Turbo Vado 4.0 Rear Light

[PedroR]

During the second ride on my new Vado 4.0 I noticed that the rear light was no longer working. Looking at it closely once I got home saw that the cable which powers the light had been rubbing on the tire and was severed. Since the bike is less than a month old the repairs are under warranty but I can see that if there is sufficient slack on the cable this may happen again. Overall I truly love this bike but see this as a minor design weakness. (The cable is routed in a groove on the underside of the rear fender up to the rack. The issue is that the transition from the fender groove, up through a grommet opening at the top of the fender leaves the cable exposed at that point and very close to the tire.)

 

[kahn]

During the second ride on my new Vado 4.0 I noticed that the rear light was no longer working. Looking at it closely once I got home saw that the cable which powers the light had been rubbing on the tire and was severed. Since the bike is less than a month old the repairs are under warranty but I can see that if there is sufficient slack on the cable this may happen again. Overall I truly love this bike but see this as a minor design weakness. (The cable is routed in a groove on the underside of the rear fender up to the rack. The issue is that the transition from the fender groove, up through a grommet opening at the top of the fender leaves the cable exposed at that point and very close to the tire.)

Glad they are fixing it under warranty. I'd ask if they can protect it better in some way. Are you using larger tires?

 

[PedroR]

The tires that came with the bike are 27.5/2.3. There is not a great deal of clearance between these tires and the fender. I will have to check periodically once I get the bike back. Unfortunately the shop is quite backed-up so the earliest I'll get it back is in two weeks.

 

[Allan47.7339]

I use Natshua aluminum foil duct tape over the wires on the inside of my rear fenders. It is usually found in the heating and cooling section of hardware stores or on amazon. It is not the same as the generic knock off low quality duct (aka duck) tape in the general tape section that most people use around the house. It's more expensive and it will protect the wires and not come off.

 

[PedroR]

Allan, thank you I will definitely give the HVAC foil tape a try.

 

[Sefutau2020]

Thank you for this post. I purchased my Vado 4 in June, and just noticed a few days ago, the rear light was NOT coming on. Upon inspection, same thing, wire severed near the tire. I am running 2.4 vs 2.3...and that might account for it, but it seems like a small design flaw on an otherwise great bike. I never ride at night anyway, so the light NOT working is not a biggie. Besides, I always wear reflective clothing and a light on my helmet.