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

[ScruffMcG]

If you determine @ScruffMcG that the owner indeed rode his Vado a little and the battery is healthy, I would say the offered price is fair. You wouldn't get a new e-bike of that class that cheap nowadays, and you are buying almost a new e-bike minus the valuable warranty of course. Could you check if that Vado has the modern TCD-w display? That is important.

View attachment 123201
This is how the display looks like but it will have wires connected to it.

The TCD-w display shows the pairing code when you try to pair your smartphone via Mission Control app.

Make sure you get the battery lock keys with the Abus Plus Code and the charger!

Yes that is the display. I went for a quick ride on it yesterday and it was definitely that one and not the bloks. It was raining hard though so it was a very brief first visit. Can definitely ask after mileage and see if by chance they still have the app connected. Thanks again for the helpful replies!

 

[CodyDog]

New to the forum, realize this question could also belong elsewhere, but I did a lot of reading through the early pages of this thread and thought these owners might have the best opinions...

There is a 2020 Vado 3.0 for sale nearby. It's used but less than 200 miles, looks brand new. It was advertised as 2019 but apparently when pulling out the manual realized it was a 2020 bought at the end of 2019. They are advertising for 2200$. I was more excited about that price if it was the 2019 with higher end components, but not sure how much I'll completely notice, if I'm honest. Use case is 4ish mile commute to work with significant hills. Then hopefully some longer fun/exercise rides on the weekend.

Do you think the 2200 (or maybe i offer 2000) price would be worth it for this bike? I know the list price was only 2700 but I also think similar bikes seem to have gone up in price and down in availability since that release. But on the flip side I was looking at something like the ride1up 700 for 1700$ish or an entry-level torque sensor bike like a tenways for around that price. I don't mind a little more expensive especially since it seems like I can take it to the original LBS it was sold at, etc. just want to know your opinions on whether it's a fair price or not?

Thanks!

If milage and usage is correct, that is a fair deal. Vado's are difficult to find around here.

 

[WIVado]

Time for some lower gears on the Vado.

Did a 65-mile ride today with about ~4,000 feet of climbing; the 51-tooth is really nice for the hills I ride in in southwest Wisconsin.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

the 51-tooth is really nice for the hills I ride in in southwest Wisconsin

An interesting option! Mine ends at 46T. If I am to ride in mountains on my vacation, I replace the chainring with a 38T instead. (There are no flat areas there).

 

[Marcela]

Time for some lower gears on the Vado. View attachment 123312

Did a 65-mile ride today with about ~4,000 feet of climbing; the 51-tooth is really nice for the hills I ride in in southwest Wisconsin.

Or you can get a Praxis 36t chain ring and don't have to extend the chain and will probably work with the current chain length and move your cog engagement 2 rings closer to inline with the front chainring. Probably easier on the chain also. The perceived power increase because of the leverage advantage is noticeable also. If you have the oem aluminum chainring I wouldn't hesitate to change it out for the steel Praxis.

 

[WIVado]

I did contemplate a smaller chainring, Marcela and Stefan- and wouldn’t be opposed to going that route.
My idea of going with a bigger rear cassette was to get some lower gear inches, but not lose any on the top.
Realistically, the amount of time I spend in Turbo roaring around at 28 MPH is pretty limited, so I think a smaller crank ring would suit me just fine.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I did contemplate a smaller chainring, Marcela and Stefan- and wouldn’t be opposed to going that route.
My idea of going with a bigger rear cassette was to get some lower gear inches, but not lose any on the top.
Realistically, the amount of time I spend in Turbo roaring around at 28 MPH is pretty limited, so I think a smaller crank ring would suit me just fine.

You already own the wide-range cassette. Please make some calculations with bikecalc.com to determine the ideal chainring size for your needs. While I must use the 38-46T in the mountains, I love the 42T chainring here in the plains, as I can hit 25 mph with good cadence but still the low gears are adequate for occasional hills in the greater area where I'm riding.

 

[Marcela]

I did contemplate a smaller chainring, Marcela and Stefan- and wouldn’t be opposed to going that route.
My idea of going with a bigger rear cassette was to get some lower gear inches, but not lose any on the top.
Realistically, the amount of time I spend in Turbo roaring around at 28 MPH is pretty limited, so I think a smaller crank ring would suit me just fine.

Your last sentence was my conclusion. Also the smaller chainring will reduce the cog tooth spacing slightly so there is not as much of a jump from one to the other on cadence. With my 36t cog I can easily do 20 mph and usually cruise around at the 10-15 range. If you are a 48t chain ring now the difference is very noticeable, if you're 40t not so much and going with the different cogs would probably be better.

 

[Marcela]

Yesterday we had some calm wind and I was out on the Como so I made some observations, with the tires low on pressure and the 36t chainring.

On the flat cruising around at 12-14 mph was pretty easy, the lever arm of the crank with the smaller chainring I think may give 1-2 mph. At around 16-17 mph wind resistance starts to be noticed. At full power and 90 cadence on the flat gives about 22-23 mph.

With this in mind, a 40t chainring may be optimum if wanting more top end. But I still like the 36t pretty well. 38t would probably be a good choice also. I don't see any need for the 48t, the motors can't use it imo.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I don't see any need for the 48t, the motors can't use it imo.

Oh no, 48T can be helpful when you are riding downhill and still have the courage to pedal

 

[Onimaru]

Finally had my work/vacation schedule and the weather align. First bike commute to work today on the Vado. By car, it’s 5 miles/10 minutes. By bike, it was 7.5 miles/25 minutes to go through almost all protected bike lane.

47 F when I left, 66 F when I returned. Such a beautiful sunny day. Flowers in bloom. It was wonderful and worth the extra time. Now I don’t need a separate workout tonight. Super happy with my purchase and glad I’m doing this. Happy riding all!

 

[Marcela]

I was curious about gearing, knowing that the smaller chain ring closes the gap between the cogs compared to a larger chain ring so went to bikecalc.com and did some playing around.

If a person could have 15 cogs at the rear spaced 11,12,13,15,17,19,21,24,27,30,34,38,42,46,52--he would have everything covered, that is pretty much optimal spacing on the cogs for my input of 80-90 cadence. So a person could pick which end of the gearing he wanted to emphasize. The difference at the bottom end is really not to great, it is when you get into the 11,12,13 cogs that things are magnified, like cadence difference between gears, especially considering the difference between a 36 and 48t chainring.

See if I can post a link or screen shot.


How fast will I be going at 80-90 rpm in these gears?

CadenceGear	80	90	Cadence Gear
36x11	21.02	23.65	36x11
36x12	19.28	21.69	36x12
36x13	17.81	20.03	36x13
36x15	15.43	17.36	36x15
36x17	13.63	15.33	36x17
36x19	12.15	13.67	36x19
36x21	10.99	12.37	36x21
36x24	9.64	10.85	36x24
36x27	8.55	9.62	36x27
36x30	7.71	8.68	36x30
36x34	6.81	7.67	36x34
36x38	6.11	6.87	36x38
36x42	5.53	6.22	36x42
36x46	5.01	5.64	36x46
38x11	22.18	24.95	38x11
38x12	20.38	22.92	38x12
38x13	18.77	21.12	38x13
38x15	16.26	18.30	38x15
38x17	14.40	16.20	38x17
38x19	12.86	14.46	38x19
38x21	11.63	13.09	38x21
38x24	10.16	11.43	38x24
38x27	9.06	10.20	38x27
38x30	8.16	9.18	38x30
38x34	7.20	8.10	38x34
38x38	6.43	7.23	38x38
38x42	5.79	6.51	38x42
38x46	5.34	6.00	38x46
40x11	23.40	26.32	40x11
40x12	21.40	24.08	40x12
40x13	19.80	22.27	40x13
40x15	17.16	19.31	40x15
40x17	15.11	16.99	40x17
40x19	13.56	15.26	40x19
40x21	12.21	13.74	40x21
40x24	10.73	12.08	40x24
40x27	9.51	10.70	40x27
40x30	8.55	9.62	40x30
40x34	7.58	8.53	40x34
40x38	6.75	7.59	40x38
40x42	6.11	6.87	40x42
40x46	5.59	6.29	40x46
48x11	28.03	31.53	48x11
48x12	25.71	28.93	48x12
48x13	23.72	26.68	48x13
48x15	20.57	23.14	48x15
48x17	18.13	20.39	48x17
48x19	16.26	18.30	48x19
48x21	14.72	16.56	48x21
48x24	12.86	14.46	48x24
48x27	11.44	12.87	48x27
48x30	10.28	11.57	48x30
48x34	9.06	10.20	48x34
48x38	8.10	9.11	48x38
48x42	7.33	8.24	48x42
48x46	6.68	7.52	48x46

Colors group similar values. 20+ is green, 10ish-20, blue, and below 10, red.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is an interesting consideration Marcela!
A friend of mine who is a roadie told me riding in the peloton required a cassette with 1-tooth cog difference between each of several top gears. A roadie moves fast in a group of people riding at exactly the same speed, and each individual rider has to maintain constant cadence. If the peloton speed changes, a roadie just changes a single gear, and everything happens so fluently fluidly!

Fortunately to us e-bikers, our e-bikes are far more forgiving.

 

[kahn]

It is interesting consideration Marcela!
A friend of mine who is a roadie told me riding in the peloton requires a cassette with 1-tooth cog difference between each of several top gears. A roadie moves fast in a group of people riding at exactly the same speed, and each individual rider has to maintain constant cadence. If the peloton speed changes, a roadie just changes a single gear, and everything happens so fluently!

Fortunately to us e-bikers, our e-bikes are far more forgiving.

"happens so fluidly" Just a brief English lesson for your mostly impeccable English skills. (I don't have any foreign language skills, never mind "impeccable!")

 

[Onimaru]

2 months in and finally had an issue getting my wife’s battery to pop out. I had some body panel removal tools for working on my car. Fixed the problem in 5 seconds. Not bad to have on hand if you need them. Not the exact ones I have, but same idea.

XBRN Auto Trim Removal Tool Kit,5 Pcs Car Panel Door Window Tools Kit,Auto Clip Fastener Remover Pry Tool Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R44VJHN/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Y4ENW724RBFGRQZ6H4E2

 

[Stefan Mikes]

"happens so fluidly" Just a brief English lesson for your mostly impeccable English skills. (I don't have any foreign language skills, never mind "impeccable!")

Which reminds me of my cycling buddy Paul. He's Welsh raised in Liverpool, now a resident of Poland with an excellent command of Polish. However, he says "oprawca" (a torturer) instead of "prześladowca" (an opressor) because both "oprawca" and "opressor" start with the "op"

Thank you for improving my English, kahn!

 

[kahn]

Which reminds me of my cycling buddy Paul. He's Welsh raised in Liverpool, now a resident of Poland with an excellent command of Polish. However, he says "oprawca" (a torturer) instead of "prześladowca" (an opressor) because both "oprawca" and "opressor" start with the "op"

Thank you for improving my English, kahn!

A friend from Switzerland seemed to have trouble with "safe" and "save". Again, as an American from "that" generation - we did not really learn foreign languages. I almost did not graduate from college due to German!!!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A friend from Switzerland seemed to have trouble with "safe" and "save". Again, as an American from "that" generation - we did not really learn foreign languages. I almost did not graduate from college due to German!!!

When I was applying for the entry exams to my University, I was given a choice of English or Russian. Many people chose Russian as they believed the exam would be easier for them. What a surprise! The Russian exam was difficult. Many people failed on the sentence: "Several impressive Moscow metro stations are called dvarets". The word means "a palace" in Russian but "a station" in Polish!

I made a single mistake in my English exam.
"What is served by a waiter?"
I wrote "Meals". Only now I learned a waiter served a table

 

[Marci jo]

When I was applying for the entry exams to my University, I was given a choice of English or Russian. Many people chose Russian as they believed the exam would be easier for them. What a surprise! The Russian exam was difficult. Many people failed on the sentence: "Several impressive Moscow metro stations are called dvarets". The word means "a palace" in Russian but "a station" in Polish!

I made a single mistake in my English exam.
"What is served by a waiter?"
I wrote "Meals". Only now I learned a waiter served a table

Wow, Stefan, that’s excellent.
I’m native English speaker and I would probably flunk that test.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Wow, Stefan, that’s excellent.
I’m native English speaker and I would probably flunk that test.

The nastiness of that sentence was a Polish kelner actually "serwuje" meals. It was a trap.
It was a friend of mine, an English teacher by education (a Pole) who recently told me about the table. (Perhaps that's a British thing?)