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

Thanks to all the help and advice on this thread, I’m now the proud owner of a new Turbo Vado SL 5.0!

What an amazing machine. I’ve just taken it for a full test around the Pentland Hills and roads near Edinburgh. A mixture of tarmac, gravel, towpaths and some gnarly hill sections.

I had an absolute blast - used all the gears and all the power modes. Fell into a burn (stream for non-Scots) and also fell off at one point dodging someone and their dog. I’m 62 and this is the most fun I’ve had in ages!

Here’s a pic of the bike. I’ve swapped the stock pedals for DMR V6 Flats, removed the chain guard ring and I’m using my phone with Mission Control for now.
 

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Badders said:
Thanks to all the help and advice on this thread, I’m now the proud owner of a new Turbo Vado SL 5.0!

What an amazing machine. I’ve just taken it for a full test around the Pentland Hills and roads near Edinburgh. A mixture of tarmac, gravel, towpaths and some gnarly hill sections.

I had an absolute blast - used all the gears and all the power modes. Fell into a burn (stream for non-Scots) and also fell off at one point dodging someone and their dog. I’m 62 and this is the most fun I’ve had in ages!

Here’s a pic of the bike. I’ve swapped the stock pedals for DMR V6 Flats, removed the chain guard ring and I’m using my phone with Mission Control for now.
Click to expand...
Enjoy but keep those bones intact. Nice looking machine. The battery tube sure hides it well.
 
I'm riding a WTB Rocket Chromoly wide (150mm). It's served me well on a bunch of bikes, but my again..I don't usually ride more than 2 hours or so. Maybe I just need to get used to riding longer.
 
I am running into iPhone battery getting dead on 6+ hr rides when I have 22VadoSL5 connected to Mission Control + iPhone showing the stats/map.
Would the following work better?

  1. Garmin watch instinct/forerunner/fenix - set to auto-detect bike ride with GPS and upload to strava - Long battery life, GPS, heartbeat
  2. Apple watch - Start/stop ride in strava on Apple watch - Doubles battery life with both iPhone and Apple Watch with me
 
waghmare said:
I am running into iPhone battery getting dead on 6+ hr rides when I have 22VadoSL5 connected to Mission Control + iPhone showing the stats/map.
Would the following work better?

  1. Garmin watch instinct/forerunner/fenix - set to auto-detect bike ride with GPS and upload to strava - Long battery life, GPS, heartbeat
  2. Apple watch - Start/stop ride in strava on Apple watch - Doubles battery life with both iPhone and Apple Watch with me
Click to expand...
I run Strava from my Apple Watch Series 4 and the watch charge declines significantly. My iPhone battery also runs down quickly if I’m using it for navigation, etc. I carry a power bank (battery powered charger) which I can fit in my phone holder for the time it takes to recharge the phone. For me, this happens in on rides of over three hours. My human battery funds down even further if I were to try a 6 hour outing.

A Garmin or other dedicated cycling computer definitely may have better battery life. The question, then, is whether the cost of the cycling computer can be justified.
 
BEC111 said:
I run Strava from my Apple Watch Series 4 and the watch charge declines significantly. My iPhone battery also runs down quickly if I’m using it for navigation, etc. I carry a power bank (battery powered charger) which I can fit in my phone holder for the time it takes to recharge the phone. For me, this happens in on rides of over three hours. My human battery funds down even further if I were to try a 6 hour outing.

A Garmin or other dedicated cycling computer definitely may have better battery life. The question, then, is whether the cost of the cycling computer can be justified.
Click to expand...
Thanks,
I am thinking of getting Garmin Forerunner 955 or Fenix watch to record bike (2 of them), run and walk stats.
Currently using only iPhone has not been sufficient to run through the day. It drains battery way before I am drained.
I could try Apple Watch but I hear it needs to be charged every night which I know I won't do it.
 
waghmare said:
Thanks,
I am thinking of getting Garmin Forerunner 955 or Fenix watch to record bike (2 of them), run and walk stats.
Currently using only iPhone has not been sufficient to run through the day. It drains battery way before I am drained.
I could try Apple Watch but I hear it needs to be charged every night which I know I won't do it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the Apple Watch needs to be charged about 3 dry 18 hours. If you want to use the watch for sleep monitoring, Apple suggests charging in the morning after you wake up but before you start your day. With the right charger the watch charges pretty fast so this does work.

But both the watch and the iPhone (and most other phones, for that matter) drain their batteries pretty fast when used for with the kinds of services needed on bike for gps tracking and navigation, heart best monitoring, cadence counting, speed, Etc.

When the next generation of iPhones come out this fall, I’m going to use my current 4+ years old model as a cycling computer. It’s not worth much on a trade-in so it’s a better deal as I don’t need many of the feat of the dedicated computers. Not using cellular data should improve battery life somewhat and make appear better.
We shall see.
 
mogulman said:
Not sure if there is anything I can do about my butt.
Click to expand...
The secret is to move the handlebars as low as possible. The body weight is shifted off the saddle. I recommend installing the Innerbarends to relieve the arms, too.
 
waghmare said:
I am running into iPhone battery getting dead on 6+ hr rides when I have 22VadoSL5 connected to Mission Control + iPhone showing the stats/map.
Would the following work better?

  1. Garmin watch instinct/forerunner/fenix - set to auto-detect bike ride with GPS and upload to strava - Long battery life, GPS, heartbeat
  2. Apple watch - Start/stop ride in strava on Apple watch - Doubles battery life with both iPhone and Apple Watch with me
Click to expand...
A Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt v2 or a Garmin 530 or 830 are worth every cent as a Vado SL display!
 
Stefan Mikes said:
A Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt v2 or a Garmin 530 or 830 are worth every cent as a Vado SL display!
Click to expand...
My wife loves my previous Garmin Edge that I gave her, and she is by no means a gadget geek like I am. In addition to the ride stats the maps are very useful. Unfortunately, her Bosch-powered Trek has no bike connectivity features. :confused:
 
I see some threads of folks using splitter to get a phone charging cables on VadoSL and CreoSL.
Is that legit? Where do they splice - at the motor or at the front light?
If my phone can be charged from bike battery; that should solve the problem as well :)
 
Testing out my new SQLab 611saddle. Found it really stiff on the first ride but it felt better yesterday. Most important to me, no perineal pressure that I could tell. Had a glorious ride up Boulder Canyon Trail to Cameron Drive, a three mile dirt connector to the summit of Flagstaff Mountain. About 2.5 miles of 7-9% ascent before leveling off to 2.5-5%. Did the whole thing in Sport mode before doing a gravity ride home down the paved road. Very nice. BTW, these trails are supposedly off limits to e-bikes for no apparent reason, but I figured no one would notice my SL even if there were anyone checking up (which there never is).
 
So in order to try and work on my butt problem, I put in a stiffer spring in my Kinekt seatpost. Definitely less bouncy. Will have to try it on a real ride.

I also changed out my WTB Rocket chromoly 150 for the Specialized Bridge 150. So here is the interesting thing. The Bridge Sport on the Specialized website says the rails are steel. The Bridge Comp is hollow chromoly rails.

The Bridge Sport on the Turbo Vado SL 5.0 tech specs says Bridge Sport hollow chromoly. I looked at my seat. Couldn't tell if there is a part number, but it definitely says Bridge and hollow chromoly. So is it a special Bridge Sport? Or is it really the Bridge Comp?
 
waghmare said:
I see some threads of folks using splitter to get a phone charging cables on VadoSL and CreoSL.
Is that legit? Where do they splice - at the motor or at the front light?
If my phone can be charged from bike battery; that should solve the problem as well :)
Click to expand...

takes a bit of DIY. you use this https://www.performancebike.com/specialized-sl-ebike-ysplitter-wiring-for-light-s216800001/p1237126

which gives you a 12v DC output suitable for a 8w draw. from there there are lots of products to step down to iphone charging. personally i haven’t done it but lots of reports out there from people who have. not sure if you could keep the light AND this - you’d probably need to keep the total draw under .6a
 
mogulman said:
So in order to try and work on my butt problem, I put in a stiffer spring in my Kinekt seatpost. Definitely less bouncy. Will have to try it on a real ride.

I also changed out my WTB Rocket chromoly 150 for the Specialized Bridge 150. So here is the interesting thing. The Bridge Sport on the Specialized website says the rails are steel. The Bridge Comp is hollow chromoly rails.

The Bridge Sport on the Turbo Vado SL 5.0 tech specs says Bridge Sport hollow chromoly. I looked at my seat. Couldn't tell if there is a part number, but it definitely says Bridge and hollow chromoly. So is it a special Bridge Sport? Or is it really the Bridge Comp?
Click to expand...
I’ve had major saddle problems for the past 6 years, mostly perineal numbness and pain. I’ve tried at least 25 saddles, from $35 - over $200. The only saddle I can get along with is the WTB Koda in 155mm, I think because it’s firm and flat in back.

There is one more I want to try, the Bi-Saddle. Just have to get by head around the price.
 
PSm said:
Just saw this new Garmin coming out, as another possible option?
www.biketiresdirect.com

Garmin Edge Explore 2 GPS Computer [010-02703-00]

The Garmin Edge Explore 2 GPS Computer
www.biketiresdirect.com www.biketiresdirect.com
Click to expand...
Be careful. I know the older Garmin Explore model had some issues with e-bike connectivity.

CodyDog said:
Baby got new shoes! Had Pathfinder Pro's installed yesterday and went tubeless. Will give them a gravel run today.

View attachment 128965
Click to expand...
Wow! Now, you can ride on reduced inflation pressure for comfort if you need!
 
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