Turbo Vado SL - suspension seat posts

D

Darth Vado SL

New Member
Region
USA
Have my Turbo Vado SL 4 EQ for 6 weeks and it's a great ride.......my only regret (besides not getting the 5 EQ which wasn't in stock) other than the rack is sore butt syndrome. I know it's a matter of personal preference, but curious as to what (lightweight) suspension seat posts others use to cushion things a bit.
 
Redshift Shockstop. I have one on my Vado as well as on my old Crosstrail, which is a hybrid very similar to the SL but without the motor. My wife raves about the one on her Trek Verve+ and when I eventually get my own SL the Vado post will move there. I weigh 160lbs and ride on rough pavement and gravel trails and roads, but not MTB terrain. It's better for things like cracks, bumps, and stones but not chuckholes, rocks, and roots. But then I'm OK about standing up over the really rough stuff. 😁 It has certainly been a back-saver so far!
 
Yup those are highly regarded. Thudbusters are a popular choice a tier down.

if you are budget limited, the SR Suntour or Satori options are also pretty well reviewed in the lower bracket. I have 2 of the Suntours, primarily because the Kinekt is obscenely expensive up here in Canada, and it get the job done more than adequately.

I tired to order a Thudbuster LT a few weeks ago for my newer bike, but couldn't find stock anywhere.
 
The eeSilk and Redshift have a max rider weight of 250 and 242 lbs respectively. The Kinekt goes up to 320 lbs and the Cane Creek Thudbuster ST (gen 4) goes to 330 lbs. This may be a criteria for some riders.
 
I bought a Satori Animaris that took two weeks to come from China. I’ve ridden with it two or three times, so far. It still probably needs some adjustments but it does work fairly well. I got it for about $75.

I felt it was a worthwhile purchase it it worked at all. If not good enough but in the right direction I might spring for a better post. if it didn’t make a difference I could live with the relatively inexpensive Satori.

So far it seems to work, but I still need to make some saddle adjustments - forward I think - as my hand position isn’t ideal.

Do something for your ass and your hands hurt. Adjust for your hands and your neck hurts. Glad it’s spring when shorter rides make sense so the various body parts can be accommodated.
 
Darth Vado SL said:
Have my Turbo Vado SL 4 EQ for 6 weeks and it's a great ride.......my only regret (besides not getting the 5 EQ which wasn't in stock) other than the rack is sore butt syndrome. I know it's a matter of personal preference, but curious as to what (lightweight) suspension seat posts others use to cushion things a bit.
Click to expand...
Thudbuster on my Turbo Vado 3 and my other None electric bike. Gonna buy one for my Turbo Vado 5 SL. Works very well, dependable and not so very expensive.
 
I’ve had the Suntour NCX on my non-electric Bianchi for quite a while, and I don’t recommend it with a slimmer bike seat such as Brooks 19 etc because the front of my seat rails “bottom out” with the NCX’s trapezoidal roller frame because of interference <<~ (my weight in tolerance days). I note though that I now exceed the maximum recommended weight by 15kg so it’s not going to work well these days anyway 😆. You can fix this by moving the seat more forwards but then you lose flexibility in adjusting your body geometry. I’m still debating other options.
 
BEC111 said:
I bought a Satori Animaris that took two weeks to come from China. I’ve ridden with it two or three times, so far. It still probably needs some adjustments but it does work fairly well. I got it for about $75.

I felt it was a worthwhile purchase it it worked at all. If not good enough but in the right direction I might spring for a better post. if it didn’t make a difference I could live with the relatively inexpensive Satori.

So far it seems to work, but I still need to make some saddle adjustments - forward I think - as my hand position isn’t ideal.

Do something for your ass and your hands hurt. Adjust for your hands and your neck hurts. Glad it’s spring when shorter rides make sense so the various body parts can be accommodated.
Click to expand...
I bought one of these and hope it gets here before the end of June so I can test it with my Allant+7.
 
Hello my first post. I currently have both the Redshift and Kinekt on three of my ebikes. The Redshifts are on my Vado SL and Como. Functionally both work equally well and I love them both. Aesthetically there is no contest. The Redshift is much more pleasing to the eye and minimalist looking. It just doesn't scream suspension from a distance. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 

Attachments

  • suspension.jpg
    suspension.jpg
    792.7 KB · Views: 498
  • suspension2.jpg
    suspension2.jpg
    906 KB · Views: 491
YYZblues said:
Hello my first post. I currently have both the Redshift and Kinekt on three of my ebikes. The Redshifts are on my Vado SL and Como. Functionally both work equally well and I love them both. Aesthetically there is no contest. The Redshift is much more pleasing to the eye and minimalist looking. It just doesn't scream suspension from a distance. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your post. I use Kinekt on full Vado but Redshift looks promising for my future Vado SL. The price of Redshift is currently better, too.
 
YYZblues said:
Hello my first post. I currently have both the Redshift and Kinekt on three of my ebikes. The Redshifts are on my Vado SL and Como. Functionally both work equally well and I love them both. Aesthetically there is no contest. The Redshift is much more pleasing to the eye and minimalist looking. It just doesn't scream suspension from a distance. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Click to expand...
Interesting that you seem to have two nice but presumably firm leather saddles. Welcome to the forum.
 
Here’s a vote for Kinekt. Mine arrived today. Beautiful workmanship & feels great. Shall see how it goes on a proper longer ride this weekend.
 
I had the Kinekt on my 1st e-bike, the 2nd one too (Super Commuter 8), then I tried the Redshift, did not like so I gave it to my wife.
I then got one (Kinekt) for my Turbo Vado 5 and had to exchange it for the "XL" version because even with the most precise tweaking, the basic version would always bottom out (yes with the heavier spring). So the XL (for those over 240 lbs) solved my problem and I got all the travel and comfort needed, could not be happier (by the way I'm 225 lbs, so regardless of the specification for 240 lbs and up, it's working better for me)
However, I did my 2nd ride today on the Vado SL 5 just acquired this week and I have bleeding Hemroids! (no dietary contributions, just a miserably sore saddle).
So, upon removing the seat and post to see the wire that lights the back of the seat (the way it is routed through the tube/stem) my question is for those who have an SL with the seatback light....did you keep it, was it an item that could be transferred to a new seat or is it a lost cause? Specifically, can the Kinekt have the ability to route the wire through it?
 
GuruUno said:
I had the Kinekt on my 1st e-bike, the 2nd one too (Super Commuter 8), then I tried the Redshift, did not like so I gave it to my wife.
I then got one (Kinekt) for my Turbo Vado 5 and had to exchange it for the "XL" version because even with the most precise tweaking, the basic version would always bottom out (yes with the heavier spring). So the XL (for those over 240 lbs) solved my problem and I got all the travel and comfort needed, could not be happier (by the way I'm 225 lbs, so regardless of the specification for 240 lbs and up, it's working better for me)
However, I did my 2nd ride today on the Vado SL 5 just acquired this week and I have bleeding Hemroids! (no dietary contributions, just a miserably sore saddle).
So, upon removing the seat and post to see the wire that lights the back of the seat (the way it is routed through the tube/stem) my question is for those who have an SL with the seatback light....did you keep it, was it an item that could be transferred to a new seat or is it a lost cause? Specifically, can the Kinekt have the ability to route the wire through it?
Click to expand...
I'm not surprised about your Redshift experience as I think it works better for lighter riders. I weigh 70lbs less than you and it works great for me whereas the Kinect looked too much like overkill for me.

I will also be moving my Redshift to the SL when I get it and have already planned on removing the taillight, as based on some other threads here it's not going to work with the Redshift and probably not with the Kinect either. No loss since I'll be using a Varia in circumstances where I need a light at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

GAJ
SOLD Brand New front and rear fender set + rear rack for Turbo Vado SL
Replies
0
Views
522
GAJ
GAJ
B
Made the move to a Turbo Vado SL 4.0
Replies
5
Views
3K
Marquezdl
M
M
Contemplating the Specialized Vado or the Vado SL?
2 3
Replies
50
Views
4K
AvalancheRun
AvalancheRun
C
Turbo Vado SL 5.0 EQ
Replies
5
Views
2K
e300zoom
E
J
Vado SL EQ rear rack with backroller AND Box?
Replies
6
Views
1K
Stefan Mikes
Stefan Mikes
Back