I'm at home in Switzerland at the moment, a couple of kilometers from Specialized' development center. Went down to the Specialized dealer in town and he showed me the Vado pics. I asked, for flat Florida, hub versus mid. With no hesitation he said hub. More efficient. After that my son and I went to his eBike dealer. All they sell are mid's - mostly Haibike's. Asked the same question, got the same answer. I ordered a Turbo X for my Florida home.
The new turbo Vado 2017
- Thread starter Ciyrus 5000
- Start date
grench
Well-Known Member
+1 on hub drives...flats and moderate hills. I don't have any steep hills here to test but my guess is they would hold their own on steep hills as well. I am sure the mid drive boys will weigh in about heat build up...maybe so - but you can't prove it by 350lbs experience. Cheers!
bazzapage
Active Member
What I do know is that the Brose motor is hugely torquey in the Levo format (90Nm - around twice that of the 200/250W GoSwiss motors), and with appropriate final drive ratio and gearing will end up being quite quick. I also value the better fore-aft balance that mid-drive gives. I was given the choice to buy (in July 2016) or wait, but I needed something now and got a better price because it's essentially run-out product. I am very happy with my choice (until something better comes along).
Ron Friedman
New Member
Looking for updated specs for 2017 VADO EXPERT. a LBS quoted $5000 for US version of the top of the line VADO. ETA spring. Anyone have further details?
Ravi Kempaiah
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Halifax
BlackBeard
New Member
thanks for the link.
eagamer80
Active Member
Can't you use bike paths with an S-Pedelec? WTF, most of my way home is bike path and taking the highway is very dangerous. I guess I will hold on to my Turbo FLR to keep it all legal then. I see some guys with mopeds without plates and faster than 25km/h which are off the law. I see this every single day. But on the other hand, police controlling bikes or mopeds is inexistent in Sweden, so many people do with their devices whatever they want.
I wonder why here should be that different from USA. There you people don't have so strict regulations for e-bikes. I guess is related to our fantastic politicians we have and EU bureaucracy. Luckily people are lazy, so traveling using e-bikes won't become massive at least here in this country. Otherwise, politicians will make everything possible to take money from us, as they're doing now with the S-Pedelecs (register your bike with plates, pay insurance, etc).
@James Kohls I agree that the teardrop downtube is a bit wonky, was expecting it to look different than it does when I heard about it recently. I love Specialized and one of the big factors is how beautiful their bikes are... I can understand why the tube gets fatter (to fit the motor at the bottom) and see how the paint is designed to separate the lower bulge. Might take some getting used to 
I do like that now they both seem to have suspension forks, before I would constantly nudge people towards the Turbo X when asked simply because it felt more comfortable but it wasn't as powerful as the S. I feel like this is a good update and am excited about how a mid-drive can be efficient and balanced but the GoSwiss Drive motors were pretty sweet. Super quiet, zippy and I think the older models looked better. Excited to see and try the Vado in person at some point
I do like that now they both seem to have suspension forks, before I would constantly nudge people towards the Turbo X when asked simply because it felt more comfortable but it wasn't as powerful as the S. I feel like this is a good update and am excited about how a mid-drive can be efficient and balanced but the GoSwiss Drive motors were pretty sweet. Super quiet, zippy and I think the older models looked better. Excited to see and try the Vado in person at some point
jamesthewright
New Member
Compared to how cool the levos look, I am surprised with the teardrop tube they decided on, it looks massive from the front or rear. From the side it is just awkward, definitely not as sharp looking as the current turbos imho, but curious how they ride and given they have a mid-drive I am guessing the range is somewhat extended.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Embra
New Member
I'm doing my research in preparation for buying an ebike for myself, and had been leaning towards a Turbo X (near the top of my list and my LBS is a Specialized dealer). I asked my dealer what he knew about the Vados (not much). FWIW, he took a look at his dealer web site and told me the Vado models should be available in late April or early May.
bazzapage
Active Member
Sounds about right @Embra If you can get a Turbo X at a good price ($2.5k) through your LBS and you want it now, I'd say its a really good bike (apart from those !^#%$# Formula C1 brakes). From what I can ascertain, the Vados will start at about USD3000 which might give you a similar spec to a current Turbo X. It will be a more versatile drive given the mid motor driving through gears and feel nicer (better weight balance). More complexity though so who knows, that could bring its own share of problems.
I'd be inclined to stick with Spesh, they have the best ebikes on the market in commuter and MTB categories IMHO and have great customer service.
I'd be inclined to stick with Spesh, they have the best ebikes on the market in commuter and MTB categories IMHO and have great customer service.
Embra
New Member
Stopped by my LBS today to check on current prices, and sure enough they have dropped since the last time I checked. My dealer said I could take their demo Turbo for $1800, and they can get a Turbo X to me for $3k. I'm going to sleep on it, but I'm inclined to go for the Turbo X for the suspension fork, the 250W motor, and the higher capacity battery.
I'd love to be able to have a Vado in hand to see how they ride and know the specs a bit more concretely (the Pedelec Forum link earlier in this thread was very helpful). I was a bit underwhelmed with the Turbo display, and the Vado looks to improve on that aspect. But the display seems to be a minor part of the overall experience and Turbo X appears to be a reasonably solid choice. It looks like I'd have to go for the Vado Comp at $3800 or so to get the suspension fork. And I've been rolling the $4k pricetag for the Turbo X around in my head long enough that the price drop feels rather persuasive.
I'd love to be able to have a Vado in hand to see how they ride and know the specs a bit more concretely (the Pedelec Forum link earlier in this thread was very helpful). I was a bit underwhelmed with the Turbo display, and the Vado looks to improve on that aspect. But the display seems to be a minor part of the overall experience and Turbo X appears to be a reasonably solid choice. It looks like I'd have to go for the Vado Comp at $3800 or so to get the suspension fork. And I've been rolling the $4k pricetag for the Turbo X around in my head long enough that the price drop feels rather persuasive.
Ravi Kempaiah
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Halifax
@James Kohls I agree that the teardrop downtube is a bit wonky, was expecting it to look different than it does when I heard about it recently. I love Specialized and one of the big factors is how beautiful their bikes are... I can understand why the tube gets fatter (to fit the motor at the bottom) and see how the paint is designed to separate the lower bulge. Might take some getting used to
I do like that now they both seem to have suspension forks, before I would constantly nudge people towards the Turbo X when asked simply because it felt more comfortable but it wasn't as powerful as the S. I feel like this is a good update and am excited about how a mid-drive can be efficient and balanced but the GoSwiss Drive motors were pretty sweet. Super quiet, zippy and I think the older models looked better. Excited to see and try the Vado in person at some point
Just like the Tern Vektron, I hope you'll be able to do a detailed review on this with their engineer
It's an interesting transition for specialized and the industry in general.
jamesthewright
New Member
I too am a huge fan of my Turbo X with over 3500 miles on it and really no issues aside from one broken spoke a while back. The brakes are really the only issue with this bike, but if your getting the 2016 Turbo X I think they fixed those. Mine is a 2015.
I personally like the hub drive gearless motor as it is completely silent. The point about the chain is pertinent and also mid-drives generally have some noise to them, not sure about the vado, but I cannot imagine it does not. With the hub motor on the Turbo X you also have regen which I use all the time. Often I even go on what I call charge rides where I only use non assist or regen and try to pump the battery back up. It is lots of fun in my opinion, like a game. With a indoor trainer you could even charge your bike with your own effort on cold or snowy days!
Not to mention, the silent motor means the zombies won't hear you if there ever was a zombie apocalypse.
Cheers!
I personally like the hub drive gearless motor as it is completely silent. The point about the chain is pertinent and also mid-drives generally have some noise to them, not sure about the vado, but I cannot imagine it does not. With the hub motor on the Turbo X you also have regen which I use all the time. Often I even go on what I call charge rides where I only use non assist or regen and try to pump the battery back up. It is lots of fun in my opinion, like a game. With a indoor trainer you could even charge your bike with your own effort on cold or snowy days!
Not to mention, the silent motor means the zombies won't hear you if there ever was a zombie apocalypse.
Cheers!
Embra
New Member
The Turbos seem to be moving out to make room for the Vados (trying to justify Turbo information in a Vado thread). I just went in an ordered a Turbo X. Last Friday my dealer said they had 10 Turbo X's in the warehouse (East coast); today they were down to 5. Well, 4 now. Delivery is slated for Thursday.
Grateful thanks to those who commented in any reference to my shopping. Especially when the common interest is yet uncommon, I value a community that shares experiences and knowledge.
Grateful thanks to those who commented in any reference to my shopping. Especially when the common interest is yet uncommon, I value a community that shares experiences and knowledge.
Embra
New Member
I picked it up Saturday and am feeling very good about things, even though it's turned cold enough that I've not done much more than ride around the block (and a foot of snow is supposed to come down Tuesday...sigh). I'm keeping content moving my rack from my old bike and online shopping for lights and such.
FWIW, this model came with Shimano brakes. I don't know enough to judge them in relation to the Formula C1's. What was the complaint on those?
FWIW, this model came with Shimano brakes. I don't know enough to judge them in relation to the Formula C1's. What was the complaint on those?
bazzapage
Active Member
The C1 brakes stock pads are awful (squeal like a freight train) and replacements are quite hard to find. They are also very difficult to align properly and tend to make odd noises which detracts from the whole stealthy-zombie-avoiding experience. Once you have the right pads they are 'OK' with reasonable power and modulation.
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