The ride continues.
In May of this year (2019), the 4th motor failed on my 2018 Vado 5.0. Again a loaner was provided by by
Cynergy while Specialized decided what to do.
At this time I began to explore Internal Gear Hubs and belt drives as a possible solution and test rode a few bikes with them including Riese & Muller Electric Bikes from
Propel in Long Beach. The R&M bikes are nice and super cushy with the full suspension. I did not get a chance to really test the Rohloff E-14 hub but the short rides left me convinced it was nice option. I worked with
Cycle Monkey quite a bit to spec and coordinate the installation of a Rohloff Hub into my Vado and came pretty close to going that route (and may still).
Then Specialized offered to swap my 2018 Vado 5.0 with a new 2020 Vado 5.0 and shared the following:
" - last motor we replaced was from order# XXXXXX in Dec./Jan. I did open a Quality investigation (QPR) about the belt issues and there was apparently an issue with some of the belts that Brose was using. They have fixed this issue. However, we have likely seen this issue again with this customer because we only ever got one initial shipment of the correct replacement motor (the 1.2S motor / S176800005) for this customer from Brose and that was a pretty early on shipment from quite a while ago.
As for the warranty, any replacement part, example being the motor sent out in Dec./Jan., comes with a new warranty. So, the last replacement warranty ships out with a new 2-year warranty on the motor. "
This was helpful information. It was also nice to hear that the replacement motors would have a rolling warranty of 2 years.
And then, while waiting for that new bike and riding the loaner, I was hit by a Lyft Driver on Main St. in Santa Monica. The bike was totaled and I somehow just ended up with a scratch on my finger. I quickly learned about the world of insurance negotiation and managed get a couple g's.
For the last 5 months I have been riding the 2020 Vado 5.0. So far I'm 3,100 miles in on this bike with no motor failure, 3 chain replacements and only one cassette replacement. That is an improvement compared to the earlier model which required a new motor every 2000 miles and a new chain / cassette every 700 miles. The bike feels more snappy and responsive than the previous versions. I can accelerate and hold high speeds more easily.
As for the specialized mission control, I've used it once, maybe twice. I spend 8+ hours on my bike a week, I don't like using GPS (data) on my phone more than I need into. For those who are concerned about not having it, I recommend you stop worrying about it and just ride your bike. Although I did adjust the settings of the assist levels such that I can reach 28 mph with some mild effort in the mid speed assist. I now reserve the fastest setting for high traffic areas where accelerating faster feels safer.
I missed the mirror and horn on the 2018 vado. They should bring the horn and mirror back. I bought the
Toptrek Bicycle Bell 100 db Cycling Electric Bike Bell which works fairly well. I use the horn everyday. I retained the mirror from my 2018 Vado and have it installed.
For brake pads, I've started using
SHIMANO J02A Resin Disc Brake Pad Pair which work great and last about 2000 miles. A bike mechanic told me that they should be more durable than the OEM brake pads.
The bike still has some electrical connection concerns where the assist is lost. This can sometimes occur after going over a bump. It now manifests this disconnect by displaying 'no battery' on the display which does not mean it needs a new battery. My fix includes restarting the bike, taking out and reinstalling the battery, and cleaning the magnet on the rear rotor. If all that fails, I have Cynergy install a new shim in the battery housing which usually does the job.
The
Trigger Sport tires on the 2020 Vado wore out a lot faster than the
Electrak 2.0 Armadillo tires I had on the 2018 Vado. My 2018 tires went 8000+ miles with no replacements. This 2020 bike looks as though it will need a tire replacement at 3500 miles. Anyone ever switch their front and rear tire (rotate tires)? After having a hard time finding correctly sized replacement tubes. I recently bought
Duro Bicycle tubes which appear to be working well.
I now have a 3 year old boy and 1 year old boy. Both are great and all-consuming. This bike provides me 100 minutes of head space everyday.