Specialized turbo vado SL 4.0 chainring information.

[pete H]

Thanks for the assist. And I assume that I must give up the chain ring guard (plastic) should I swap out my Praxis chain ring?....or will these outer cut-outs allow me to mount the guard?

Amazon.com

I think the guard has to go it only fits the Praxis. However i think it looks much cooler without!

 

[mfgrep]

I think the guard has to go it only fits the Praxis. However i think it looks much cooler without!

Looks cooler yes....but my pants and shoelaces do not agree.

 

[mfgrep]

I think the guard has to go it only fits the Praxis. However i think it looks much cooler without!

I see that WolfTooth makes a tube mounted chain guide...pricey $84....might do the trick.

 

[pete H]

Ah! I ride in shorts usually. I haven't done the trousers in the chain trick since i was a schoolkid!

 

[mfgrep]

Ah! I ride in shorts usually. I haven't done the trousers in the chain trick since i was a schoolkid!

One never forgets the feeling of realizing that their shoelace is wrapped around the chainring.....as you go down down down lol.
I am a bit more cognizant of this now as we are approaching cold(er) weather and I would like to keep riding (pants).

That WolfTooth chain ring looks quite nice....but tops out at 38T. It might be ok for my riding....but I'm not sure.

 

[pete H]

One never forgets the feeling of realizing that their shoelace is wrapped around the chainring.....as you go down down down lol.
I am a bit more cognizant of this now as we are approaching cold(er) weather and I would like to keep riding (pants).

That WolfTooth chain ring looks quite nice....but tops out at 38T. It might be ok for my riding....but I'm not sure.

I changed to the 38T and its great for the hills but i have noticed 8 mph off the top speed. I'm not bothered about that

 

[mfgrep]

I changed to the 38T and its great for the hills but i have noticed 8 mph off the top speed. I'm not bothered about that

Thanks for that information.....I suspected this would be the case. I find the gearing to be just fine for my uses as-is. I might be willing to drop 2 teeth....but 38T might be disappointing to me.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

And I assume that I must give up the chain ring guard (plastic) should I swap out my Praxis chain ring?...

Tough luck. The Praxis ring has threaded holes for both the chainring bolts and also for the chainguard. Other rings require chainring bolts with nuts and no chainguard.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Looks cooler yes....but my pants and shoelaces do not agree.

I ride in bibs (which are tight around the ankles) and I tie the shoes carefully (once I did not and got in a dire situation, heheheh)

If I ride in pants trousers, I pull the socks over the trouser legs.

 

[mfgrep]

I changed to the 38T and its great for the hills but i have noticed 8 mph off the top speed. I'm not bothered about that

So yesterday the weather gods fortunately allowed me to fit in a quick ride. I dropped my chain at the EXACT SAME intersection that I had previously dropped my chain last week. EXACTLY.
The circumstances were similar obviously....and as best I can determine: it is a very slight uphill.....I was waiting for traffic to clear....I was in one of the highest gears....gear 1, 2, or 3.....I had turned on motor power to level 2 (sport) while sitting still/waiting, and once travel allowed I entered the intersection and made the mistake of shifting up one gear while at very low speed trying to clear the intersection while still on motor level 2/Sport. This is as succinctly as I can describe the conditions that cause the chain drop.

Thankfully....while walking the bike home....about 1/2 block from my chain drop intersection.....a guy was mowing his lawn and asked "do you need anything". He did have metric allen wrenches and I was able to quickly get back to my ride.

Anyway....I now know that I definitely need to try a new chain ring. I would order the WolfTooth but they do not offer a 42T. I might order the Garbaruk 42T and found them available in the US with free shipping. There are a couple of other options as @Stefan Mikes had mentioned previously.

@pete H did you need differing mounting bolts when you changed chain rings? Those OEM 5mm bolts are a length which accommodates both the chain ring and the plastic bash ring. Will those same bolts suffice if I rid myself of the bash ring?....or do I need differing bolts? If so....do you know what I would need?

Thanks in advance,

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@mfgrep, you need 8x8 mm MTB chainring bolts with nuts (sold in sets of five) and no, you cannot retrofit the chainguard. The chainguard, its screws, and chainring screws you have on your Vado SL are Praxis specific as Praxis makes their chainrings threaded (with extra threaded chainguard holes) while all other 104 BCD 4-hole chainrings have their holes bare.

Single chainring MTB bolts

You might need this tool as well:
Park Tool CNW-2 or similar

 

[mfgrep]

@mfgrep, you need 8x8 mm MTB chainring bolts with nuts (sold in sets of five) and no, you cannot retrofit the chainguard. The chainguard, its screws, and chainring screws you have on your Vado SL are Praxis specific as Praxis makes their chainrings threaded (with extra threaded chainguard holes) while all other 104 BCD 4-hole chainrings have their holes bare.

Single chainring MTB bolts

You might need this tool as well:
Park Tool CNW-2 or similar

I realized that the bash guard was praxis specific....but thanks for the rest of the information.
The more often I experience this failure.....the more I believe that Specialized made an engineering error with their front crank configuration.
This is becoming more than an annoyance. I am not bashing hills and jumps here....and the Vado SL drivetrain is not functioning adequately.
I should not be the one to engineer, fix, replace, and pay to have a functioning drive train.
Rant over.

 

[pete H]

I realized that the bash guard was praxis specific....but thanks for the rest of the information.
The more often I experience this failure.....the more I believe that Specialized made an engineering error with their front crank configuration.
This is becoming more than an annoyance. I am not bashing hills and jumps here....and the Vado SL drivetrain is not functioning adequately.
I should not be the one to engineer, fix, replace, and pay to have a functioning drive train.
Rant over.

Wot Stefan said You have more patience than me, i lost faith much earler!
BTW 250 miles since i changed without a hitch....

 

[mfgrep]

Wot Stefan said You have more patience than me, i lost faith much earler!
BTW 250 miles since i changed without a hitch....

Pete...will you snap a photo of your chainring and crank for me?

 

[pete H]

Pete...will you snap a photo of your chainring and crank for me?

Hope these are okay. This is a Trek wide/narrow 38t

 

[mfgrep]

Hope these are okay. This is a Trek wide/narrow 38t

Thank you!! Perfect.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@mfgrep: Did I ever ask you for the number of links in your chain? Or, what is the derailleur cage o'clock position when the chain is on the largest cassette sprocket?

Just wondering...

 

[mfgrep]

@mfgrep: Did I ever ask you for the number of links in your chain? Or, what is the derailleur cage o'clock position when the chain is on the largest cassette sprocket?

Just wondering...

Hey @Stefan Mikes . My chain has 60 links. I took a photo of the derailleur cage position when the chain is on the largest sprocket.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hey @Stefan Mikes . My chain has 60 links. I took a photo of the derailleur cage position when the chain is on the largest sprocket.

View attachment 166071

It is 120 links then Your derailleur cage is too upright. I have a feeling your chain might have been too long. I think your chain should be 118 links long. The proper derailleur position in the lowest gear is 5 o'clock.

Not that your chain is dramatically too long but I think the chain tension could be made higher in your case, and too loose a chain is one of the contributing factors leading to the chain drop from the chainring. (Yes, I do understand it is the stock chain).

Just a remark

 

[mfgrep]

I have owned a Turbo Vado SL 4.0 for 13 months now and have rode it about 1300 miles. Whilst I'm very impressed with the bike and it's capabilities i have had a problem with the drive chain jumping off the chainring and wedging itself between it and the motor cover.
Now it's not easy to retrieve the chain you have to break the quick link to get it out. After that the link has to be placed on a specific part of the chainwheel as marked on the inside or it will happen again!
This happened to me three or four times so today i took the bike back to the dealership. The first thing i found out was that i was not the first to suffer this problem.
They informed me that most Turbo Vado SL bikes had no problem but a few had issues identical to mine.
It appears that the chainrings fitted as standard are alloy and the teeth are in a wave pattern.
They stated this is not ideal for this bike and at my request he fitted a steel narrow and wide chainwheel. They also stated they had contacted Specialized to report this but no reply has been received.
Incidently i also went down to a 38 tooth as that suits me better as i do a lot of steep road hills and am not bothered about top speeds.
Having just ridden the 20 miles home i am super impressed at the gear change as it greatly improves the hill climbs.
The dealership did not charge me for the chainwheel or for changing it over.
Just for info in case anyone else has the same problem.

Hey Pete. I hope you are still enjoying the Vado SL. The winter here in the Midwest USA became terrifically cold, snowy, and icy for the last weeks and I am looking forward to a thaw in the coming days.

I am back to deciding on a new chainring in an effort to stop the chain jump, drop, and imprisonment syndrome that we've both shared. I am perfectly happy with the OEM ratio/tooth count. Do you have any advice/suggestions on which model/brand might best serve me? Any updates since your replacement?

Thanks in advance,