates the damage to the cassette has already occured.
 
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Stefan Mikes said:
P.S. @TS25 taught me to take a digital caliper, stretch the chain on the bike, and precisely measure the pin-to-pin distance on 10 consecutive links. New chain is at 5" sharp. The chain should be replaced at 5.04", and 5.08" typically indicates the damage to the cassette has already occured.
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Since the chain rings and cogs see the rollers also, would it be better to measure that distance which would take into effect the wear of the rollers and everything else? Rather than just the pins theirselves?
 
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