Turbo Creo 2 Comp E5 (aluminum) is out, is a Vado SL 2 next?

[EmilyRides]

Just a random weird thought here, but I see the carbon Creo has 47mm tires and the alloy comes with 38s. Could a half inch or so of that standover height be attributed to that?

Good point @Saratoga Dave, and may well be the case. I would want no tires larger than 38s, as this will be a road machine for me, not really for gravel. My friend who has a carbon Creo had the LBS put 38s on hers before taking delivery. So, if I were to get the carbon Creo but change the tires, there's a chance I might have adequate standover. Thanks!

 

[Allan47.7339]

If you go to the support site, you can download the Creo 2 User Manual and Rider Workbook that have more specific details than the marketing material. Example the 49cm model has 165mm cranks.

Manuals & Tech Content

support.specialized.com

 

[EmilyRides]

Thanks @Allan47.7339! I will have a look. I actually saw the crank length on the Specialized site - 165s = good.

@Saratoga Dave, I realized that I could ask my friend who has a Small Creo Expert with 38c wheels to measure the standover. I never thought about it varying with tire size, but that might just make enough difference. She lives out of state so I can't actually stand over her bike. If I could fit on the Comp, it would be more spendy than the alu model but still far less than a custom bike.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

I saw a picture of Keith Urban with his TALL wife Nicole Kidman today… he’s wearing shoes with what’s gotta be two inches of lift! That would do it nicely as well!

(No disrespect intended, Keith, we’re just trying to solve a problem here)

 

[Deacon Blues]

I just went to the Canadian Specialized website to check out the new Creo aluminum and was surprised to see a considerable price drop from the old Creo 1 aluminum model.
The new Comp E5 is $5499.00 Canadian, while the Creo 1 was $7200.00.
I have no idea if there is a big difference in components.

The Comp (carbon) is a lot more ($9499.00) and the S-Works is an eye-watering $17999.00.

 

[Prairie Dog]

A couple of cycling friends mentioned this new aluminum Creo model recently, and I am seriously tempted. I'm currently riding a Kona Dew-e DL I bought in fall 2022, and I love it, except that I really want a Class 3 ebike. My husband is a pretty serious roadie, and although we ride together pretty well with me on the Kona and him on his Trek Emonda (no "e" for him!), there are times when he gets way ahead of me if we're on a flatter area where he can sustain 20+ mph for quite awhile, and I can't keep up. I can go faster than 20 mph downhill, but I'm small (100 lbs), and the bike is heavy, so no way can I sustain that for long on the flats. It's a great utility bike and I would keep it for that, but for faster recreational rides, is somewhat lacking. The flat handlebars are another issue and cause some numbness problems for me.

I'm petite (5'1"-ish) so have a limited choice in e-road bikes. At the time I was looking, I briefly checked out the Creo online, but even the comp model was way above my price range, and the standover was a bit tall for me. This new model has a lower price point, a slightly lower standover, and 165mm cranks, which is also a plus for me. I'd ridden non-e road bikes for years before getting my Kona, so am used to drop bars and lighter-weight bikes.

Definitely something to seriously think about....!

Hi Emily,

My wife who is 154 cm (5.0’) tall rides a small 2020 Creo CC is able to straddle the top tube with both feet planted without a problem so I think that you would be fine. Cranks are 170mm. She did undergo a Retul fitting at the LBS just to ensure that her bike was better suited to her riding style. They replaced the stock 80 mm stem with a shorter 60 mm version to accommodate her shorter reach as well as made a few adjustments to the brake levers, handlebar angle, seat post height and replaced the stock seat with a Mimic. It certainly made a difference with respect to her riding comfort.

Her other analog Cannondale with Ultegra Di2 is 48cm and fits her like a glove. She boasts how wonderfully crisp and precise the shifts are and would likely prefer to swap out the GRX mech groupset on her Creo for the same but for now she’s content sticking with its current set up.

 

[EmilyRides]

Thanks @Prairie Dog, love the photo of your petite wife! Not sure I can really take much from it, since the Creo 1 and 2 likely have slightly different geometry, and cycling inseams can vary quite a bit even between people of the same height. For example, my friend who has a Creo 2 49cm (XS) is actually <5', but her cycling inseam is about 1/2" more than mine. In other words, she is long-legged for her height, and I am a bit more long-waisted. I used to be 5'2-1/2", but unfortunately, the years have taken some of that "height" from me. All my past road bikes have been 46 or 47cm, depending on brand, so 49 sounds huge, but when it's the smallest size available, you have to check all the dimensions closely -- or go custom!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Thanks @Prairie Dog, love the photo of your petite wife! Not sure I can really take much from it, since the Creo 1 and 2 likely have slightly different geometry, and cycling inseams can vary quite a bit even between people of the same height. For example, my friend who has a Creo 2 49cm (XS) is actually <5', but her cycling inseam is about 1/2" more than mine. In other words, she is long-legged for her height, and I am a bit more long-waisted. I used to be 5'2-1/2", but unfortunately, the years have taken some of that "height" from me. All my past road bikes have been 46 or 47cm, depending on brand, so 49 sounds huge, but when it's the smallest size available, you have to check all the dimensions closely -- or go custom!

You’re absolutely right. Her inseam is likely closer to 30” whereas mine is 29” and I’m 5’ 5ish. For reference, SOH on her small Creo 1 is 731mm and on the Creo 2 /E5 (49cm) it’s 705mm. Sizing now is much more specific further catering to a rider’s style compared to the previous gen.

Getting the bike that ideally fits you the best is never going to be an easy undertaking and I hope that everything works out for you. Case in point, we’ve ordered several pairs of cycling shoes for her online simply because there’s really only one shop in town that carries cycling specific footware and their selection and sizes in stock are usually dismal. She’s now on her 4th and 5th pair as we’ve sent back the others for various reasons. Thank goodness for free returns. She has a couple of more options but may have to make a slight compromise on her final choice. Sure, it’s likely not intensely focused as shopping for a new bike but the process is no less easy.

 

[EmilyRides]

I heard back from my friend, and her 49cm Creo Expert with 38c tires has a standover of ~ 720mm. I measured my Trek Pilot as it is sitting on my trainer, and it is also 720 mm. It is higher because of being on the trainer. I can stand over it easily when it's on the ground, but on the trainer, the top tube is wedged up into my shorts, no clearance at all, so at least now I've confirmed that the carbon Creo models will not work for me, even with 38c tires. I'm not surprised given that the only bike I've managed to fit comfortably with 700c wheels is my 2007 Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD (47cm frame size) with a sharply sloping top tube. All the rest of my bikes over the years have had 26", 650, or 20" wheels (Bike Friday folder) or even an interesting Terry Isis in the early 2000s with a 24" front wheel/700c rear wheel combo!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Maybe I'm talking stupid things but would it be imaginable to replace the 700 wheels with 27.5" ones and install 38 mm tyres on them? The gain would be 622 - 584 = 38 mm. If the thing is doable technically and economically?

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Gravel people have been putting 650Bs on Creos for some time, for the opposite reason: to put larger tires on them. Don’t see why the reverse shoudn’t be true, with the one question about lowering the bottom bracket height and maybe using shorter crank arms?

 

[EmilyRides]

Interesting thought, thanks @Stefan Mikes and @Saratoga Dave. I am not sure I want to make that particular bike work quite bad enough to go to the extra expense of a different wheelset and who knows what else to make it work with the motor, shifters, etc. and possibly end up causing as many problems as it solves. I don't know, but my guess is that I'd probably end up spending as much to do that as going custom. And with custom, I can get the entire bike sized to fit me from the get-go. Still, I'll ponder your suggestion, as I have made no final decision yet.

And I truly didn't mean to hijack this thread!

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Hey, I don’t mind, this is all very exciting! Going back to the beginning, you’re more of a road person than a gravel one though, am I right on that? This is partially about keeping up with if not blasting by your husband’s Emonda, I recall. The Trek Domane stuff doesn’t fit either?

 

[EmilyRides]

@Saratoga Dave, Your memory is good! Yes, I am totally a roadie from wayyyy back, at least 30 years on the saddle. We do have a gravel driveway and live on a gravel road, but I am perfectly fine with walking my bike on both of those, as my husband already has to do that, and there are no other unpaved roads we plan or want to ride...just rural pavement, which can be a bit bumpy at times, but it's paved.

And you're right, Trek Domane+ is also too large -- their smallest size is 50cm! Why oh why don't the big bike brands realize that there are at least a few of us smaller riders out there? Specialized, for instance, offers 44 cm frames in a few of their road bikes, like the Roubaix, though many of their analog offerings also start at 49 cm. I am sure there is a market for a 44 cm e-road bike, and someone with some venture capital needs to step up to the plate and help us little gals out! I even emailed Georgena Terry a couple of years back about an e-bike possibility. She is still making lovely custom steel road bikes for all sized folks, but she never responded. Sigh...

This is what brings me to custom. I never had to go that route in the past, as there were always reasonable options for shrimps like me in the non-e universe. And there are plenty in the e-bike world as well, if I want a city bike, folding bike, cruiser bike, or even a mountain bike. I guess small roadies who want to go "e" are just too much of a niche market. Sigh, again... and thank you so much for all your support. As you can probably tell, I am very passionate about bikes and cycling, just like so many on here. Oh, to be of average height, my fondest wish!

 

[jabberwocky]

This is what brings me to custom. I never had to go that route in the past, as there were always reasonable options for shrimps like me in the non-e universe. And there are plenty in the e-bike world as well, if I want a city bike, folding bike, cruiser bike, or even a mountain bike. I guess small roadies who want to go "e" are just too much of a niche market. Sigh, again... and thank you so much for all your support. As you can probably tell, I am very passionate about bikes and cycling, just like so many on here. Oh, to be of average height, my fondest wish!

Yeah, you're under the typical small bike geometry design height. I checked the smallest Creo 2 and its about my size, maybe slightly small (I'd be between the 49 and 52). You're a few inches shorter than me so it would be iffy to get it to fit. You may be able to with a short stem. Your standover requirement is going to really difficult to meet though, its a traditional road frame with not a lot of slope to the top tube.

From what I see, most of the really small ebikes are flat bar bikes. There honestly aren't that many drop bar ebike options out there in general, at least compared to emtbs and various flavor of flat bar cruiser/road bikes. Maybe look at the Cannondale Synapse Neo? They have an XS with a (claimed) ~28" standover. $8500 bike but it does come with carbon wheels and Ultegra di2. Geometry still looks kinda big to me for someone who is 5'-2". Trying to think of who may make a really small drop bar ebike. Canyon Grail? Salsas Confluence has a really compact frame (the 49cm lists standover as 62.6cm/24.7") but thats a pretty low end class 1 hub motor bike. Its really small though.

 

[EmilyRides]

Thanks @jabberwocky, I definitely don't want class 1, as that is what I have now (Kona Dew-e DL), and I have problems at times keeping up with my husband. I think I saw a Canyon that would fit but was all sold out. I will double check them. And when I checked Cannondales, I believe the standover was too high, like the Creo, but I will check again. I am 5'1", and a lot of manufacturers say their XS or S size will fit someone 5'0 or 5'1", but then I look at the geometry and nope, not me.

 

[jabberwocky]

I hear you. Only other option I can think of is to get your non-electric road bike of choice and install a torque sensing mid drive kit like the TSDZ2B. Definitely not as clean looking but could work. At the very least may give you a few more years for the market to potentially open up.

 

[EmilyRides]

Thanks @jabberwocky , that is way too techie for me. I did check the other manufacturers you mentioned to remind myself. Canyon makes a couple of models in a 2XS, which is what I would need, but they are sold out, of course. Pretty much all their XS models are, which to me says they aren't making enough. The Cannondale is a possibility; I do think the standover would work, but the top tube seems too long. It's probably sized for more typical male dimensions of shorter legs + longer reach. I will measure the top tube on my Trek that's on the trainer, but I am not optimistic about that one. Plus, black would be my least-preferred color in the world for a bike. Silly, perhaps, but that's a lot of bucks to drop on a bike I don't like the color of.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I agree with jabberwocky-having your bike converted to an ebike would be a option. Someone like @PedalUma (on this forum) could custom build you an ebike using your bike.
His bikes look awesome.

 

[PedalUma]

Thanks @Deacon Blues. Among others I sold a Levo 4 yesterday with a custom wheel build and automatic electronic shifting. My builds are simple and subtle. The less complex the better for me. I like the tech to be invisible and low cost to maintain for transportation, not a toy.