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

[Jeremy McCreary]

I've never had a seat post stay put as well as this one has. Is that the upside of the wedge design?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've never had a seat post stay put as well as this one has. Is that the upside of the wedge design?

Well, Jeremy, the conventional clamp in my big Vado holds equally well, and I'm not the most lightweight person

 

[BioWheel]

So who was the brilliant engineer at Specialized who thought that the loose-wedge clamping mechanism for the SL seat post was so much of an improvement over a simple clamp? Yes, it has a larger clamping surface and is less prone to slippage, but I had a few choice words for it today when I went to remove my ShockStop seat post from my old 5.0 and naturally dropped part of it down into the seat tube. Fortunately, it was not too difficult to retrieve and I needed to fashion a long hook anyway to pull the tail light wires back out so I could connect them to the post and seat from the new bike to complete the swap.

Never a job that doesn't take longer than what it mentally seems it should...

Did it too! Even though I could see that it might happen and promised myself I wouldn't drop it. Murphy brought his law reigning down on me. I've also learned to cover any sink drain when taking something apart nearby.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@rochrunner, @Jeremy McCreary, @BioWheel :
While talking on the strange "wedge" design of the seat-post clamp, we all seem to have forgotten the most important rule!

Ye Goode Olde Specialized

Of course! Specialized has always to invent something non-standard that makes you scratch your head, or, worse, leave you in the dark after several years when a given part becomes unavailable

One of "best" stories were the thru-axles on my older version of Vado 5.0. It was only a single year when Specialized was making Vados with a rigid fork, and that was 2017. I bought the e-bike in 2019 and used it very hard with frequent transportation inside my car. To be able to transport my Vado, I had to remove the front wheel before any transport. As the consequence, the socket of the front thru-axle became worn. However, that very part was not made anymore!

Now, the spec was: 12x100 mm, thread size 1 mm. Socket size: Hex 5 mm. It was an absolutely specialized part! I might not be able to use the e-bike just because of a single specialized axle! Eventually, I could find a compatible The Robert Axle Project axle... But that's not the end!

After Specialized rebuilt my Vado 5.0 into Vado 6.0, the brand provided a new suspension fork, a new wheel, and a new axle. This time it was a 15x110 mm axle in the MTB Boost standard. The socket size was still hex 5 mm.
-------
What is in my Vado SL? The Road Boost axles with the hex 6 mm socket size. How odd. Why couldn't Specialized just use normal hubs and axle sizes as they use on their gravel bikes?!

Or, the tail light integration with the rear fender and rack... Or, the Vado SL non-EQ tail light where the wires go through an empty seat-post and are attached to the tail light mounted by a special bracket to a Specialized saddle...

Ye Goode Olde Specialized.

P.S. Karl, I was unsure what reaction to give to your latest post

 

[Chargeride]

In slightly connected news, just before my last ride I noticed the dropper was very stiff, so I undid the ring and pulled it out of the way, greased the post and then incorrectly I suppose dropped it down.
It jammed solid.
A bit of heaving got it back up but one of the slider pins was popped out and bent.
So I used pliers to pull it out, properly flattened it and pressed it back in.

All was well but Ive probably damaged something I guess.

Is all a bit fiddly, its hard to tell where they should go and where the plastic spacer should sit.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

As they say 'Some technology around and the man gets lost'
Well, I regret you are experiencing issues.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Did it too! Even though I could see that it might happen and promised myself I wouldn't drop it. Murphy brought his law reigning down on me. I've also learned to cover any sink drain when taking something apart nearby.

My DIY efforts are also highly subject to...

Gumperson's Law: The least likely contingency will always occur at the most inopportune time.

And also to...

Gumperson's Corollary: Any attempt to circumvent Gumperson's Law will also be subject to Gumperson's Law.

Of course, Gumperson wasn't just talking about DIY. Example from 2 days ago: After years of flawless operation, the counter-spring on our garage door finally got so weak that the motor could no longer lift the heavy wooden door without tripping its thermal protection.

Now with such a slow process, the odds of the motor finally refusing to open the door on any given day are extremely small.

So naturally, the door finally gave up — totally out of the blue — when we were running late for an important doctor's appointment.