Vado SL 2 Alloy version released

mschwett said:
the test ride point is important, and should differentiate specialized from online-only brands. i had no problem finding creos and vados to test ride, but i never asked to go terribly far. when i was thinking about an analog bike, i happened into a shop near the office that had a nice s-works aethos and when i mentioned i wasn’t really sure, the guy just said, take it for a ride. be back in under an hour. he took my license and a credit card and seemed totally unconcerned with me rolling out on a $14k carbon bike in the middle of the city. i took three creo test rides. maybe specialized needs to have a “recommended policy” for their retail partners.

i do see a LOT of vado SLs, but it sounds like that’s a local quirk. most roadies wouldn’t buy one since it’s flat bar and aluminum, they’ll just get a creo, so maybe the market is a small intersection of pavement enthusiasts who aren’t roadies. it’s too bad because 320/250w is plenty in a well designed bike for anything other than going super fast or going up big hills either fast or with a big load. i am not convinced if they’re hard to sell because they’re underpowered, or too expensive, or something else. or maybe they’re not hard to sell!
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Yes, I think the price was/is the barrier.

Before dropping $5412 on an SL1 in late 2022 including tax I had never ever ever considered spending more than $700 on a bicycle.

I've bought motorcycles foe less.

The money spent was worth every penny as it get my old ass out of the house unlike "analog" bikes which had become more laborious to ride as I get closer to 70.

The last time I was in "good shape" was in my early 30s.
 
As I'm now jumping between 2 different e bikes with different weights I can see it really is horses for courses. And I think the weight choice is partly about the priorities of riders.

But with SL bikes I do believe there is a line. Below that weight line the ebike is enjoyable to ride without power. Above that weight line you mostly need some assistance as the additional weight makes the bike feel sluggish unassisted. Weight is the main culprit but the line can shift up or down depending on tyre choice, rider fitness and obviously the roads and wind conditions.

My Vado SL on the road is probably 38lbs -17.2kg, so below that weight line when unassisted* it still mostly rides well on the flat. My new Cairn Brave is 44lbs - 20kg. The difference isn't huge but the heavier bike is far slower unassisted on the road. Just not fun and I am always aware of the weight. It does have wide xc mtb tyres so that's a factor. I'm about to experiment with faster rolling gravel tyres.

* My Vado SL tyres for the last 2 years have fairly good, low rolling resistance with enough suspension for bad roads; WTB Byroads 44mm. Narrower, more road specific tyres will increase the lively ride feel, decrease rolling resistance and reduce the need for assistance. But at a cost in comfort. It's a happy medium for me.

I too would be curious to try both new incarnations of the Vado SL, carbon and alloy to see what they are like unassisted, what the ride feel is and how that 50nm motor goes and the battery usage.

Is the 20kg alloy Vado SL now above the weight line? On paper it looks like it. But would love to try it out to see.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
View attachment 190991
Carbon non-EQ is only 16 kg or 35 lbs 😃 (riding a Carbon EQ here today).
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Nice! I will get my SL2 6.0 EQ (same colour) on Monday. Can hardly await it. Took the local dealer a week to assemble it after it was delivered to their shop from the Specialized warehouse in Netherlands. Apparently all very busy. Can hardly wait...

Meanwhile I bought MIK adapter plates to change my bags from Klickfix /Racktime to the new carrier system.

Also registered my current SL 4.0 EQ in the Specialized app again today. Almost 4300 km mileage, 93 battery cycles, bike is 4 1/2 years old. We think about keeping it as bike for joint rides. Two Vado SL on the road :)

btw thinking about buying an even better lock for my new bike. The Litelock X3 seems to be the safest around.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0 Carbon EQ: DEMO RIDE at Specialized Warsaw Soho <-- CLICK


Same in Poland! Only five working days.

Thx for sharing that information. So maybe it is what it is. When I picked up my 4.0 some years ago, they had it in the store, so he just needed 20 minutes to set it up and I was free to go.
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Stefan Mikes said:
I'm too heavy for the Carbon version, Bob :) Own two good Specialized e-bikes. Have no storage space :) Not buying!
Yes, the money could be found.
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More sports and a good diet will do the trick :) I also need to burn some 4-5 kg to get back into BMI green zone. Want to cycle more and am experimenting more and more with Mediterranean cuisine.

Will take my 4.0 to a trip today in this lovely sunny spring weather here in Copenhagen.

Btw an inspiring movie I saw this morning about a guy who cycled 3000 km from the southern end to the northern tip of Japan. Not sure I would go there for cycling but this country surely is on the top of our long destination travel wish list.
 
I'm so tempted to get one of the new Vado SLs but none of the bike shops near me sell them so I'd have to get one online. The main worry with that is that they might not service them should I have any issues I can't deal with myself. I'm not a fan of most of the brands that are on sale near me but one shop sells Giant eBikes, however, they just don't look as good as the Vado's.
 
Rycar said:
I'm so tempted to get one of the new Vado SLs but none of the bike shops near me sell them so I'd have to get one online. The main worry with that is that they might not service them should I have any issues I can't deal with myself. I'm not a fan of most of the brands that are on sale near me but one shop sells Giant eBikes, however, they just don't look as good as the Vado's.
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I would definitely need a proximate specialized dealer. I'm lucky....I could walk to mine.
 
Working on Specialized ebikes sometimes requires proprietary software that non-Specialized dealers might not have. That includes bike firmware updates.

Makes some sense for purely electrical work, but it goes beyond that. Not sure why, but when I reduced my SL 1's stock 44t chainring to 40t, the dealer said he had to adjust the bike's software accordingly.

Upshot: Even if you can do most of the mechanical work yourself, seems risky to have an expensive Specialized ebike without an authorized dealer an acceptable drive away.
 
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Jeremy McCreary said:
Working on Specialized ebikes sometimes requires proprietary software that non-Specialized dealers might not have. That includes bike firmware updates.

Makes some sense for purely electrical work, but it goes beyond that. Not sure why, but when I reduced my SL 1's stock 44t chainring to 40t, the dealer said he had to adjust the bike's software accordingly.

Upshot: Even if you can do most of the mechanical work yourself, seems risky to have an expensive Specialized ebike without an authorized dealer an acceptable drive away.
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That some good points. Thanks.

I guess I'll avoid Specialized and perhaps go for a Giant Explore E+ Pro 1 GTS or Explore E+ Pro 0 GTS.
 
ronaan said:
Heh. I also put a 40T chainring on mine because hills, nobody ever brought it up (serviced 3 times).
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Interesting. The service manager helped me with the chainring swap. Couldn't expain why size mattered to the bike beyond some vague appeal to motor protection. Could've been trying to build reliance on his services, I suppose, but it didn't feel like that.

How's the 40t working out on your hills? Mine gave me 22-100 gear-inches over 12 speeds — nearly perfect for the climbs I face. (Lucky guess.)

Goal #1 was to keep motor and knees happy with an 80-90 RPM cadence no matter what, and the 40t does that well for me. Lost some pedaled speed at the top end but happy with the trade-off.
 
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Jeremy McCreary said:
Working on Specialized ebikes sometimes requires proprietary software that non-Specialized dealers might not have. That includes bike firmware updates.

Makes some sense for purely electrical work, but it goes beyond that. Not sure why, but when I reduced my SL 1's stock 44t chainring to 40t, the dealer said he had to adjust the bike's software accordingly.

Upshot: Even if you can do most of the mechanical work yourself, seems risky to have an expensive Specialized ebike without an authorized dealer an acceptable drive away.
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hmmmmm. the SL could in theory deduce what gear ratio you are in by the relationship of the crank speed (obviously known), the rear wheel RPM (known due to the speed sensor) and the wheel circumference (known by the shop setting the parameter, no longer manually adjustable.) I suppose the motor wants to know if you are freewheeling (pedaling slower than the gear ratio would dictate at the given speed) but that would also be immediately obvious by the lack of torque on the torque sensor. the only reason the chainring size matters to the controller this would be at the far extreme ends, otherwise there’s no difference between a 10% smaller ring and just shifting the cog by one in the back. perhaps the programming takes into account “max gear ratio“ when rationing out torque? I doubt it.

almost everyone with a creo changes the chainring at some point (I went to a 42t) but I have never heard of anyone updating anything to match. unfortunately few people have shared details of the specialized dealer software!
 
@Rycar: Derry! Me and my girlfriend visited the city last year during the "Irish Summer"! Lovely!
As I can see the North Ireland Specialized dealers are only in Belfast and Moneymore. Not good.

Regarding the chainring, I was using 34, 36, 40, and 44T chainrings on my Vado SL and no software change was necessary :) I am currently on the 40T one as it gives me the best balance between climbing and riding on the flat. My current drivetrain is the 11-speed Shimano M5100 with a 11-51T cassette.
 
BioWheel said:
Would buy Skitch GX AXS Flat bar >> 430Wh and 33lbs with front shock.
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Do.

BioWheel said:
Or convert a Creo to a flat bar
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An abomination, if you ask me :) Gravel bikes with drop bars have a different geometry to flat bar ones. You're gonna regret it. (Note: I rode both types).

Besides, congratulations for taking the second place in last week's Strava Club. Just fancy: you would have won with @fooferdoggie if you just rode for 5 miles more... :)
 
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