Specialized Vado 4.0 - Beware

[willnottellyou]

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!

View attachment 101259

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

off topic

So- if you die- is it a valid warranty claim?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

off topic

So- if you die- is it a valid warranty claim?

Many of us are too old for doing that

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Will:
A friend of mine, a well off businessman of e-MTB family bought their 17-yo son a Specialized Enduro. He was as smart as to equip the kid with some good downhill body armour. The boy is a competing MTBer and he underwent a severe crash; the body armour saved the boy...

 

[kahn]

Many of us are too old for doing that

Many of us were too old to do that 40 years ago!!!!

I loved his traversing the logs in a few of the shots and then the jumps!!!

 

[minigrrl]

About a year ago, when I was MUCH too old to be doing anything of the sort, I decided that I could totally do this big jump on a trail (regular bike)... Let me tell you, that didn't end well, for my bike OR my face. I'm just really lucky I didn't break any bones or do any serious damage. My brain hasn't really caught up to my body's lack of athletic ability and non-existent MTB jumping skills. On the bright side, I did catch big air and it was really fun for that split second!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Sunday was the day of a mixed terrain ride on my Vado. Nothing really dangerous until I hit a forest road consisting of wet sand, additionally damaged by heavy forestry machinery. My rear wheel was constantly skidding, and I was trying to maintain the bike momentum and direction. Finally, my Vado fell. I repeat: my Vado fell. I didn't: Simply expecting the crash. My day was not spoilt that time!

Any sandy roads or paths in WA or Australia? (I don't mean sand beaches or dunes).

 

[willnottellyou]

Many of us were too old to do that 40 years ago!!!!

I loved his traversing the logs in a few of the shots and then the jumps!!!

I did few much easier downhill trials on a very doggy BMX in my teens. Managed to crash, bike smashed to bits, myself surprised (pleasantly) that I'm alive and most likely not fractured anything. Funny how you feel indestructible when you are 14... The older we get, the less risks we tend to take, in most cases...
That biker clearly knew what he was doing, so respect for that, it takes a lot of practice and falls to get to that level and the feeling must be amazing- I was holding on to my desk watching that clip and that was enough kicks for me,,,

 

[TrailSeeker]

off topic

So- if you die- is it a valid warranty claim?

That looks like so much fun! Wish I could do that but I know I'd hit a tree

 

[Dallant]

That looks like so much fun! Wish I could do that but I know I'd hit a tree

I enjoy seeing a video of it but have no desire to do it myself.

 

[kahn]

Sunday was the day of a mixed terrain ride on my Vado. Nothing really dangerous until I hit a forest road consisting of wet sand, additionally damaged by heavy forestry machinery. My rear wheel was constantly skidding, and I was trying to maintain the bike momentum and direction. Finally, my Vado fell. I repeat: my Vado fell. I didn't: Simply expecting the crash. My day was not spoilt that time!

Any sandy roads or paths in WA or Australia? (I don't mean sand beaches or dunes).

I can only guess that there are some sandy roads. Actually, there's my regular park ride. If I take a slightly different route there's a stretch of about 30 feet that gets sand drifted across it and I use to carefully pedal my non-electric bike through it and did occasionally have to stop. But 25cc wheels don't track all that well in sand!!! It was on the way to the bathroom so was a regular routine. (g)

 

[Jim in Central CA]

Sunday was the day of a mixed terrain ride on my Vado. Nothing really dangerous until I hit a forest road consisting of wet sand, additionally damaged by heavy forestry machinery. My rear wheel was constantly skidding, and I was trying to maintain the bike momentum and direction. Finally, my Vado fell. I repeat: my Vado fell. I didn't: Simply expecting the crash. My day was not spoilt that time!

Any sandy roads or paths in WA or Australia? (I don't mean sand beaches or dunes).

Last Saturday morning was my first fall. I was in some deep gravel and going very slow, thankfully, but maybe that was part of the problem. My front tire washed out to the right and I went straight to the ground. No harm to the bike, but my left ribs landed on my left arm and they still hurt a little bit a week later. As I was picking my self up I thought the same thing - "Why did I not just put my foot down and stop?" Lesson learned.

 

[ava1ar]

Just use belt drive and forget about all these problems - it ia far superior comparing to traditional drive train, especially on powerful e-bikes!

Also, riding a bike in the modes it is designed for is not an abuse! Bike is designed to handle this load and one of the reason people buy speed pedalec class 3 bikea is regular commuting with speeds > 20mph.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Just use belt drive and forget about all these problems - it ia far superior comparing to traditional drive train, especially on powerful e-bikes!

New 2022 Specialized Vado and Como are equipped with the belt drive and Enviolo Automatiq IGH (selected models). Surprised, eh?

 

[ava1ar]

New 2020 Specialized Vado and Como are equipped with the belt drive and Enviolo Automatiq IGH (selected models). Surprised, eh?

Only surprised by the fact it took them that long to start offering them.

 

[GuruUno]

New 2020 Specialized Vado and Como are equipped with the belt drive and Enviolo Automatiq IGH (selected models). Surprised, eh?

Not New 2020 but 2022....correct?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Not New 2020 but 2022....correct?

Correct.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Only surprised by the fact it took them that long to start offering them.

Belt drive and IGH are for lamers, and Specialized is a road- and mountain-bike company. Yet, there is a demand for SUV e-bikes, so why not to shave the sheep?

 

[ava1ar]

Belt drive and IGH are for lamers

Yeah, people who value their time and just want to ride their bikes, not lube and service them all the time are lamers. You will have to accept that derailleur setup becaming a niche thing and IGH solutions with belt drive will take over the market. But I think you still will be able find a company of "not lamers" to discuss how to lube the chain and where to get new cassette.

 

[kahn]

Yeah, people who value their time and just want to ride their bikes, not lube and service them all the time are lamers. You will have to accept that derailleur setup becaming a niche thing and IGH solutions with belt drive will take over the market. But I think you still will be able find a company of "not lamers" to discuss how to lube the chain and where to get new cassette.

I won't make predictions.

But Dave Berry over in the Trips thread has an interesting observation

Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

Brought my ti fatty that I built for utility in the very steep hills of the Carmel/Pacific Grove/Monterey Area. It joins the higher capacity Envoy thats here for dedicated cargo duty. Was on my way to the chowder house to pick up dinner (Doordash Schmordash who waits in the living room when...

electricbikereview.com

It is a more recent post.

 

[ava1ar]

It is a more recent post.

Responded there, but as a quick summary here: issue mentioned there is not caused by IGH or belt drive, it is more a complain about slow gears switching on R&M with electronic shifter for Rohloff. And I can personally confirm, that is is slow after test riding Homage earlier this year.