Specialized Turbo Vado SL: An Incredible E-Bike (User Club)

Rincon said:
Two hours 35 minutes for the main SL battery. Three hours 20 minutes for the RE. And 3h 20m to charge both at the same time. I haven’t used a stopwatch, that’s just what Specialized says, if charging time is important to you.
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kahn said:
The main charger comes with the cable that can charge either battery, one at a time. Or you can get a Y-adapter that plugs into the main charger cable and charge both at the same time.
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Ah, I understand now. Thank you both!
 
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Stefan Mikes said:
I'm torn. I've found my Speed full power Vado being the best e-bike of all I own, the most universal one, especially with my ill legs. Vado SL won't be fast, as my state of health is not going to improve, not mentioning the 25 km/h speed limiter I wouldn't like to defeat (simply to maintain the impressive SL battery range). I can agree to ride slower and enjoy the landscape more because the SL is so beautiful and it feels so natural and so modern!

I was thinking of the SL main battery. It is 320 Wh but 48 V. Meaning, it is just 6 2/3 Ah. With the 4 A charger, the charging time would be not longer than, say, 2 hours. I could wait to December for Vado SL of my dreams. Yet if I get some good earning soon, I might consider a white SL 4.0 Step-Over size M that is waiting to be bought. Why wait till December?
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The "dream" is just the colour? For ME this would a minor aspect. If it's for example Futurshock, you can gain a similiar effect and much cheaper&lighter with a Redshift Shockstop.

About which ist best, the 45km/h speed pedelec or the 25km/h SL and as we two are in the same slow european 25km/h boot... First time with my Creo I also thought, I will never use my "old" heavy fat Stromer again. But now both have found their place, the Creo is my best horse for fun/free time/sportive rides where speed/time ist not the main goal. But if I'm in a hurry and want to get as fast as possible to an appointment inside the next 15 miles (or maybe several ones in a big city where traffic and parking is terrible) I still use the fast&heavy Stromer with much satisfaction. I will keep both (and I overcame the old "n+1" rule for bicycles already a while ago, I'm not afraid of selling one.
 
jodi2 said:
The "dream" is just the colour? For ME this would a minor aspect. If it's for example Futurshock, you can gain a similiar effect and much cheaper&lighter with a Redshift Shockstop.
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Jodi,
It is not just about the colour (which is a nice bonus). The December Vado SL:
  • Step-through frame (important to me)
  • Newly built, with zero mileage, battery in the "sleep" state
  • Possible improvements by December.
Now: I don't want to speculate if 5.0 EQ is available. However, 5.0 EQ is more expensive than 4.0 EQ, and it is 1130 EUR difference. For such money I can afford Range Extender, Y Cable, RE Cable, and I could fit suspension seatpost and suspension stem, too. I decidedly don't want CF fork. Better drive-train is of no meaning on the plain. And the motor and battery are the same.

The major guessing is: My full-power Vado can ride both slowly or very fast. It can handle various terrain types; I can do grocery shopping if I like. And I can use it for rides with able , fast cyclists. The only drawback is the weight, and necessity of carrying a spare battery for long rides. SL is lightweight, long range (at the cost of speed), and I can do with a backpack instead of the pannier. So, SL is something I would like to own, although that would never be my principal e-bike. The situation would be different if I had healthy legs and could pedal past 25 km/h. At least 28.
 
Sorry, I overlooked "Stepthrough" vs. "Stop-Over", this is an important feature!
My wife already has a Stepthrough and I did not see any important changes/improvements to last year's Vado SL.

The price difference between 4.0. and 5.0 is ok (even fair for Specialized compared to the price differences of the different Creo models...). But you should like/wish ALL differences/better features. If only some of them the 5.0 is expensive. That's why we decided for the 4.0 EQ as well.

My Stromer is less versatile than your S-Vado. It's heavier and the very heavy rear hub motor makes it a lot less suitable for rough terrain.
 
Art Deco said:
Next up ... a lightweight internal fork / wheel lock so you don't need 33 pounds of locks and chains on a 33 pound bike.
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That would really be something, but don’t you have to secure the bike TO something fixed? For insurance purposes at least.
 
Steve Brown said:
That would really be something, but don’t you have to secure the bike TO something fixed? For insurance purposes at least.
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Ahhhhhhh. That is the problem. Today, on the way home from a weekend trip away I had the Creo on my Kuat rack. It has a cable that locks into the rack. But we decided to hit an art gallery on the way home since traffic on I-5 was bad. Gulp! "MY BIKE!" She says it will probably be okay. Not good enough. So I got out my short arbus chain but it could not wrap anywhere except the open ended tray and my rear wheel but it looks intimidating. Not enough, I got out my u-lock and locked the front wheel to the triangle. Again more for show than preventing someone from lifting and stealing.

Then I walked to the gallery window every two minutes or so. So for traveling I need a longer arbus chain. And I would still remain totally paranoid!
 
kahn said:
I posted a similar question elsewhere but it might have gotten lost. Can the Carbon Fiber versions of the various Specialized models (Creo, Vado, Como) take racks and carry weight like panniers? I recall Trek warning me not to add racks to my Madonne and limited any seat post mounted rack to not more than ten pounds (4.5kg). That was one of the reasons (besides price) that I went with the Aluminum Creo.
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My SL5 with carbon front forks doesn’t have any pannier fittings.
 
Latest news:

I have found there would be a thunderstorm on Thursday. Also, my favourite Specialized salesperson would be at work only on Friday (a dry day). I have communicated Mateusz, and as he is an MTBer, a merry and polite person, I asked him to:
  1. Install a kickstand for my selected Vado SL 4.0 EQ (I am told I will need to pay for the kickstand; it does not come free with the 4.0 here)
  2. Inflating tyres (I did everything not to make Mateusz upset with that request but that happened to another LBS)
  3. Charging the main battery
  4. Preparing a TCD for me (separately paid for on 4.0 here)
  5. Preparing a Range Extender, the 220 mm RE cable and RE Y cable for me (separately paid for)
I told Mateusz I intended to ride home post the purchase. I will also set Mission Control for the bike at the store.

Excited!
 
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Stefan Mikes said:
Latest news:

I have found there would be a thunderstorm on Thursday. Also, my favourite Specialized salesperson would be at work only on Friday (a dry day). I have communicated Mateusz, and as he is an MTBer, a merry and polite person, I asked him to:
  1. Install a kickstand for my selected Vado SL 4.0 EQ (I am told I will need to pay for the kickstand; it does not come with the 4.0 here)
  2. Inflating tyres (I did everything not to make Mateusz upset with that request but that happened to another LBS)
  3. Charging the main battery
  4. Preparing a TCD for me (separately paid for on 4.0 here)
  5. Preparing a Range Extender, the 220 mm RE cable and RE Y cable for me (separately paid for)
I told Mateusz I intended to ride home post the purchase. I will also set Mission Control for the bike at the store.

Excited!
Click to expand...
Very exciting. I’m still getting over the excitement which I get from riding mine. I was really pleased to read your review; finding that I wasn’t the only one with such emotions.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Latest news:

I have found there would be a thunderstorm on Thursday. Also, my favourite Specialized salesperson would be at work only on Friday (a dry day). I have communicated Mateusz, and as he is an MTBer, a merry and polite person, I asked him to:
  1. Install a kickstand for my selected Vado SL 4.0 EQ (I am told I will need to pay for the kickstand; it does not come with the 4.0 here)
  2. Inflating tyres (I did everything not to make Mateusz upset with that request but that happened to another LBS)
  3. Charging the main battery
  4. Preparing a TCD for me (separately paid for on 4.0 here)
  5. Preparing a Range Extender, the 220 mm RE cable and RE Y cable for me (separately paid for)
I told Mateusz I intended to ride home post the purchase. I will also set Mission Control for the bike at the store.

Excited!
Click to expand...
Make sure all firmware updates are completed before you ride off
Congrats and enjoy.
 
An afterthought:
I ride my full power Vado a lot. Recently, I have been on three long group rides: 80 mile and two metric centuries. I could enjoy the rides a lot! However, whenever I bring my Vado to stop and have to walk it (or, worse, carry it), I sadly think: "But the thing is so dramatically heavy..."
:D
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Buying A Vado SL :)
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You're not getting the ST (Step Thru) version?

I'm planning on a SL 5.0 ST when I can get one locally, which may be a while. Just for fun I entered my specs on the Specialized web site and asked it to find one in stock at a dealer based on my location (Detroit). The only ones it came up with were 450 miles away in Tennessee and 500+ miles away in Minnesota. :rolleyes: What I'm not clear on is if Specialized dealers order bikes by specific model/color/size etc. or if they just get what Specialized sends them. I'm hoping that if I order the bike from my LBS that they will put in an order with Specialized so that they will get one of the next matching bikes that arrives. This is the way it has worked for cars that I've purchased, but bikes may be a whole different thing.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
An afterthought:
I ride my full power Vado a lot. Recently, I have been on three long group rides: 80 mile and two metric centuries. I could enjoy the rides a lot! However, whenever I bring my Vado to stop and have to walk it (or, worse, carry it), I sadly think: "But the thing is so dramatically heavy..."
:D
Click to expand...
This morning on a ride I met a guy with a German e-bike. I don't recall the name/brand but I think it had two names. It weighed a mere 30kg. He mentioned he had a ramp to load it on his rack.
 
Riese & Muller :D
It is the dual battery and full suspension that make the e-bike SUV so heavy.
 
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