Vado SL 2 Carbon LTD premiered today!

[Stefan Mikes]

but this SL market was a small market to begin with.

Depending on the world region. Creo is quite popular in the U.S but it is hardly existent in Europe because of the 25 km/h limitation. On the other hand, two friends of mine ride a Vado SL. Artur is a bikepacker while Wojtek won the 2nd place in an e-Sprint race. I'd say Vado SL sells rather well in Europe.

 

[mfgrep]

Depending on the world region. Creo is quite popular in the U.S but it is hardly existent in Europe because of the 25 km/h limitation. On the other hand, two friends of mine ride a Vado SL. Artur is a bikepacker while Wojtek won the 2nd place in an e-Sprint race. I'd say Vado SL sells rather well in Europe.

Understood. And Agreed. BUT. In the realm of E-bikes....the volume of buyers seeking lighter and lower powered ebikes...makes up a very very small total percentage of the e-bike consumer pool.
I'm not saying it is right/wrong....It's just the truth. Good examples of lighter/lower powered ebikes are (a) expensive and (b) of limited selection. I have always said that THIS is a segment that should be expanded upon and when expanded will get many old(er) roadies to convert. But for now....this is indeed a small pool of the market.

For me right now....this is EXACTLY what I want. Light weight....low power....analog-like ebikes. Given the limitations of current tech.....this also typically means expensive, low motor power, and limited battery range. I am quite alright with limited power and lower range to achieve an analog-like fitness bike with e-assist. Most consumers are simply not looking for this.

Now back to my point: Why would Spesh take a lightweight and low power ebike....make it out of lightweight carbon....then add all the weight back with a big honking battery? Well.....they are doing that because MOST PEOPLE DON'T WANT A LOW POWER SHORT RANGE EBIKE!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Ha! They kept that stupid seat-post wedge

 

[AvalancheRun]

Dig: look of the frame, wide tires, FindMy built in, MIK HD rack with lightbar

Pass: carbon only (city bike that will be banged up), starting at $6k, colors "sold out" instantly - only black. A city bike should have widely available bright colors, imo.

 

[mogulman]

I can only re-iterate: some Forum users expected a carbon Vado SL and a stronger motor Now, they have got what they asked for

NB: I was talking about LTD related to the weight as I was unaware of the existence of SL 6.0 only a couple minutes ago! The less expensive models are somewhat disappointing: even no FutureShock?

I see a future shock on the regular SL 6.0. no?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I see a future shock on the regular SL 6.0. no?

Where?


FutureShock 3.2 is on the LTD but not on less expensive SL 6.0.

P.S. FutureShock is mentioned four times in the marketing material but I cannot find it in the specs.

 

[Ebikelife72]

View attachment 183725
Where?


FutureShock 3.2 is on the LTD but not on less expensive SL 6.0.

P.S. FutureShock is mentioned four times in the marketing material but I cannot find it in the specs.

According to the US site the regular 6.0 has the 3.2 Future Shock

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What feels funny to me as well is assuming the Vado SL 2 owner would use an iPhone
Sorry, I am not ashamed to use a Samsung S24 Ultra

According to the US site the regular 6.0 has the 3.2 Future Shock

Please show it in the specs.

P.S. I do not insist on that. At that price, the FS 3.2 is highly probable, only Spec forgot to put in in the spec (Pun intended!)

 

[mogulman]

Below

 

[Rás Cnoic]

What feels funny to me as well is assuming the Vado SL 2 owner would use an iPhone
Sorry, I am not ashamed to use a Samsung S24 Ultra


Please show it in the specs.

P.S. I do not insist on that. At that price, the FS 3.2 is highly probable, only Spec forgot to put in in the spec (Pun intended!)

Just looking at the bike now - U.K. Speccy site has the SL2 at £5,500 with FS 3.2 & weight 39.7lbs EQ. Which is similar to the Electric Bike Report test above that weighed it on the road at 41lbs.
Big difference I’m seeing is what looks like a much slacker head tube & fork angle. Along with the heavier battery & wider tyres suggests it’ll be a bit sluggish on tarmac but better downhill on gravel. Need to see what the chainstays are doing.

- Dunno how I feel about the bike tbh.

- assuming they’ll follow this up with SL 4 and/or 5 in alloy with a lower price. But if with that big battery could be looking at 44/45lbs weight. Hmmm.

 

[mogulman]

Then when you get to 45lbs+, wouldn't it be better to get a full power ebike withmore power, bigger battery, and just use a low power mode?

 

[Ebikelife72]

With the weight increase, and I assume an even larger increase for the upcoming alloy models, it does make sense to at least consider the full power models instead. That said, the more I see of the new SL 2 the more interested I get. I really dig this bike but will likely wait for the alloy models.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@mogulman, @Rás Cnoic, @Ebikelife72:

FutureShock 3.2 is mentioned in "At a Glance" but is not in the "Technical Specifications". Rather confusing, isn't it.

Regarding the weight. My 2020 Vado SL 4.0 after all modifications I made (and I was not targeting for a really lower weight) is 16 kg with pedals but it only has the 320 Wh battery. You people correctly say the alloy version of SL 2 would be heavier. If Spec does it right, the Vado SL 2 Alloy unequipped could be just 1.5 kg heavier than the Carbon, which still is a way below the full power Vado. By the way, Como SL IGH is almost as heavy as the full power Como...

Another question: what version of FACT carbon is used? 9R, 10R, 11R or 12R? There are several versions of FACT that really affect the price.

 

[Allan47.7339]

Don't forget about the kickstand. This would have been the perfect bike for my former longish commute. It's an urban bike you can use for a few days between charges. You can still pedal it without power as opposed to the heavier bikes.

The manual is available for download at the bottom of the specifications.

Interesting items in the manual:

3. GETTING STARTED - BIKE ACTIVATION
Your Specialized Turbo bicycle must be activated before it can be ridden with motor support.

Max structural weight is 275/125 lb/kg bike and rider.

It has a 30.9mm seat post diameter. I did not know there were so many post sizes.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Don't forget about the kickstand.

A kickstand on a carbon frame? Ouch.

This would have been the perfect bike for my former longish commute. It's an urban bike you can use for a few days between charges. You can still pedal it without power as opposed to the heavier bikes.

It might meet your specific needs as a city e-bike. I'm afraid it wouldn't meet mine as I perceive a Vado SL (alloy) as a flat handlebar gravel e-bike The 520 Wh battery (162.5% of 320) is there to make up for a stronger motor (150% of SL 1.1).

This man also believes a Vado SL is good for gravel races A Vado SL 5.0 EQ. Buddy had two Range Extenders, used only one for the race, and could pedal 32 km/h on asphalt on the pedal power only. We rode cobblestone, Class 3 gravel and sand. The guy was second after an athletic female riding a Bosch CX e-MTB with a 750 Wh battery. Would Vado SL 2 Carbon perform there? I don't know!

 

[Allan47.7339]

The Vado SL 2 can still use a RE battery too.

There are several articles on the support site as well and a link to their YouTube video:

https://support.specialized.com/kb/sp_en-us/browse/202300000002190/Turbo-Vado-SL

 

[Stefan Mikes]

There are several articles on the support site as well:

Turbo Vado SL support

Specialized could have decided what version of FutureShock it actually provides Garmin Varia not advertised on the product page?!

 

[Rás Cnoic]

We’ll only know the weight if/when Specialized releases an alloy version of this new SL2. Let’s see what components it’s equipped with. After all my Vado SL 4 without Future shock would be slightly lighter without the suspension of the SL 5.

But that new slacker geo will be the same as the carbon version and that changes the bikes handling characteristics. I ride something like 70/30 road/off-road and I like the old version more upright and road centric feel. It keeps it snappy on the road while still good enough on gravel. Of course it’s not totally comfortable on rowdy downhills and the slacker geo looks to be much better for this kind of more off-road riding with the better future shock and wider tyre clearance in line I guess with the Creo 2 wider clearance as well. But is this geo change suitable for what is mostly a commuter bike?

Maybe I’m wrong and this geo is going to be specific for just the more expensive carbon versions. As a kind of more exploring & lightweight bike in line with Orbea’s Kemen for instance.

If the weight of an alloy version is heading towards 45lbs it does put it closer to more powerful bikes like the new version of the Yamaha Wabash RT with its improved & more powerful & lighter PW series S2 motor and it’s weight now down from 48lbs to 46lbs from the old version.

And just around the corner of course are bikes with full power and low weight, the new DJI Amflow emtb is causing industry shockwaves; a full sus bike with 800wh battery and a motor with 120nm weighing just 44.7lbs (20.3kg) which seems to have thrown a bomb under all other emtb manufacturers in its lightness and power combination. A rigid (or semi rigid with something like redshift or future shock) version without the heavy shocks would be very light indeed.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

We’ll only know the weight if/when Specialized releases an alloy version of this new SL2. Let’s see what components it’s equipped with. After all my Vado SL 4 without Future shock would be slightly lighter without the suspension of the SL 5.

But that new slacker geo will be the same as the carbon version and that changes the bikes handling characteristics. I ride something like 70/30 road/off-road and I like the old version more upright and road centric feel. It keeps it snappy on the road while still good enough on gravel. Of course it’s not totally comfortable on rowdy downhills and the slacker geo looks to be much better for this kind of more off-road riding with the better future shock and wider tyre clearance in line I guess with the Creo 2 wider clearance as well. But is this geo change suitable for what is mostly a commuter bike?

Maybe I’m wrong and this geo is going to be specific for just the more expensive carbon versions. As a kind of more exploring & lightweight bike in line with Orbea’s Kemen for instance.

If the weight of an alloy version is heading towards 45lbs it does put it closer to more powerful bikes like the new version of the Yamaha Wabash RT with its improved & more powerful & lighter PW series S2 motor and it’s weight now down from 48lbs to 46lbs from the old version.

And just around the corner of course are bikes with full power and low weight, the new DJI Amflow emtb is causing industry shockwaves; a full sus bike with 800wh battery and a motor with 120nm weighing just 44.7lbs (20.3kg) which seems to have thrown a bomb under all other emtb manufacturers in its lightness and power combination. A rigid (or semi rigid with something like redshift or future shock) version without the heavy shocks would be very light indeed.

Incidentally until I watched the EBR review of this new SL2 bike after having watched the Electric Bike Report review, i didn’t realise our new overlords are the same people as Electric Bike Report! Slow on the uptake I guess, but both reviews say exactly the same thing. Which feels weird. What’s the point if you’re going to just have 2 reviews of a bike on 2 different sites that say exactly the same thing?

I miss Court’s thoughtful and I guess more personal reviews.

 

[RRCV]

You can thank me for this release. Bought an SL 5.0 EQ new four weeks ago.

No regrets, though. Even the regular SL 6.0 carbon would have been out of my price range, you still have to buy the 5.0 EQ to get my beloved yellow paint, and the 5.0 prices have yet to be reduced.

As tempting as the new 1.2 motor and 520 Wh UL-certified battery might be, my 1.1 motor and 320 Wh battery are plenty for typical rides on local hills after reducing the chainring from 44t to 40t. Might have avoided that with the new motor, but it cost me all of $80, and I don't miss the ratios lost at the top end.

The FutureShock 3.2 adds damping to my 1.5, but the latter still does a surprisingly good job. Don't know enough to compare the other components on quality and performance, but would still want to change the tires to tubeless Pathfinders.

I purchased a new discounted SL 5.0 this week.

No regrets for me. The SL 6.0 would have been out of my price range too.

I have not used my SL e-xercise bike with motor assist.

I found the SL easy enough to pedal without motor assist, despite quite significant head winds, so no opinion on the additional power or range.