Turbo Vado SL 5.0 - questions

[luka1002]

I do a lot of commuting every month, and using my bike for travel to work is super for me. Sometimes i do longer trips, 80+ km in one direction so i need to gear up ....

Need a travel 3rd-party charger if possible lightweight . It would be used on longer trips insted of battery-extender (which i do not have, and here in Croatia it costs around 600 € + cable).

Also thinking about removing the 25km/h limit, but i would like device that i could setup & forget. I do not want to use phone for electronics to be operational. Also deactivating is also an bonus....

Thx
Luka

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Need a travel 3rd-party charger if possible lightweight .

Just buy a second Specialized SL charger. Specialized solutions are highly proprietary, and you would not certainly like waking up in the middle of the battery fire? Besides, full charging of the SL battery takes 2 h 35 minutes but I am sure you are well aware of it.

t would be used on longer trips insted of battery-extender (which i do not have, and here in Croatia it costs around 600 € + cable).

EUR600 for an RE? Croatia must be an expensive country. The list price for Poland reads €511, and I usually get a 10% discount at the Specialized dealership. Yes, you need a SL Cable (Road 220 mm) and possibly the SL Y Cable for charging both batteries in parallel. I think going for an RE is a very practical way. You would forget the cost soon!

For your information, the Main Battery + RE give me around 116 km in either 40/100 or 55/55% assistance, very mild hills (like, 400 m of elevation gain for the distance).
------------------------

Also thinking about removing the 25km/h limit, but i would like device that i could setup & forget.

Although I would not like to see you on the Dark Side, derestricting a Vado SL is doable.

See PearTune from Pear-Control (it is a Czech company). The unit is provided with a very good instruction; however, the installation is pretty tricky. In the past, PearTune came in two flavours:

• The version activated by the handlebar remote
• The Always On version (set & forget).

My choice in the past was an older version activated from the remote. Now, I am glad I did not choose the Always On version! During the long use, the chip started producing Motor Error very often. Nothing to stop you riding but very annoying. I do not activate the Pear Tune often nowadays as I have learned riding more slowly and happily

Besides, do not think you would be able to ride much faster with the derestricted Vado SL. The motor is not strong, and the flat handlebar e-bike hits the air drag at some 34 km/h when you are in Turbo. The battery charge disappears very quickly when you are trying to ride fast!

 

[luka1002]

Just buy a second Specialized SL charger. Specialized solutions are highly proprietary, and you would not certainly like waking up in the middle of the battery fire? Besides, full charging of the SL battery takes 2 h 35 minutes but I am sure you are well aware of it.



EUR600 for an RE? Croatia must be an expensive country. The list price for Poland reads €511, and I usually get a 10% discount at the Specialized dealership. Yes, you need a SL Cable (Road 220 mm) and possibly the SL Y Cable for charging both batteries in parallel. I think going for an RE is a very practical way. You would forget the cost soon!

For your information, the Main Battery + RE give me around 116 km in either 40/100 or 55/55% assistance, very mild hills (like, 400 m of elevation gain for the distance).
------------------------

Although I would not like to see you on the Dark Side, derestricting a Vado SL is doable.

See PearTune from Pear-Control (it is a Czech company). The unit is provided with a very good instruction; however, the installation is pretty tricky. In the past, PearTune came in two flavours:

• The version activated by the handlebar remote
• The Always On version (set & forget).

My choice in the past was an older version activated from the remote. Now, I am glad I did not choose the Always On version! During the long use, the chip started producing Motor Error very often. Nothing to stop you riding but very annoying. I do not activate the Pear Tune often nowadays as I have learned riding more slowly and happily

Besides, do not think you would be able to ride much faster with the derestricted Vado SL. The motor is not strong, and the flat handlebar e-bike hits the air drag at some 34 km/h when you are in Turbo. The battery charge disappears very quickly when you are trying to ride fast!

Thank you for your answer .
I do mostly 20/100 or 25/100 and i can do in this mode around 90km (even more if there is no wind). Last weekend i did 76km with 49% of battery left.
I did test consumption on hill (local hill). Elevation is around 1000m and distance is around 20km. On 25/100 i leave battery with 55%-60%, on 100/100 only 23%. did not test other modes, but i figure out that anything above 50/xx consumes battery like crazy.

Well we have only one dealer here so..... no competition.

Will think about charger ,what i was having in mind is something small for take to trip. usually i do not need more battery ,but i would like to go on trip with 140 km+.
About derestricting.. Peartune is ok, but ability to remove it before going into service is really low . I was hoping for something like Levociraptor that mount on TCU, but i do not know can i use it without phone....
Was hoping for 35 km/h + ... will think about it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

i figure out that anything above 50/xx consumes battery like crazy.

In my experience it is above 60/60 (if you shift the Max Motor Power parameter the same way as the Assist). I can see you are a strong rider. Couldn't you Luka just set the Max Motor Power a little back? The second parameter takes the biggest effect on the battery consumption. I think you need the xx/100% only for steep climbs!

Well we have only one dealer here so..... no competition.

Yes, I can see... You even cannot do an online purchase from Specialized.com! Have you tried to google the phrase "Specialized SL Range Extender Deutschland Preis"? I wonder if any of the German online stores ships batteries to Croatia?

Will think about charger

Is there any reason you could not just pack your existing charger into a pannier and take it for a ride? (For me, using a restaurant or cafe and waiting there for over two hours would be unbearable especially as I would have to bring the e-bike inside; tried that once and do not want to repeat it!)

About derestricting.. Peartune is ok, but ability to remove it before going into service is really low .

A funny thing... Nothing that would require a Specialized LBS to look inside my Vado SL happened during the warranty term. I brought my e-bike in Specialized Warsaw just after the warranty expired and asked the guys there to update the firmware on the e-bike, main battery, and my 4 Range Extenders (!!!) As I am a respected customer, they did not make any fuss. I half expect any reasonable dealer in Poland wouldn't even try to comment the derestrictor as we Poles are quite an anarchist nation It could be different to your dealer though. (Of course if the system broke and that could be caused by the chip, relying on the warranty could be hard).

Levociraptor

Dependent on the smartphone, BLEvo. Is your Vado SL Gen 1 or Mastermind?

Wouldn't the Croatian product named Planet3 be applicable?

E-Bike Derestriction Kits - PLANET3.Bike

www.planet3.bike

Was hoping for 35 km/h + ... will think about it.

Very hard even on the flat and with no wind. Doable with the tailwind and of course on declines.
Again, the power demand grows in the third power with the speed increase because of the air drag. I specifically do not derestrict my Vado SL on long trips to conserve the battery charge!

 

[Camasonian]

Turbo Vado 5.0 owner here.

I haven't tried to de-restrict mine. It already runs at 28mph and on flats I usually have trouble getting up to that speed anyway. So you may not actually gain much. Mine is an American version that is already Class 3 so what you have available in Europe may be different. But even if I de-restricted mine I wouldn't actually be going faster.

That said, 80 km range and derestricting speed are at cross purposes with each other. Your battery burn rate will go up geometrically the faster you drive the motor. So if you are wanting more range out of the bike you should be thinking about riding slower not faster. If you are cruising along at say 30 mph or higher then there is zero chance you'll get anything remotely like 80 km of range out of that bike.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Camasonian: The speed restriction in Europe is 15.5 mph so a desire to derestrict is understandable there.

Your Vado has 565 W peak power motor. Vado SL has 240 W peak power. Your Vado has a 710 Wh battery. Vado SL battery is 320 Wh etc.
Hard to get at a higher speed without burning a lot of electricity.

That said, 80 km range and derestricting speed are at cross purposes with each other. Your battery burn rate will go up geometrically the faster you drive the motor. So if you are wanting more range out of the bike you should be thinking about riding slower not faster.

These observations are correct.

 

[Camasonian]

@Camasonian: The speed restriction in Europe is 15.5 mph so a desire to derestrict is understandable there.

Your Vado has 565 W peak power motor. Vado SL has 240 W peak power. Your Vado has a 710 Wh battery. Vado SL battery is 320 Wh etc.
Hard to get at a higher speed without burning a lot of electricity.


These observations are correct.

Sorry, I missed the SL part of the post. Obviously the SL is a very different bike.

 

[luka1002]

In my experience it is above 60/60 (if you shift the Max Motor Power parameter the same way as the Assist). I can see you are a strong rider. Couldn't you Luka just set the Max Motor Power a little back? The second parameter takes the biggest effect on the battery consumption. I think you need the xx/100% only for steep climbs!

Will try that..

Yes, I can see... You even cannot do an online purchase from Specialized.com! Have you tried to google the phrase "Specialized SL Range Extender Deutschland Preis"? I wonder if any of the German online stores ships batteries to Croatia?

I tried to order it from Germany but it is only for Germany ,they do not ship it outside. (Bike24). They all have problem to ship batteries to Croatia ,even amazon (coz it is "hazzard" or something like that)

Is there any reason you could not just pack your existing charger into a pannier and take it for a ride? (For me, using a restaurant or cafe and waiting there for over two hours would be unbearable especially as I would have to bring the e-bike inside; tried that once and do not want to repeat it!)

It is too big, but it is an option. Well i would do it in restaurant on terrace, and sometimes i need only half an hour to get to destination. But the one plan that i have includes tent and 90 km in one direction with sleeping in nature. So there i could use charger for next day to get home.

A funny thing... Nothing that would require a Specialized LBS to look inside my Vado SL happened during the warranty term. I brought my e-bike in Specialized Warsaw just after the warranty expired and asked the guys there to update the firmware on the e-bike, main battery, and my 4 Range Extenders (!!!) As I am a respected customer, they did not make any fuss. I half expect any reasonable dealer in Poland wouldn't even try to comment the derestrictor as we Poles are quite an anarchist nation It could be different to your dealer though. (Of course if the system broke and that could be caused by the chip, relying on the warranty could be hard).

I know but if they find it.... well will think about it

Dependent on the smartphone, BLEvo. Is your Vado SL Gen 1 or Mastermind?

Wouldn't the Croatian product named Planet3 be applicable?

E-Bike Derestriction Kits - PLANET3.Bike

www.planet3.bike

Mine is 2023 version .Mastermind, but "depended on smartphone" i want to avoid
Planet 3 is ok but speed recorder and showed is 3 times lower that real speed so .... not for me.

Very hard even on the flat and with no wind. Doable with the tailwind and of course on declines.
Again, the power demand grows in the third power with the speed increase because of the air drag. I specifically do not derestrict my Vado SL on long trips to conserve the battery charge!

Today i managed on flat surface get to 43 km/h for 3 min with no wind, i did little training of intervals . It is easy for me to get up the 34 - 35, then i need a lot of work and my hart-rate goes around 155-165 ,which means that i need to practise

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Mine is 2023 version .Mastermind, but "depended on smartphone" i want to avoid

Just to make you fully aware: BLEvo does not work with Mastermind e-bikes.

 

[luka1002]

Just to make you fully aware: BLEvo does not work with Mastermind e-bikes.

they have GEN 3 which does work with mastermind if am not wrong, but smartphone is an problem. for now i will stay in original form, and if something comes will think about it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

they have GEN 3 which does work with mastermind if am not wrong, but smartphone is an problem. for now i will stay in original form, and if something comes will think about it.

Could you be more precise? What is Gen 3? BLEvo?

 

[luka1002]

Could you be more precise? What is Gen 3? BLEvo?

I have found this : Levociraptor Gen 3 for Levo 2019-2023, Kenevo 2020-2023, Levo SL, Creo SL, Vado SL

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I have found this : Levociraptor Gen 3 for Levo 2019-2023, Kenevo 2020-2023, Levo SL, Creo SL, Vado SL

It is very interesting!
As I can read, you can use the Levociraptor Gen 3 without the smartphone. Also interesting is BLEvo was upgraded for Mastermind systems. I wonder if Levociraptor is necessary to make BLEvo work with Mastermind.

 

[luka1002]

It is very interesting!
As I can read, you can use the Levociraptor Gen 3 without the smartphone. Also interesting is BLEvo was upgraded for Mastermind systems. I wonder if Levociraptor is necessary to make BLEvo work with Mastermind.

Yes, but, most features like power reading, assistance , and mostly all features except speed & distance can be used only with Blevo App.
If that is not the case, i would have it ....

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Yes, but, most features like power reading, assistance , and mostly all features except speed & distance can be used only with Blevo App.
If that is not the case, i would have it ....

Hey Luka. It looks Levociraptor Gen 3 produces the speed and distance on an external device (Garmin, Wahoo, or even the inexpensive TCD). Why would you need more, really? Either you want to ride faster OR you need all the fancy data

 

[luka1002]

Hey Luka. It looks Levociraptor Gen 3 produces the speed and distance on an external device (Garmin, Wahoo, or even the inexpensive TCD). Why would you need more, really? Either you want to ride faster OR you need all the fancy data

I use garmin for collecting data from my rides and checking my fitness ,with Levociraptor, most of data would be inaccurate. Still thinking about it, should i do it or not

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Still thinking about it, should i do it or not

If you do not ride in a group, just get used to it

 

[2wheelsgood]

Is the Levociraptor an easy install? I had a look at the pear tune and it looks a pain.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I had a look at the pear tune and it looks a pain.

It is a pain.

Vado SL tuning?

Stefan thanks. This is quite interesting. I had a look at another website today that sells it. They had a diagram for a Levo (below). Apparently the normal version uses the “Walk” button to turn on and off. I don’t even know if my new Vado SL has this button, if not it’s the always on version of...

forums.electricbikereview.com

 

[luka1002]

Is the Levociraptor an easy install? I had a look at the pear tune and it looks a pain.

There are instructions on youtube and it seems like 5 mins job.