Specialized Vado 5.0 IGH Cadence Survey

[AvalancheRun]

Had better luck going by tension on the belt rather than their finicky app. Our belts were very tight on delivery, which in case of the manual also increased the stiffness of the twist control. Loosening, kind of like a single speed chain bike, helped with that without introducing any issues

 

[Bavi]

Well, I finally got chance to adjust the belt today, 1/2 turn of the screw slacker and the belt looked quit limp!... so, with discretion being the better part of valour I wimped out and only slackened it 1/4 turn which must mean it was pretty good from the factory/bike shop I guess. I was surprised that even a tiny movement seems to make a huge difference to tension. @leifg was right, at 2 turns looser the belt would probably have jumped right off the sprockets!

I've just been on an exploratory ride around my normal shopping loop and still didn't experience any negative effects, everything is really very smooth Between recalibrating the hub, reducing the startup gearing in the app and slackening the belt tension slightly, it FEELS like the Automatiq is now responding much faster and accurately to changes in torque and cadence. The sensation that the hub is being indecisive about what ratio to select hasn't recurred... yet!
So far my testing has all been without assistance, so I don't know if there will be any positive effect on battery milage (when I come to use it) but I can't imagine it'll have made it any worse... I think I'm just gonna leave it now and just use the bike as it is.

Thanks to all for their help and advice

 

[AvalancheRun]

Well, I finally got chance to adjust the belt today, 1/2 turn of the screw slacker and the belt looked quit limp!... so, with discretion being the better part of valour I wimped out and only slackened it 1/4 turn which must mean it was pretty good from the factory/bike shop I guess. I was surprised that even a tiny movement seems to make a huge difference to tension. @leifg was right, at 2 turns looser the belt would probably have jumped right off the sprockets!

I've just been on an exploratory ride around my normal shopping loop and still didn't experience any negative effects, everything is really very smooth Between recalibrating the hub, reducing the startup gearing in the app and slackening the belt tension slightly, it FEELS like the Automatiq is now responding much faster and accurately to changes in torque and cadence. The sensation that the hub is being indecisive about what ratio to select hasn't recurred... yet!
So far my testing has all been without assistance, so I don't know if there will be any positive effect on battery milage (when I come to use it) but I can't imagine it'll have made it any worse... I think I'm just gonna leave it now and just use the bike as it is.

Thanks to all for their help and advice

This system is a little finicky, and I think very very few LBS are *truly* experts with belt-drive. My non-Spec LBS showed me how all of their Enviolo bikes felt different - and they did - each twist shifter required difference force and consistency throughout the range was different, despite all the same hardware. Slacker belt just seems to work better, and it's never skipped or caused issues for us.

I can also verify that on our two bikes the adjustment screws allow for very little fine tuning.

 

[Mkj]

Hi how do I adjust the cadence speed on the pedals to pedal slower on my turbo vado 5.0 igh electric bike thanks

 

[Seventysomething]

Hi how do I adjust the cadence speed on the pedals to pedal slower on my turbo vado 5.0 igh electric bike thanks

What year make is your bike……how many teeth are on your rear belt gear ( 24 or 22)… at what speed range are you wanting lower cadence

 

[Mkj]

What year make is your bike……how many teeth are on your rear belt gear ( 24 or 22)… at what speed range are you wanting lower cadence

Thanks for the reply 2022 I bought the bike it's a specialized turbo vado 5.0 igh I'm not sure what you mean about the teeth all I know it's a carbon fibre belt & I just want a normal pedal cadence thanks again Mark

 

[Seventysomething]

Thanks for the reply 2022 I bought the bike it's a specialized turbo vado 5.0 igh I'm not sure what you mean about the teeth all I know it's a carbon fibre belt & I just want a normal pedal cadence thanks again Mark

Mine is a 2022, you have a 24 tooth gear,, after complaints about cadence Specialized started installing a 22 tooth rear cog (gear that the belt is on at the IGH). It’s not difficult to change or a Specialized dealer can do it . Let me know I know where to get one. The dealer can program the bike where you can lower the cadence manually….. another option you can download the Enviolo app and drop the cadence manually, it will work as long as you don’t change PAS level

 

[Mkj]

Mine is a 2022, you have a 24 tooth gear,, after complaints about cadence Specialized started installing a 22 tooth rear cog (gear that the belt is on at the IGH). It’s not difficult to change or a Specialized dealer can do it . Let me know I know where to get one. The dealer can program the bike where you can lower the cadence manually….. another option you can download the Enviolo app and drop the cadence manually, it will work as long as you don’t change PAS level

Hi
I've downloaded the enviolo app & watched a video on YouTube that specialized support sent me & it hasn't worked so I'm going to take the bike to my local dealer & they can sort it out for me once again thanks for your help Mark

 

[Nonlinear]

Mine is a 2022, you have a 24 tooth gear,, after complaints about cadence Specialized started installing a 22 tooth rear cog (gear that the belt is on at the IGH). It’s not difficult to change or a Specialized dealer can do it . Let me know I know where to get one. The dealer can program the bike where you can lower the cadence manually….. another option you can download the Enviolo app and drop the cadence manually, it will work as long as you don’t change PAS level

Has it been confirmed that Specialized is shipping bikes with the 22T cogs? AFAIK, it was just customers who were replacing the 24T with a 22T on their own. If you can point me towards any info or specs showing that Specialized is shipping bikes with 22T, I'd appreciate it. I've been in contact with both my LBS and Specialized about cadence, and I suggested replacing the cog, but there has been resistance from both the LBS and Specialized.

 

[Seventysomething]

Has it been confirmed that Specialized is shipping bikes with the 22T cogs? AFAIK, it was just customers who were replacing the 24T with a 22T on their own. If you can point me towards any info or specs showing that Specialized is shipping bikes with 22T, I'd appreciate it. I've been in contact with both my LBS and Specialized about cadence, and I suggested replacing the cog, but there has been resistance from both the LBS and Specialized.

If you look at the specs on the web it will show 22T on the 5.0

 

[Seventysomething]

Hi
I've downloaded the enviolo app & watched a video on YouTube that specialized support sent me & it hasn't worked so I'm going to take the bike to my local dealer & they can sort it out for me once again thanks for your help Mark

The 22tooth will make a big difference

 

[Seventysomething]

The 22tooth will make a big difference

 

[Nonlinear]

Excellent, thank you Seventysomething!

On the Specialized website (at least the Canadian version), I can find two URLs for the Turbo Vado 5.0 IGH. I think these correspond to different model years.

The older URL is https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/turbo-vado-50-igh/p/199872, where the cog is listed as “Gates Carbon Drive CDX 24t sprocket, silver”.

The newer URL is https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/turbo-vado-50-igh/p/206155, where the cog is listed as “Gates Carbon Drive CDX 22t sprocket, silver”.

This is good news for me, since I've been discussing the swap from 24T to 22T with both my LBS and Specialized for a year or more. As I mentioned above, I was getting persuaded by both against the swap. But now that they're coming stock on the bike, it seems Specialized is fully behind this. I'm going to contact them just to make sure there aren't any Enviolo settings or anything that have also changed to accommodate the 22T cog.

 

[Seventysomething]

Excellent, thank you Seventysomething!

On the Specialized website (at least the Canadian version), I can find two URLs for the Turbo Vado 5.0 IGH. I think these correspond to different model years.

The older URL is https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/turbo-vado-50-igh/p/199872, where the cog is listed as “Gates Carbon Drive CDX 24t sprocket, silver”.

The newer URL is https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/turbo-vado-50-igh/p/206155, where the cog is listed as “Gates Carbon Drive CDX 22t sprocket, silver”.

This is good news for me, since I've been discussing the swap from 24T to 22T with both my LBS and Specialized for a year or more. As I mentioned above, I was getting persuaded by both against the swap. But now that they're coming stock on the bike, it seems Specialized is fully behind this. I'm going to contact them just to make sure there aren't any Enviolo settings or anything that have also changed to accommodate the 22T cog.

The 22t is kinda a mixed bag for me , don’t know where you ride, when I’m in Florida it’s great, more comfortable cadence especially at higher speeds, but at home and in the mountains not as great, it’s actually harder with the 22t, a lot of work to change as needed. I may need to get it programmed for the 22t at the dealer… note… the enviolo update was not good in my case, doing things it didn’t do before

 

[Nonlinear]

The 22t is kinda a mixed bag for me , don’t know where you ride, when I’m in Florida it’s great, more comfortable cadence especially at higher speeds, but at home and in the mountains not as great, it’s actually harder with the 22t, a lot of work to change as needed. I may need to get it programmed for the 22t at the dealer… note… the enviolo update was not good in my case, doing things it didn’t do before

Oh that's not good to hear. I use the bike for commuting in Vancouver, and I have a large hill one way to work. If the 22T cog made that slower to climb, that would be a bummer.

On the other hand, there are several periods during my commute when I can't get above ~25 mph, unless I am pedaling 110 rpms....

 

[Seventysomething]

Oh that's not good to hear. I use the bike for commuting in Vancouver, and I have a large hill one way to work. If the 22T cog made that slower to climb, that would be a bummer.

On the other hand, there are several periods during my commute when I can't get above ~25 mph, unless I am pedaling 110 rpms....

It would probably benefit you to have the 22t with one hill on your commute, you would definitely get a much better cadence at higher speeds, l have physical issues with my right leg and my cranks are shorter, and probably need to update the bike at the dealer since I changed to the 22t, I’d say go for it since you commute, I use mine mostly when in my RV

 

[Nonlinear]

It would probably benefit you to have the 22t with one hill on your commute, you would definitely get a much better cadence at higher speeds, l have physical issues with my right leg and my cranks are shorter, and probably need to update the bike at the dealer since I changed to the 22t, I’d say go for it since you commute, I use mine mostly when in my RV

Thanks for the advice! My hill is only one hill, but it's a pretty big 100m hill haha

At any rate, I am going to the LBS this week or next to discuss

 

[Seventysomething]

Thanks for the advice! My hill is only one hill, but it's a pretty big 100m hill haha

At any rate, I am going to the LBS this week or next to discuss

I looked back at some rides in June, one in particular stuck out, max speed 23.8mph/76 rpm with the 22t , where I live in North Georgia there are not many flat roads, there are several stretches that I need to brake for 2-3 miles to keep speed below 30mph, fun if your not commuting

 

[Nonlinear]

So, interesting development...

This morning I emailed Specialized Canada Rider Care (who have been great by the way), asking about the 22T cog and pointing them towards the specs on the newest model year. They said:

The 22 cog is a typo since there are no parts number that offers a 22t cog.

I will ask the US to modify it but I have search everywhere and only the 24 is available

Your bike came with a 24

So, make of that what you will! Has anyone who purchased the bike recently confirmed that it came with a 22T installed?

 

[Seventysomething]

So, interesting development...

This morning I emailed Specialized Canada Rider Care (who have been great by the way), asking about the 22T cog and pointing them towards the specs on the newest model year. They said:

The 22 cog is a typo since there are no parts number that offers a 22t cog.

I will ask the US to modify it but I have search everywhere and only the 24 is available

Your bike came with a 24

So, make of that what you will! Has anyone who purchased the bike recently confirmed that it came with a 22T installed?

No I haven’t, maybe someone in the specialized forum has a 23 or newer that can check