Vado 5 battery life

[VadoMark]

I couldn't be more pleased with the Vado 5.0. I purchased the bike July 2017 and use it whenever possible. No complaints regarding its intended use and performance.

I have noticed, however, the battery only charges to 91% - this after only two and one half months of use. Is this normal?

 

[Paul Marin]

I couldn't be more pleased with the Vado 5.0. I purchased the bike July 2017 and use it whenever possible. No complaints regarding its intended use and performance.

I have noticed, however, the battery only charges to 91% - this after only two and one half months of use. Is this normal?

I too have the 5.0 and it seems to charge to 98% - though I've only put about 150 miles on it since I bough in late July due to vacation, etc. I'll update you if I start seeing the same... It is an awesome bike though - I go up hills I would have pushed a bike up even 25 years ago...

 

[reoutput]

I have a Turbo X and I almost never get a 100% charge. Even when it reads 100, a few strokes of the pedal will send it to 96-98%. I think it has more to do with software tolerances than actual battery performance.

 

[VadoMark]

I too have the 5.0 and it seems to charge to 98% - though I've only put about 150 miles on it since I bough in late July due to vacation, etc. I'll update you if I start seeing the same... It is an awesome bike though - I go up hills I would have pushed a bike up even 25 years ago...

Hopefully it will continue to charge up to that amount - keep me posted if you see it drop.
I love being able to leave the car at home for trivial errands, trips to the grocery, doctor and dentist appointments, etc!! And it does flatten the hills without a whimper - even loaded down with groceries.

 

[VadoMark]

I have a Turbo X and I almost never get a 100% charge. Even when it reads 100, a few strokes of the pedal will send it to 96-98%. I think it has more to do with software tolerances than actual battery performance.

I hope you're right - I guess I'm so used to my handheld devices fully charging I was expecting the same for the bike...

 

[ragtopjoek]

I charged my Turbo Levo yesterday after a 22 mile ride and today it is 97%. It's about 54 weeks old and ridden 870.1 miles.

 

[VadoMark]

Well, I believe I spoke too soon. I ran an errand this morning and as per usual for the last three weeks battery was at 91%. I rode it down to 50% and plugged it in to charge when I got home. About 3 hours later I ran another errand and the battery charge registered 99%!!
Could the battery discharge a bit if left on the charger all night? Should I ride it down to below half before re-charging?
Thanks,
Mark

 

[Paul Marin]

From what I've read about Li Batteries (specifically for laptops) it won't make a difference. Advice I've seen is just never let it go below 10% but topping it up from say 70% to 99% will not cause an issue. There is no "battery memory" just don't discharge completely. This I know from the batteries on my boat (lead-acid) where they've gone completely down and were never able to hold a proper charge after - not sure of the electro-mechanics of this but I learned my lesson when I had to buy new ones.

 

[johnd.211]

Mine will charge to 99%, but I have to pull it off the charger as soon as it's fully charged. Leaving it on the charger overnight has it falling to 92% by the morning. Very consistent behavior.

 

[VadoMark]

Mine will charge to 99%, but I have to pull it off the charger as soon as it's fully charged. Leaving it on the charger overnight has it falling to 92% by the morning. Very consistent behavior.

Ah Ha! That's exactly what mine is doing. Thanks for your input.

 

[bazzapage]

The battery measurement of the Vado is seemingly nowhere as accurate as the previous generation Turbo S/X/FLT which had a lot of brain in the battery.

 

[Erick L]

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?

 

[VadoMark]

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?

My LBS has requested I come in for a firmware update for the battery. Not sure what this is intended to address on the battery, but it most certainly would be a starting place for your issue. Good Luck!

 

[Erick L]

My LBS has requested I come in for a firmware update for the battery. Not sure what this is intended to address on the battery, but it most certainly would be a starting place for your issue. Good Luck!

Thanks Vadomark. Also, I often got this error message (see attached) showing that battery % is not available even though there's plenty of juice left in the battery. When I get this screen, the pedal-assist function doesn't work.

Did you encounter this too?

 

[VadoMark]

Thanks Vadomark. Also, I often got this error message (see attached) showing that battery % is not available even though there's plenty of juice left in the battery. When I get this screen, the pedal-assist function doesn't work.

Did you encounter this too?

Only once has the bike "died" or lost power - however you want to say it and it resumed normal operation shortly afterward. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take note of what the TFT was displaying at the time. Other than that one occurrence everything has worked fairly well.

 

[Erick L]

Mine will charge to 99%, but I have to pull it off the charger as soon as it's fully charged. Leaving it on the charger overnight has it falling to 92% by the morning. Very consistent behavior.

yes, i notice that too ...

 

[Erick L]

Ah Ha! That's exactly what mine is doing. Thanks for your input.

Do you guys notice that colder weather shortens your range? I usually still have 60% juice left after a 20-mile commute. The past couple of weeks, I get home with 45-50% left. I live in San Francisco Bay Area so the weather is not too cold (e.g., around 45-60 degrees). I wanted to see if others experience the same.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Yes, cold weather will always impact battery range. Widely known in the Tesla community!

Heading out into low 30s in a few minutes over to Massachusetts where I know the range will be a good bit lower than the last time on that trail in the summer.

 

[ragtopjoek]

Do you guys notice that colder weather shortens your range? I usually still have 60% juice left after a 20-mile commute. The past couple of weeks, I get home with 45-50% left. I live in San Francisco Bay Area so the weather is not too cold (e.g., around 45-60 degrees). I wanted to see if others experience the same.

I rode my Turbo Levo all last winter and the colder it got, the shorter my riding time and my electric gloves heat time reduced as the temperature went down.

 

[Over50]

Do you guys notice that colder weather shortens your range? I usually still have 60% juice left after a 20-mile commute. The past couple of weeks, I get home with 45-50% left. I live in San Francisco Bay Area so the weather is not too cold (e.g., around 45-60 degrees). I wanted to see if others experience the same.

I didn't think 60F would be cold enough to reduce the range noticeably but certainly 45F particularly if that is the storage temperature. Do you leave the battery on the bike outside while at work? I've commuted a few times on my Bosch bike with temps around 35F. My commute takes one hour roughly and I take the battery inside with me. I also use a neoprene battery cover. So with exposure at just one hour and the battery being used, I don't really notice a range difference. But I have left my bike sitting idle outside a coffee shop at about 40F for a couple of hours and yes, I noticed a drop in estimated range when I headed for home.

So this maybe brings up something I've been wondering about the integrated or in-tube batteries: I'm assuming the space tolerances are too tight to allow for a battery cover in winter? Whereas with an externally attached battery is easier to insulate and to remove and take inside? My Haibike has a semi-integrated design and I can fit my battery cover however it gets tricky with the key/lock wherein I feel I have to apply extra force to get the lock to engage. Its made me a bit cautious about using the cover with the Haibike whereas on the externally mounted R&M it is a much easier attachment. Maybe with an in-tube design it might be easier to get some type of neoprene wrap that would zip around the downtube? Maybe the manufacturers could offer this as an accessory ...