The $7000 e-bicycle that's worth every cent for best e-bike ever (Vado SL) - Australian Press Report

[Worm]

In yesterdays Australian Financial Review a short review on the Vado SL.

Worth every cent they say, ... "The Specialized Vado SL is the most luxurious, easiest-to-use, and overall best e-bike we have ever reviewed." Its pretty effusive review, but I suspect few Australians will actually part with the $5,400 or the $7,000 depending on model to acquire this wonderful machine. The demo bike had been sent to NZ and returned to Australia which suggests very few of these actually around in Australia for riders to test out. Nonetheless, Specialized Australia will be pleased with the gushing review.

 

[Ebiker01]

They maybe payed to have that kind of a fake review written.
It is indeed a luxurious ebike but far behind in terms of power, battery , ease of use as far as battery removal.
In Au , ebike speed are limited to 25kmh, paying 4-5k for such an ebike is a bit exaggerated.

 

[Deacon Blues]

It's depressing looking at US prices for ebikes and then looking at the same bikes for sale in Canada and Australia.

 

[Ebiker01]

They are a lot mo' expensive there but why ?? From China/Taiwan to Au is much cheaper the shipping.

 

[Deacon Blues]

They are a lot mo' expensive there but why ?? From China/Taiwan to Au is much cheaper the shipping.

I'm going to speculate here....I think the prices of these bikes are based on the American dollar, which is great if you live in the US, but not so great for countries like Canada, which has a has a dollar that is worth 0.725 US dollars.
The Australia dollar is even worse. 1 Australian dollar is worth 0.665 Us dollars.

 

[Worm]

I have not done the arithmetic, but it is not unusual, regrettably, for price in Australia to be even higher than the USD exchange rate would suggest. Apple products come to mind as a consistent example of this. There are so many brands of e-bikes available in Australia, but many of brands mentioned in these forumns are not sold in Australia as far as I know, so I don't think Vado SL has many rivals here. I have not seen another Vado 3 in my City of Brisbane as yet. A lot of people my age (seniors) are riding $2,000 e bikes "cobbled together" ex China, ... they don't seem very elegant, but do the job, ... so it seems.

 

[Phyz]

In yesterdays Australian Financial Review a short review on the Vado SL.

Worth every cent they say, ... "The Specialized Vado SL is the most luxurious, easiest-to-use, and overall best e-bike we have ever reviewed." Its pretty effusive review, but I suspect ... Specialized Australia will be pleased with the gushing review.

I have to wonder: how many bikes does the Australian Financial Review review each model year?

 

[opimax]

The way I was taught to compare is how many Big Macs can you buy for the money? I think the price here in the US is 4500 and 7000 there. The real value is how much you could buy apples to apples or Big Macs? If I can buy 300 Big Macs in the US and 350 there the 7000 is a better deal...

 

[Worm]

One thing the review didn’t mention it can get rather hot here in Australia in Summer and garages of all sizes & types turn into ovens especially with radiant heat of car engine blocks. Keeping the Vado SL battery in reasonable temperatures will be an inconvenience.