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

[Jeremy McCreary]

A tangential question on brake squealing, please:

My SL's brakes normally don't squeal. But if I stop at a beach where the surf's only meters away and stay there for 5+ minutes, they squeal briefly on the way back to the Coast Highway.

Then silence till the next beach stop. Never anything visible on the brakes. Never happens inland.

Q. Why the squeal?

An onshore breeze, the daytime norm here, picks up microscopic seawater droplets and salt crystals as it passes over the breaking surf. Then it might pick up tiny sand grains as it crosses the beach to my brakes.

So which one's the culprit here — water, salt, sand, or some combo? The absence of inland cases stands against blown sand as the sole cause. And the quick resolution once I'm underway most favors water. But the salt could still be a player.

 

[BioWheel]

A tangential question on brake squealing, please:

My SL's brakes normally don't squeal. But if I stop at a beach where the surf's only meters away and stay there for 5+ minutes, they squeal briefly on the way back to the Coast Highway.

Then silence till the next beach stop. Never anything visible on the brakes. Never happens inland.

Q. Why the squeal?

An onshore breeze, the norm here during daytime, picks up microscopic seawater droplets and salt crystals as it passes over the breaking surf. Then it might pick up tiny sand grains as it crosses the beach to my brakes.

So which one's the culprit here— water, salt, or sand? The absence of inland cases stands against blown sand, and the quick resultion once I'm underway favors water. But the salt could still be a player.

I think it's the Dihydrogen monoxide. And what's wrong with squeaking a bit. Especially coming back from the beach.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I think it's the Dihydrogen monoxide. And what's wrong with squeaking a bit. Especially coming back from the beach.

I'm with you on the water. Not complaining, mind you, just curious.

Grateful every day that I ended up living 5 minutes from the surf by bike — especially in this mild Mediterranean climate.

 

[BioWheel]

I'm with you on the water. Not complaining, mind you, just curious.

View attachment 207417
Grateful every day that I ended up living 5 minutes from the surf by bike — especially in this mild Mediterranean climate.

That's an awesome place to park. VSL is really the perfect bike.

 

[edobici_forza]

I have no clue Jeremy, but I had 4x stream crossing on a recent ride. Therefore I had something going on with my wheels/hubs, so cleaned them out. the squeak was still there. Hoping it was not my Bottom Bracket! So, not audible in the bike stand prior after my cleaning, I heard it from the rear. It was my brakes! uneven wear caused a ridge. the SRAM Apex brakes suck from the generation I have. I filed off the ridge on the pads and the squeak is gone. So, I am not suggesting that your noise is from the same issue. but sometimes it takes a bit of troubleshooting. Good luck!

 

[stompandgo]

Squealing is caused by vibration between the pad and the rotor. It could be mechanical in nature, i.e. worn pad (metal on metal), warped rotor, misaligned caliper, or loose caliper bolts. It can also be caused by contamination on the rotor/pad interface. Sand and grit getting embedded in the pad could do it. So could deposits building up on the rotor and glazing from the heat. This can happen from rust deposits on the rotor surface. Those kind usually clear up after a few stops.

Since your oceanside stops are so short, I'd think that sand is probably the culprit, but rust can also happen very quickly in a corrosive environment near the ocean.

We get a lot of bikes in for tune-ups in the spring, bikes that were left outside in a shed or unheated garage. Snowbirds that keep their bikes at the summer home and return in the spring. You would not believe the corrosion that occurs from being exposed to salt air even though they may be a mile or more from the beach. We go through 3-4 cases of this stuff every season.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

As for me, the brakes mostly squeal during raining and become silent after a few stops when the water has evaporated. Obviously, dirty pads squeal on any braking, which is notorious for MTBs.

The "ocean" is a normal thing for Americans as the continent is surrounded by high seas. Fun fact: Many American travellers to Europe are unaware that the word "sea" even exists!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Fun fact: Many American travellers to Europe are unaware that the word "sea" even exists!

Fact, eh? That's a lot of Americans. What percentage have you quizzed on the word "sea"?. I'd be surprised to find a single American who doesn't know it.

But maybe a lot of them temporarily forget it on the way over.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Fact, eh? That's a lot of Americans. What percentage have you quizzed on the word "sea"?. I'd be surprised to find a single American who doesn't know it.

But maybe a lot of them temporarily forget it on the way over.

I could find one or two. Infants don't usually have a large vocabulary.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Fact, eh? That's a lot of Americans. What percentage have you quizzed on the word "sea"?. I'd be surprised to find a single American who doesn't know it.

But maybe a lot of them temporarily forget it on the way over.

It is enough to watch the traveller's channels on YT I even didn't know we had an ocean by Gdańsk

 

[Chargeride]

Dont listen to him Stefan, all the Irish and Scots are like that

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Dont listen to him Stefan, all the Irish and Scots are like that

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