ruben de wulf
New Member
Does anybody know if the vado has a speedsensor? I really want it to drive 30k +... Because i dont see the bluetooth coming in the near future...
The new turbo Vado 2017
- Thread starter Ciyrus 5000
- Start date
Jason Broad
New Member
not sure what you mean by "speedsensor"
ruben de wulf
New Member
Somebody told me that you can speed up the bike by altering the speedsensor... Should be at the back of the bike... Sorry for my english...
ruben de wulf
New Member
Wats this???
They have to update the firmware on the motor. I'm taking mine in this weekend, they'll remove the motor and send it to Specialized, who change the firmware and ship it back.
JKitto
New Member
Here's my final update. I took the bike in for a checkup at 1400kms and the chain, cluster and brakes were all worn past tolerance. So after 2 and a half weeks of riding I was going to have to replace those parts plus budget to replace them every 2-3 weeks and replace the chain ring every couple of months going forward. To me that was unacceptable as it was cost prohibitive. The bike has since been returned. It was a nice bike to ride but I couldn't have a primary commuter go through parts that fast. I was riding it like a normal bicycle meaning keeping the cadence up and using all of the gears to keep stress on the drive train low. Also it was in eco mode for 44 of the 45kms of each leg of the commute. The bike was maintained every night after the commute and the chain checked, and lubed if necessary, between the morning and afternoon commutes.
As for the battery, Specialized sent me a U1-604 to replace the U1-504. I did get more range but still not enough to be comfortable with having the lights and eco mode both on for the round trip without charging in between.
What I've learned from this is that the mid-drive is very hard on the drive train components and I would likely have had better drive train life with a hub drive.
As for the battery, Specialized sent me a U1-604 to replace the U1-504. I did get more range but still not enough to be comfortable with having the lights and eco mode both on for the round trip without charging in between.
What I've learned from this is that the mid-drive is very hard on the drive train components and I would likely have had better drive train life with a hub drive.
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To provide a bit of conflicting experiences to JKitto, here is my review after about 8 weeks and 1100km of riding on my Vado 5.0.
Living in Sweden, I ride in harsh conditions, rain, followed by sub-zero temperatures with plenty of snow and later salt on the roads and bike paths. To date I have not ridden in fair weather / good road conditions more than once or twice.
I have experienced the two common problems of the bike not turning on (twice) and also not turning off after a ride (once). The problems have been fixed by either plugging the bike into the charger or by pushing the reset button on the display unit. This is by far by biggest complaint with the bike, and considering the ease of fix, it's not a big deal.
I ride predominately in Sport or Turbo mode, average speed in my commute (with good road conditions) is 34km/h.
Drive train wear? Sure there is significant wear compared to a hub-drive or normal bike for that matter. But with proper care I think it is still well within reasonable. I think I ride in the worst possible conditions for the drive train. Every two weeks (about every 200 km) I completely clean the chain, cassette, derailleur and front sprocket. Lube with high quality wet-lube and wipe away access (takes me about 30 minutes on a Saturday morning with some good tunes and a cup of coffee).
After 1100km my chain gauge shows wear on the chain to be more than 0.5 but less than 0.75. Cassette looks (and feels) like new, in fact better than new. It shifts nicer and smoother now than when new. I expect around 1500 km distance before it is time to replace the chain. Come summer time with better conditions I expect range before chain replacement to increase further.
Brake wear in my case is almost none living in a reasonably flat area. Total elevation gain / loss in my commute (18km one way) is about +/- 130m (about 400 feet).
Prohibitive cost? If you let your local bike shop do the work, sure it gets expensive. But with basic tools and skills you can replace the chain yourself, at a total expense of about 15-20USD and 5 minutes of your time. If the chain is replaced in time (around 0.75 wear) the cassette should easily last 3-4 chains. With a lock ring tool, torque wrench and basic skills even replacing the cassette is a no brainer at a cost of about 60USD and about 1 hours worth of work.
Having ridden 8000 km on my road bike (only fair summer weather), I would say the wear on the drive train is about 2-3 times heavier on my Vado 5.0.
Sure it is not free, but it is a darn cheap form of transportation, as FUN as well!
Living in Sweden, I ride in harsh conditions, rain, followed by sub-zero temperatures with plenty of snow and later salt on the roads and bike paths. To date I have not ridden in fair weather / good road conditions more than once or twice.
I have experienced the two common problems of the bike not turning on (twice) and also not turning off after a ride (once). The problems have been fixed by either plugging the bike into the charger or by pushing the reset button on the display unit. This is by far by biggest complaint with the bike, and considering the ease of fix, it's not a big deal.
I ride predominately in Sport or Turbo mode, average speed in my commute (with good road conditions) is 34km/h.
Drive train wear? Sure there is significant wear compared to a hub-drive or normal bike for that matter. But with proper care I think it is still well within reasonable. I think I ride in the worst possible conditions for the drive train. Every two weeks (about every 200 km) I completely clean the chain, cassette, derailleur and front sprocket. Lube with high quality wet-lube and wipe away access (takes me about 30 minutes on a Saturday morning with some good tunes and a cup of coffee).
After 1100km my chain gauge shows wear on the chain to be more than 0.5 but less than 0.75. Cassette looks (and feels) like new, in fact better than new. It shifts nicer and smoother now than when new. I expect around 1500 km distance before it is time to replace the chain. Come summer time with better conditions I expect range before chain replacement to increase further.
Brake wear in my case is almost none living in a reasonably flat area. Total elevation gain / loss in my commute (18km one way) is about +/- 130m (about 400 feet).
Prohibitive cost? If you let your local bike shop do the work, sure it gets expensive. But with basic tools and skills you can replace the chain yourself, at a total expense of about 15-20USD and 5 minutes of your time. If the chain is replaced in time (around 0.75 wear) the cassette should easily last 3-4 chains. With a lock ring tool, torque wrench and basic skills even replacing the cassette is a no brainer at a cost of about 60USD and about 1 hours worth of work.
Having ridden 8000 km on my road bike (only fair summer weather), I would say the wear on the drive train is about 2-3 times heavier on my Vado 5.0.
Sure it is not free, but it is a darn cheap form of transportation, as FUN as well!
Also my Firmware was updated a couple of weeks ago, and now the bikes shows up in the Bluetooth search on my phone, but of course it is not possible to connect to it without the Proper mission control app.
Email asking for update on Mission Contol App status to customer support at Specialized has gone unanswered for over a month. Local Bike Shop (Specialized concept store) knows nothing either. This is definitely a weak point, I expect better from a premium brand!
Email asking for update on Mission Contol App status to customer support at Specialized has gone unanswered for over a month. Local Bike Shop (Specialized concept store) knows nothing either. This is definitely a weak point, I expect better from a premium brand!
e-levity
Active Member
Good report, Bikerjoy, fitting to your handle! 
BTW, I replace chains when the wear reaches a 0.5% increase in length as recommended by Park Tools:
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/when-to-replace-a-chain-on-a-bicycle#article-section-4
"If you are using an eleven or twelve speed chain, replace your chain once it has reached 0.5 percent wear."
BTW, I replace chains when the wear reaches a 0.5% increase in length as recommended by Park Tools:
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/when-to-replace-a-chain-on-a-bicycle#article-section-4
"If you are using an eleven or twelve speed chain, replace your chain once it has reached 0.5 percent wear."
Good report, Bikerjoy, fitting to your handle!
BTW, I replace chains when the wear reaches a 0.5% increase in length as recommended by Park Tools:
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/when-to-replace-a-chain-on-a-bicycle#article-section-4
"If you are using an eleven or twelve speed chain, replace your chain once it has reached 0.5 percent wear."
Yeah, I know that is what they recommend, however partly based on my previous experience with my road bike and also the fact that the entire drive train currently is BUTTER, I see no reason to replace sooner than 0.75. If this means I get one less chain out of each cassette, so be it...
Also with the power of the Vado 5.0 I reached 0.5 pretty much right away around 400-500 km (first time I checked the gauge went in to my surprise). However I have not seen any further wear since. To the naked eye it seems like I still have about the same amount left before 0.75 drops in.
I briefly had a hub drive commuter (for about 1 month) before I returned it. And I can say I MUCH prefer the drive train of the Vado even if it comes with more upkeep and running costs.
Second update. I finally replaced the chain after 1800km. It was still not to the 0,75 wear point, but I decided it was time.
I "upgraded" from a Shimano 601 to 701 chain (supposedly higher resistance to wear).
After 4 days of riding round trip to work (140km total) the 0,5 gauge already goes in. So replacing the chain at the recommended 0,5 point for an 11s is out of the question.
Visual inspection of the cassette when replacing the chain showed little to no visible wear. However it was noticeable for the first couple of days that the chain and cassette needed some time to get to know each other. Now the new chain feels fine.
I will measure the new chain about once a week going forward to try to determine if the more expensive 701 chain was worth the 40% higher price compared to the 601. With weather and road conditions improving I hope to be able to ride more consistently than the past two months were road conditions have been outright lethal! With less (no) salt and grime on the roads, it might be hard to make a totally fair comparison though.
I "upgraded" from a Shimano 601 to 701 chain (supposedly higher resistance to wear).
After 4 days of riding round trip to work (140km total) the 0,5 gauge already goes in. So replacing the chain at the recommended 0,5 point for an 11s is out of the question.
Visual inspection of the cassette when replacing the chain showed little to no visible wear. However it was noticeable for the first couple of days that the chain and cassette needed some time to get to know each other. Now the new chain feels fine.
I will measure the new chain about once a week going forward to try to determine if the more expensive 701 chain was worth the 40% higher price compared to the 601. With weather and road conditions improving I hope to be able to ride more consistently than the past two months were road conditions have been outright lethal! With less (no) salt and grime on the roads, it might be hard to make a totally fair comparison though.
Looking at the Specialized website just now, I see they’ve raised the U.S. price of each of the Vado models by $200 (For example, the 3.0 now lists for $3400). More significantly, the write up on the 3.0 has been changed and no longer makes any reference to Mission Control at all, instead emphasizing the virtues of the BLOKS computer and its various functions. Is it possible they’ve given up on Mission Control?
Dave E
Member
They told me about a month ago that iOS was done and they were still working on Android. I think they're really struggling with the truth.
Who is "they"? Often the info reps give is third party Chinese whispers... I've seen a few posts here which are clearly nonsense.
I was told by a rep that Specialized were involved in a legal battle with the company that developed the software. No idea how true that is.
Dave E
Member
"They" was actually "he". He was the tech support rep I was transferred to when I called with an unrelated question. After he answered my question, I figured I'd bust his chops a little about the app. He told me that the iOS development was complete and they were just waiting for completion on Android. I told him that I work for a large corporation that releases mobile apps out of step with each other all the time. Feature parity isn't really a priority for most software companies (which is why Excel for Mac is usually further behind Excel for Windows). He laughed and said that Specialized obviously isn't a software company.
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