Turbo Vado SL 5.0 and Specialized App - Range Extender

[Cycologist]

Did a 30 mile ride with the new range extender while I had it in RE Discharge First mode. Got about 20 miles out of it and I used Turbo mode a bit more, which I almost never do. It was fun! That bike can go fast!

Shortly after when the RE battery got down to 1 bar, I switched back to dual mode.
I'm going to try and ride in dual discharge mode next time to see how that works.
One of my goals is to try and minimize the internal battery charge cycles by utilizing the RE battery.

I really wish there was a way to use the RE battery first and then have it seamlessly switch to the internal battery without having to stop and change modes.

One strange thing I noticed is that the black elastic band used to keep the battery secure turned completely white by the end of my ride.
Turns out it was attracting dust from the trail and it stuck on there pretty good. I do most of my riding on crushed limestone and dirt trails.
I'm still learning to trust those Pathfinder Sport tires. My old bike has Schwalbe Landcruiser Plus tires which grip pretty good on that type of terrain.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I really wish there was a way to use the RE battery first and then have it seamlessly switch to the internal battery without having to stop and change modes.

Just wait until the RE gets at 5% (or so). It will automatically switch off, and you will get a fresh boost from the main battery. Or, disconnect the top RE plug at 10%. No need to change the modes!

 

[Cycologist]

I'll have to try that. The docs for the bike say that it will lose power below a certain level though. Isn't that kind of distracting during a ride?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'll have to try that. The docs for the bike say that it will lose power below a certain level though. Isn't that kind of distracting during a ride?

The loss of the power is prominent below 10% battery charge, be it the RE or the main battery. It is done by the SL system to protect batteries against damage or premature wear. If this happens in the middle of the steep climb, it is definitely distracting!

I was on a big gravel group ride once. As fast riding was expected, I was using 80/80% assistance for primary riding, 100/100% when I had to catch up with the group on asphalt or 60/60% when I was riding with tired cyclists by the end of the ride. I had multiple Range Extenders with me. After, say, 57 km into the ride, both the main battery and the 1st RE of my Vado SL were already spent (I was riding in the dual mode). Then I was swapping the RE for a fresh one as needed. After some 70 miles, we finished the group ride and I was about to ride back home. One of the remaining REs was at some 25% while another was well below 20%. As I was pedalling to the train station, I had to negotiate a single serious climb en route. Guess what? The current RE went below 10% as I was in the middle of the climb! I wept, stopped, swapped the RE and then finished the climb

The general advice is to ride an SL e-bike in the dual mode for long demanding trips but "discharge RE first" on any predictably short ride within the 85% of the RE capacity. Before the RE drops below 10%, I would stop and simply unplug the top of the RE cable from the battery then continue the ride. (The discharge mode change is never required).

 

[BikeOn]

I have spent over an hour with Specialized Support on this and other topics...here is some additional feedback....

• The support tech showed me where use RE first was (as you all have so kindly done)
• No detailed charge level in the APP for RE's (this was in MC)
• You can no longer read serial number or firmware versions in the APP (available in MC).
• To get current firmware details and know whether you need an update, you must manually provide your serial number to support at Specialized, or take your bike to the dealer. No way to check otherwise. This has to make support harder for customers as well as dealers and feels like a reversion to the bad old days of the original TURBO (aka 2015 - 2017)
• The only way to know when to change RE's when using "use RE first" mode is to let the thing run down until the battery management drops assist down to ECO level no matter what (10-15% left?). This always happens to me when climbing a steep hill.
• I use a Garmin Edge Explore 2 and like it a lot (except for reporting battery status!) That is just about the only reason I used Mission Control during a ride, to verify individual battery charge status. I used Mission Control to verify firmware (know when to go to the dealer), set the "RE use first" (which I can do in SA), and set ECO/SPORT/TURBO assist levels (which I can do in SA).

All in all, I am not terribly happy with the APP and would use Mission Control if I could. However, within the limits of what it claims to do, I suppose it works fairly well and is light years ahead of early versions of Mission Control that I lived through with my original 2015 Turbo (with Turbo S battery).

I just read thru all the posts about the vado not turning on. That is what mine is doing. It came on just for a second to show batteries level - good. This happened once before but when I started riding it, it came on. Not this time. Nothing to do wth stealth mode - that just hides the lights, but the motor is on. Also, like many I was forced to download the new Specialized App, and now the app doesn't even recognize my Vado, only my Levo. I also have three RE and will be very disappointed if they removed the ability to use RE first. I camp alot so can not always recharge right away, which is why I own three. I have about 5500 miles on this bike and have had so many issues that cost me money (factory chain wrong size - for cog wheel, and this and that). Now I'll have to go to the Spec shop again and pay more money to get this computer issue fixed. Just not right - had no idea they would build a bike that would require me to go to dealer for updates. 100% to boost their sales. Bought it due to light weight - and love riding it when all is good - but upkeep is a big costly hassle. Any suggestions?