Turbo Vado 4.0, how to make it lighter?

M

MarylandMike

New Member
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USA
I've just purchased a Turbo Vado 4.0 and I'm waiting for it to be assembled at the shop where I bought it. It's a heavy bike -- if I want to make it lighter, is there any reason I can't remove the fenders? And can anyone suggest tires that are somewhat narrower and lighter, but sturdy enough to handle this bike's weight? Thanks!
 
Just get used to it. There are components integrated with the fenders (for instance, the rear rack or the tail-light) making the removal of at least the rear fender impractical. Also, changing the tyres would not affect the e-bike weight much. Bear in mind your Vado's tyre size was optimized for the wheel rim diameter. It would be just a waste of good rubbers, and a reduced comfort on uneven surfaces.

Vado 4.0 has as strong a motor as any attempt to reduce the e-bike weight would be counter-productive. If you wanted a lightweight e-bike, you could have thought of an SL.

I myself accept the weight of my Vado 6.0 and am riding it even at a very low 15/20% assistance.

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My 58 lbs Vado on a trip with a gravel cyclist on his 20 lbs Diverge, May 5, 2024
 
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For what purpose(s)? For riding it around?....or for loading/unloading?
The Vado is a heavy, powerful, and comfortable bike....it is exactly what you purchased. Removing the fenders will not make enough of a weight difference to make it worth your while imo. In fact...those fenders will come in handy for you and are both quite well made and quite functional. There is no real way to make the Vado 'lighter' for purposes of riding it around. I think that you will better understand once you have a few miles ridden, however, that bike won't feel quite so heavy to you when underway.

Now if you wish to make it lighter for loading/unloading on a car rack? I can highly recommend removing the battery prior to loading/unloading. Just put the battery in the back seat of your car while traveling to your destination. You are going to be very surprised at how heavy that battery really is!...it's a chunk!

If you just downright want a more lightweight and nimble ebike....there are other bikes for that....like the Vado SL version. As you surely already know, however, those lighter bikes lack the range and power of the heavier bikes.
 
Thanks -- yes, I know there are lighter bikes available. I'm comfortable with the choice of the Vado 4.0. The weight concern is mainly about transporting it on a bike rack, along with my wife's Trek Verve+ electric. Both are heavy bikes, and although the rack is trailer-hitch-mounted, I'm concerned about the amount of force that the mount will experience as we go over bumps. Probably not an issue, but I worry about things like that.

It's nice to know that the battery is fairly heavy, we'll remove both batteries when transporting the bikes.
 
You could see some nominal improvement for a substantial investment.

Swap out the front suspension fork for a carbon fork (or maybe alloy) and save up to 4 lbs.

Wheels and tires for sure. Here again, carbon or a lightweight alloy + tubeless will save a couple of lbs front and rear.

These 2 items might net you 8-10lbs weight savings on a 55lb bike.

Stuff like fenders, rack, handlebars, seat/post, cranks, pedals, etc would net minimal improvement: whether that is of value to you is not something we can answer.

Just make sure your rack is properly rated to carry both bikes, and put the heavier bike closest to the vehicle. I use a 1Up Superduty (single) and it handles my Vado fine.
 
As a Vado 4.0 owner the weight is really only noticed when lifting it onto a bike rack or similar, and for that you can remove the battery and save a few pounds.

Tires and fenders won't make much difference to its ~58lb weight. Even if you save 10-15% that's just not going to make much difference in practice.

My recommendation is ride the bike as it comes for a while before you start making any changes.
 
I have an 1upusa heavy duty rack that carried 2 ebikes (without batteries) that were about a total of 130lbs. No issues carrying the ebikes as they fell into the weight limit of the rack. Maybe your concern should shift from the ebikes to the rack you have if weight is a concern.

What rack do you have?
Also, the rack should not be wobbly in the receiver. Depending on the rack, they make things to tighten up the rack/receiver from wobbling.
 
My concern isn't about the rack, but about the trailer hitch mount on my car. The bike rack is a Saris Superclamp EX 2 that can support 2 bikes of up to 60 lbs. each, so our 2 bikes without batteries should be fine. The trailer hitch though will pull up to 2000 lbs., but supports a tongue weight up to 200 lbs. We'll still be well below that, but when the car goes over bumps the hitch will experience a higher weight temporarily when the bikes and mount bounce. It's probably fine. I do have a support strap to minimize the bouncing. I'm just a worrier!
 
MarylandMike said:
My concern isn't about the rack, but about the trailer hitch mount on my car. The bike rack is a Saris Superclamp EX 2 that can support 2 bikes of up to 60 lbs. each, so our 2 bikes without batteries should be fine. The trailer hitch though will pull up to 2000 lbs., but supports a tongue weight up to 200 lbs. We'll still be well below that, but when the car goes over bumps the hitch will experience a higher weight temporarily when the bikes and mount bounce. It's probably fine. I do have a support strap to minimize the bouncing. I'm just a worrier!
Click to expand...
You should not have a problem whatsoever. From one OCD fellow to another.... Do yourself a favor..... Go down and get your socket wrench set..... Go outside and go underneath your vehicle..... Inspect the bolts that hold on your tow hitch apparatus to your vehicle undercarriage..... and make sure that the bolts are all tight.
Then while still under the car... put your wrench down and grab that hitch apparatus with both hands and hang from it with all your weight and count to 10.
After you do this, you will be cured. You will no longer think the the tongue weight will be an issue when carrying two bikes
 
Avg_Joe said:
Swap out the front suspension fork for a carbon fork (or maybe alloy) and save up to 4 lbs.
Click to expand...
Not really practical. First of all, it would be hard to find a replacement fork giving a similar geometry as the original one. Secondly, the suspension fork of the Vado relieves stresses on the motor mounts; the Gen 0 (2017) of the Vado had a rigid alloy fork, making the motor mount crack after, say, 2 years of riding due to fatigue. Lastly, carbon forks are absolutely not recommended for heavy e-bikes. Carbon wheels (or anything made of CF) are not good for heavy e-bikes either. There are severe weight limits for carbon fibre components.
 
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MarylandMike said:
Thanks, I'll look for that. My hitch has a 1.25" receiver, but maybe there's one for that size.
Click to expand...
Looking at the stats for the rack, having 2 60lb ebikes should be ok. Fastest way to lighten up the bikes is to remove the batteries before loading, as mentioned. Honestly the 1.25" receiver is your biggest weakness in your scenario esp if you do not have the kit to tighten things up.
 
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