Trying to decide: Vado 4.0 vs 5.0 (US market)

J

jwehman

Member
I’m currently in the market for an Ebike (1st) for commuting to work near Boulder, CO. The commute will be mixture of hills / flats and some trail (gravel road) but only 4.0 miles one way.
I’ve ridden the Vado 5.0 SL and while I would love to own that bike overall, for commuting in my route I feel (and have experienced) that I would work a little too hard getting there. Objective is to arrive fresh.
So I’ve been looking at the Vado 4.0 and 5.0.
Here, the 4.0 is 3,500 US and the 5.0 4,350 US.
I don’t think I can really see the ~$800 delta between the two.
Battery life wouldn’t be an issue for me.
The 4.0 are available now whereas the 4.0 have about a 2 week lead time (currently, early June 2020).
Any thoughts on which bike would be better? Is the 5.0 worth the upgrade in price?
Thanks!
 
As a 4.0 owner, I agree with you and think that the price differential is driven by the added cost of the larger battery and the more powerful motor, so you'd have to decide if that is worthwhile for you. For me, I liked the gearing on the 4.0 better than what's on the 5.0 even though the 5.0 would be easier to ride at a sustained 28mph (which I'm not going to be doing).

Also, the Mission Control app lets you play around with the motor assistance settings, making it possible to set it up to conserve battery and get a good workout, or take it easier at the cost of reduced range. Your choice.
 
For me it wasn’t. I just picked up a 4.0 yesterday and today was my first commute. I test rode the SL, great bike just not the power I was looking for, as well as the 5.0. I know there are some differences between the 4.0 and 5.0, slightly better components, increased battery, a little more torque. I just couldn’t feel the difference. As longe as range isn’t an issue I can’t justify the added cost.

My commute is about 8 miles one way, San Francisco city streets. I rode mostly eco and bumped up to turbo for a couple of the hills. I arrived just a little after I would have had I driven and I don’t have to deal with parking. My battery says it has 75% charge to get me home and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t 100% when I left.
 
I've got the 5.0. No complaints, plenty of battery, nice components, plenty of power--just have to find the right gear but I've powered up some pretty steep grades in mtb mode that impressed myself. You might look at the Como 5.0, it is similar but different rider position, and less money by about $1k.
 
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I've only had my Vado 4.0 for a couple of months. To be honest I didn't even check through the 5.0 specs as the 4.0 had all the level of componentry that I needed.

I'm still playing with the settings of my bike through the Mission Control app. I haven't yet been able to get the Eco level of assist just right - it continues to be more power than I need/want. I almost never use Trail, and have never used Turbo other than to just try it out on my first ride. I'm not challenged by mountain passes around where I ride, but I know that I wouldn't need a Vado with more motor power. To me it is quite an efficient bike built around a great motor assist system.
 
To what extent you will find the higher priced 5.0 worth the money is hard for me to say.
With the Vado 5.0 you get the most powerful motor in the Vado line-up, Specialized 1.3. The difference between 1.2 motor in Vado 4.0 and 1.3 isn’t night and day but there is a difference. Vado 4.0 owners are generally happy with their motors. The difference in motor power between a Vado SL and a Vado 4 is more obvious.
With 5.0 you also get higher grade gears/shifters (and 11 speeds) and brakes.
And you get a 48t chainring on the 5.0 vs 40t on the 4.0
 
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fwiw, I have the 5.0 and find the 48t chainring and 11 spd gearing about perfect. Uphill without assist the 40t would win out though!
 
We spent the extra $ for the Vado 5s to get 20% more torque (75Nm vs 90Nm) and 20% more battery capacity (500Wh vs 600Wh), plus upgraded brakes and drivetrain components. But our terrain is quite steep compared to yours and our rides are longer, often with added cargo loads. In you case, the added capabilities don't sound like they're needed. Save the $ and go for the Vado 4.

You're next choice is color. You'll of course want the fasterest color, Crimson...😎 It's not for everyone, just those that want to be the fasterest!
 
Sierratim said:
We spent the extra $ for the Vado 5s to get 20% more torque (75Nm vs 90Nm) and 20% more battery capacity (500Wh vs 600Wh), plus upgraded brakes and drivetrain components. But our terrain is quite steep compared to yours and our rides are longer, often with added cargo loads. In you case, the added capabilities don't sound like they're needed. Save the $ and go for the Vado 4.

You're next choice is color. You'll of course want the fasterest color, Crimson...😎 It's not for everyone, just those that want to be the fasterest!
Click to expand...

Crimson- for conformists!

While @Sierratim may be wrong in his color analysis, his logic on 4 vs 5 is sound.

:)
 
I have never regretted buying the Vado 5.0. Bigger battery is very important (actually I own two of them for long range in any conditions). The powerful motor helps a lot (mine's is the 1.2s). I was escaping a large lorry only on the other day. Went in Turbo and the truck disappeared in my rear-view mirror (the driver had to drive rather slowly anyway). Riding uphill at a decent speed is invaluable, and just fancy your grin when you overtake road cyclists fighting the headwind... Better components are of the value, too. The 48t chainring helps getting on high speed.

Yes, the $800 extra is the expense that will be forgotten soon but the 5.0 makes a big grin on your face!
 
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Stefan Mikes said:
I have never regretted buying the Vado 5.0. Bigger battery is very important (actually I own two of them for long range in any conditions). The powerful motor helps a lot (mine's is the 1.2s). I was escaping a large lorry only on the other day. Went in Turbo and the truck disappeared in my rear-view mirror (the driver had to ride rather slowly anyway). Riding uphill at a decent speed is invaluable, and just fancy your grin when you overtake road cyclists fighting the headwind... Better components are of the value, too. The 48t chainring helps getting on high speed.

Yes, the $800 extra is the expense that will be forgotten soon but the 5.0 makes a big grin on your face!
Click to expand...
While I’m perfectly happy with my 4, the larger chain ring and battery (not to mention the other upgrades) were appealing for the extra $800 (but likely I will rarely need the larger battery). The $ difference for me in the US was $2000 at the time so there wasn’t really a choice to be made- the 5.0 wasn’t worth $2000 more (at least to me).
 
For me, the 40-tooth ring on the 4.0 is my preferred setup since I like riding in low-boost most of the time and am more likely to need to climb as opposed to 28mph cruising. I also really liked the crimson color (dealer still has one on the floor) and have owned a couple of cars in a similar color, but for my intended use I thought it was a bit to "pretty" and I'd feel bad the first time I got it scratched up or nicked from off-road excursions.

By the way, has anyone seen this new Vado 4.0 LTD in canary yellow? It actually comes with a basic suspension seat post (I might look into getting one for mine) and more aggressive gravel-ready tires (also something I might look into before next season). But still those fenders...
 
Good inputs, everyone. Thank you! I'm going to test-ride the 4.0 again today at the LBS in Boulder. I tried one yesterday at another LBS but they had it set (or it came that way) for EU speed control. At 16.8MPH (27kph) the motor cut out. I was disappointed. I told the owner about the problem but he wasn't able to resolve it right then.

I also would prefer the 48t chain ring myself. I can get up to 28mph pretty easy around some of the downhills and longer stretches, and the 40t won't really give me much above that in gear-ratio.

But after further consideration, I don't think the differences between the two will convince me to spend more for the upgrades.
 
*HOWEVER*, depending on how the test ride goes today, that ltd edition yellow 4.0 with the suspension seat post and extra wide tires would definitely be on the top of my list. That looks great, and the fact that I'll be on gravel for some of my commute justifies the added $250.00 :)
 
  1. jwehman said:
    *HOWEVER*, depending on how the test ride goes today, that ltd edition yellow 4.0 with the suspension seat post and extra wide tires would definitely be on the top of my list. That looks great, and the fact that I'll be on gravel for some of my commute justifies the added $250.00 :)
    Click to expand...
    Avoids the Conformist Crimson as well.
 
I would love yellow-on-black provided the paint were nice. There is a Giant e-MTB targeted at the beginners. Everything OK with that e-bike except the matte yellow paint here is disgusting. I could see it in person.

1591369243413.png
 
Stefan Mikes said:
I have never regretted buying the Vado 5.0. Bigger battery is very important (actually I own two of them for long range in any conditions). The powerful motor helps a lot (mine's is the 1.2s). I was escaping a large lorry only on the other day. Went in Turbo and the truck disappeared in my rear-view mirror (the driver had to drive rather slowly anyway). Riding uphill at a decent speed is invaluable, and just fancy your grin when you overtake road cyclists fighting the headwind... Better components are of the value, too. The 48t chainring helps getting on high speed.

Yes, the $800 extra is the expense that will be forgotten soon but the 5.0 makes a big grin on your face!
Click to expand...
I think all ebikes bring a big grin to our face when we ride. 🙂
 
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