Let me tell you something Sarah. SL e-bikes (Vado, Creo...) are actually made to be pedalled unassisted. You are expected to turn the assistance on when you really need it. And you are free to adjust assistance levels as you please.
A female friend is an extremely strong person. On one long trip, I suggested she rode my Vado SL. My brother was riding a full power (and heavy) Giant Trance E+ 2 Pro, and I was riding my full power (and heavy) Vado 5.0.
My brother rode most of the trip unassisted but that's him: a healthy and very strong male. The female friend Justyna shocked both of us totally: She used only 14% of the Vado SL battery, and she used that assistance against strong headwind and uphill only. She rode the rest of the trip unassisted!
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View attachment 101260
Justyna on Vado SL with the power in OFF mode.
Now: when Justyna just bought a true "gravel bike" (one that weighs less than 11 kg), she went on a well known Strava segment, and beat the QOM on her first ride! Her average speed was 31.5 km/h while the KOM avg speed for that segment was 34.9 km/h. And guess what? I derestricted my Vado SL, switched the Turbo on, achieved avg speed of 34.7 km/h and became the E-Bike KOM there