Vado 5.0

[Jim Hansen]

Got my Vado a week and a half ago. so far I am really liking the bike, but having a couple issues.

First one is, every once in a while just after I start pedaling, a metallic pop is coming from the bottom bracket area. doing a search, it sounds like this is a problem that others have had. It sounds like a motor change is what Specialized does to fix it. anyone actually knows what is causing the popping? BTW, my dealer knows about this and has a note into the local rep.

Had a new one happen the other day, when I selected turbo mode (full power) the bike was acting like it was still in sport mode but would start accelerating to full power but very quickly would back off to sport mode, never would reach full power. this happened at the end of a ride and I was thinking it was a high temp protection mode (which I have heard is really a thing that can happen) . I charged the bike up and the next day I did a test ride and Turbo was not working. As I would ride in turbo mode you could feel a surge like it was thinking about going to full power, but would back right down to sport mode. When I got back home, I decided to pull the battery off the bike. I left it off for about 5 minutes, reinstalled the battery and went for a ride. Turbo mode worked perfect. Did I reset the controller by removing the battery? Why would that happen and will I have to do this all the time? this problem has also been reported to my dealer but curious if anyone else has experienced this behavior?

 

[Jim Hansen]

update

two simple fixes were tried and did not work. they tried torquing the motor bolts for the pop. the surge was addressed by a piece of shrink wrap on a unused battery pin.

Ended up installing a new motor over the weekend and fixed both problems.

 

[Bud in Denver]

Got my Vado a week and a half ago. so far I am really liking the bike, but having a couple issues.

First one is, every once in a while just after I start pedaling, a metallic pop is coming from the bottom bracket area. doing a search, it sounds like this is a problem that others have had. It sounds like a motor change is what Specialized does to fix it. anyone actually knows what is causing the popping? BTW, my dealer knows about this and has a note into the local rep.

Had a new one happen the other day, when I selected turbo mode (full power) the bike was acting like it was still in sport mode but would start accelerating to full power but very quickly would back off to sport mode, never would reach full power. this happened at the end of a ride and I was thinking it was a high temp protection mode (which I have heard is really a thing that can happen) . I charged the bike up and the next day I did a test ride and Turbo was not working. As I would ride in turbo mode you could feel a surge like it was thinking about going to full power, but would back right down to sport mode. When I got back home, I decided to pull the battery off the bike. I left it off for about 5 minutes, reinstalled the battery and went for a ride. Turbo mode worked perfect. Did I reset the controller by removing the battery? Why would that happen and will I have to do this all the time? this problem has also been reported to my dealer but curious if anyone else has experienced this behavior?

Hi Jim! Got my Vado 5.0 July 13 and have currently over 2700 miles --- not completely trouble-free. I live in Denver and Bike Source on Colorado is my choice for Specialized. I had experienced similar issues to what you detailed and (in a nutshell) for me it was how the battery seats in it's cradle. Mine was cracked and thereby the contacts weren't properly seated. Bet that will fix yours too. Good luck! As for the pop I occasionally get a similar sound and find if I clean/lube chain frequently, my sound is all but eliminated. Additionally, my tech changed out chain at 2k and mentioned that I'll need to swap the chainring soon as it's softer steel than the chain and wears. Again, good luck!!

 

[Bud in Denver]

Specialized Turbo Vado 5.0 - How to restart or reset? Bike won't turn on or charge

Hello all - I'm new to the forum.

I charged my bike to 100% a couple of weeks ago before going on an international trip. I just returned today. Bike won't turn on. Pressed the power button and nothing happened. I removed the battery and tried again. I also tried charging on and off the bike, but nothing happened. I believe there's a reset procedure I need to do.

Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

Bummer! Sounds like something for your Specialized shop... probably been there already. Any chance it started for you? I'm certain all Vado 5.0 owners are curious for the outcome... Thanks Bud in Denver

 

[Erick L]

Bummer! Sounds like something for your Specialized shop... probably been there already. Any chance it started for you? I'm certain all Vado 5.0 owners are curious for the outcome... Thanks Bud in Denver

Turns out I got a defective battery. Specialized is shiping a new battery to my LBS. I'm picking it up tomorrow. Can't wait to ride it again.

 

[MPDX]

Erick, did it fix your problem?

 

[Erick L]

Erick, did it fix your problem?

Yes. The new battery solved my problem. The colder weather, however, shortens my range. Normally, I still have 60% left (after a 20-mile commute). Now, I get 45-50%

 

[Erick L]

Hi Jim! Got my Vado 5.0 July 13 and have currently over 2700 miles --- not completely trouble-free. I live in Denver and Bike Source on Colorado is my choice for Specialized. I had experienced similar issues to what you detailed and (in a nutshell) for me it was how the battery seats in it's cradle. Mine was cracked and thereby the contacts weren't properly seated. Bet that will fix yours too. Good luck! As for the pop I occasionally get a similar sound and find if I clean/lube chain frequently, my sound is all but eliminated. Additionally, my tech changed out chain at 2k and mentioned that I'll need to swap the chainring soon as it's softer steel than the chain and wears. Again, good luck!!

Hi Bud - I got my Vado 5.0 in July and just broke 1000 miles. Does Specialized recommend chain, cassette and chain ring replacement every 2K miles?

I havent had flat tire yet. How many have you had in 2700 miles? Hope none.

 

[Dale M.]

Hi Bud - I got my Vado 5.0 in July and just broke 1000 miles. Does Specialized recommend chain, cassette and chain ring replacement every 2K miles?

I havent had flat tire yet. How many have you had in 2700 miles? Hope none.

I am about to break 1000 miles on my 5.0. Riding it since Sept. 9th. Three flats on the rear tire so far. My commute to work on bike trails passes through some sketchy areas, homeless camps and young people hangouts. I have to watch for glass all the time. If I keep up the tire inspections I can usually pull out glass before it works its way through the tire. I can change out the rear tube in under 10 minutes now, I use C02 and carry a Mountain Morph pump.

On my previous road bike I would change the chain about twice a year, typically every 2000 miles. This helps you from having to replace the cassette and the chainring. I would expect the same on this bike. FYI- I never changed the chainring on my previous road bike which had over 50000 miles. I did change the cassette a few times.

 

[E-Wheels]

I am about to break 1000 miles on my 5.0. Riding it since Sept. 9th. Three flats on the rear tire so far. My commute to work on bike trails passes through some sketchy areas, homeless camps and young people hangouts. I have to watch for glass all the time. If I keep up the tire inspections I can usually pull out glass before it works its way through the tire. I can change out the rear tube in under 10 minutes now, I use C02 and carry a Mountain Morph pump.

On my previous road bike I would change the chain about twice a year, typically every 2000 miles. This helps you from having to replace the cassette and the chainring. I would expect the same on this bike. FYI- I never changed the chainring on my previous road bike which had over 50000 miles. I did change the cassette a few times.

Have you considered changing your tyres to something which offers greater puncture protection
The Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre gets very good reviews https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/Marathon_Plus_HS440

 

[Luv2ride]

Have you considered changing your tyres to something which offers greater puncture protection
The Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre gets very good reviews https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/Marathon_Plus_HS440

I also use Mr. Tuffy liners.

 

[Dale M.]

I have considered it. I used the Schwalbe Marathon Plus on my previous road bike for the last few years. They aren't puncture proof but they are very durable. You still have to inspect them on a regular basis to remove anything you might have picked up along the way.

I will be changing over to them soon after I get some decent mileage out of these OEM tires.

Thanks for the reminder.

 

[bazzapage]

I really like the look of the tyres on the Vado 5.0; if you aren't having puncture issues I'd say keep them. I have Schwalbe Energizer Plus on my Turbo S and have over 10,000km zero problems, but I think the original tyres felt nicer, and despite being slicks are better in the wet. I just never ever ever want to remove the rear wheel to fix a puncture on the road -- with a Vado it's not so much of a problem.

 

[MPDX]

Dale were you getting flats on the stock armadillos? I thought those were suppose to be extremely puncture resistant.

 

[Dale M.]

Yes, the stock Armadillos. This last puncture was a safety pin. I heard it right away, stopped and pulled it out. I didn't notice any leak at that time. A few miles later and the tire was getting soft. The first two flats were caused by the same piece of glass. When the tire went flat I found and removed a piece of glass from the tire. I put in a new tube and kept riding. The hole from glass caused the next flat. I had to patch the tire on the inside to prevent this from happening again. If I would have done more inspections I could've found the glass before it worked its way to the tube.

 

[Lexter]

update

two simple fixes were tried and did not work. they tried torquing the motor bolts for the pop. the surge was addressed by a piece of shrink wrap on a unused battery pin.

Ended up installing a new motor over the weekend and fixed both problems.

I returned one Turbo Vado 5.0, because the dealer couldn't solve similar problems. After buying a second one (another dealer), I've had similar issues. So, you may end up with these problems with your new motor, too.

The problems I've encountered: I've experienced power drop-outs: e.g., on a hill, Turbo mode would be disabled (Sport mode, too), as the system would revert into Eco mode. One symptom allowed me to predict when this would happen: upon powering up the bike, the computer screen would show a dead battery, even though the batter had plenty of power. I'm hoping that future firmware updates will resolve the issue. Meanwhile, I have found at least one sure-bet way of avoiding the problems (and maybe a second way, too.)

The first seem analogous to the need (with some computers and cell phones) for regular reboots, with the system then running again like new, after the reboot. To accomplish this full reboot, I'd typically need to do two things: first, remove the battery; second (while removed), use the reset button on the back of the computer. (You can then replace the battery.) I'm not positive that both of these actions are required, nor about the importance of this particular order. I just know that whenever I'd do this, the system would then run like new. I got into a habit of doing this at least once a week, and it completely eliminated the problems. (As it happens, I need regularly to reboot my phone, too.)

I'm less certain about a second way of avoiding the problems, as I've only been trying this for a couple of weeks, now. Here, the point is always to remove the computer when charging the battery. I don't know why that would matter, but so far it seems to have helped. (I haven't yet ruled out that in fact it hasn't helped at all, and that the apparent success is owed to the first of my solutions.

Putting to the side this pesky issue, this is an awesome machine! I've got a little over a 1000 miles on my bike, and I absolutely love commuting with it.

 

[Jeffr]

I had similar issues which I resolved by cleaning the contacts in the battery using a very thin narrow metal file and lubing with Phil Wood waterproof grease. Since doing that I have had no further issues with the display showing no charge when the battery had plenty. 1000 miles on this fix with no problems. I love my 5.0 but we early adopters are "beta testers", and we need to share tips with each other here!

 

[reoutput]

About chains, Check with your LBS to see if they can check the wear on the chain. Everyone has a different tool they prefer, I use the Park Tool chain checker and found that in four months the chain that came on my X was blown out. Bought the sram 1071 chain and got at least 4K out of that chain which retails for around $70.

There is no real sound rule for changing your chain other than actual stretch. Is it one year? Two years? I would say it depends on the quality of the chain and the mileage more than anything else. So take your bike in and ask the mechanic if they could measure your chain wear,I’m Sure they’d be more than happy to help you and pleased that someone is taking care of their bike.

Currently running a KMC X10SL with about 2k on the chain. I think with my average of 90 miles a week I should be good for another year...

 

[Drewtaylor]

I returned one Turbo Vado 5.0, because the dealer couldn't solve similar problems. After buying a second one (another dealer), I've had similar issues. So, you may end up with these problems with your new motor, too.

The problems I've encountered: I've experienced power drop-outs: e.g., on a hill, Turbo mode would be disabled (Sport mode, too), as the system would revert into Eco mode. One symptom allowed me to predict when this would happen: upon powering up the bike, the computer screen would show a dead battery, even though the batter had plenty of power. I'm hoping that future firmware updates will resolve the issue. Meanwhile, I have found at least one sure-bet way of avoiding the problems (and maybe a second way, too.)

The first seem analogous to the need (with some computers and cell phones) for regular reboots, with the system then running again like new, after the reboot. To accomplish this full reboot, I'd typically need to do two things: first, remove the battery; second (while removed), use the reset button on the back of the computer. (You can then replace the battery.) I'm not positive that both of these actions are required, nor about the importance of this particular order. I just know that whenever I'd do this, the system would then run like new. I got into a habit of doing this at least once a week, and it completely eliminated the problems. (As it happens, I need regularly to reboot my phone, too.)

I'm less certain about a second way of avoiding the problems, as I've only been trying this for a couple of weeks, now. Here, the point is always to remove the computer when charging the battery. I don't know why that would matter, but so far it seems to have helped. (I haven't yet ruled out that in fact it hasn't helped at all, and that the apparent success is owed to the first of my solutions.

Putting to the side this pesky issue, this is an awesome machine! I've got a little over a 1000 miles on my bike, and I absolutely love commuting with it.

I was having the same issue re surges of power and reverting to eco mode when needed sport or turbo. Was about to take the bike to my LBS. He mentioned on the phone that it could be a loose magnet on the speed sensor. I had a look at this and found a speed sensor to be well attached but also covered with muck and rubbish from the road. I gave a good clean and lo and behold everything sorted itself out. I’m hoping this is a long term fix.

 

[Drewtaylor]

I was having the same issue re surges of power and reverting to eco mode when needed sport or turbo. Was about to take the bike to my LBS. He mentioned on the phone that it could be a loose magnet on the speed sensor. I had a look at this and found a speed sensor to be well attached but also covered with muck and rubbish from the road. I gave a good clean and lo and behold everything sorted itself out. I’m hoping this is a long term fix.

Well still going strong. I clean my speed sensor now every time I stop the bike more or less and have had no power cut out on hills et cetera.