Vado SL 2 Carbon LTD premiered today!

Jeremy, I'd like to thank you very much for your detailed quantitative analysis of the power demand for a bike. A real eye-opener!

@JoeDirt: Just for your information. Vado SL 2 6.0 Carbon has a stronger and quieter SL 1.2 motor than the former SL 1.1 e-bikes, and the battery is also bigger. Which does not make it a speed demon, just a stronger lightweight e-bike! I'm very much interested in your demo ride impressions as you would probably be the first EBR member to ride this interesting e-bike!
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
Wait, is that even legal on an Aethos??
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Probably not legal on a tarmac, but on an aethos anything goes. But don’t worry, when I’m not riding it to work i do wear cycling shorts (Rapha cargo shorts) and technical tops which are fitted, but not skin tight. I don’t really understand the point of “bibs” or pockets in the back of my shirt, and i don’t like super tight clothes on the upper body. I’m probably halfway between “street clothes” and “skinsuit” in terms of aero lol.
 
mschwett said:
Probably not legal on a tarmac, but on an aethos anything goes. But don’t worry, when I’m not riding it to work i do wear cycling shorts (Rapha cargo shorts) and technical tops which are fitted, but not skin tight. I don’t really understand the point of “bibs” or pockets in the back of my shirt, and i don’t like super tight clothes on the upper body. I’m probably halfway between “street clothes” and “skinsuit” in terms of aero lol.
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Thats cool wear what works for you. Where I am 98% bike riders wear the biking outfits, I am like you wear something comfy and let's go. All my buddies look like professional bikers, not me 😱 I do have rear rack bag 🤐
 
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Well the pockets in the back of the jersey are for protein bars. nutrient gel bags, a mini-pump, and a smartphone :) Why should anyone use the pockets on their commute with Aethos? :)
 
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There is a term that used to float around biking circles years ago from Grant Peterson: retrogrouch. It discribes me perfectly, I wear shorts (just regular shorts, not cycling shorts) and a button up long sleeve shirt (preferably cotton) and bedrock sandals. And few things are more satisfying than passing a lycra clad rider going uphill more slowly than me. Hopefully he won’t notice I am on an ebike. conversely few things are more discouraging than me grinding as hard as I can on my ebike on a steep uphill at 6000 feet elevation and having a lycra clad woman in her 60’s or 70’s slowly pass by me as she chats with her mates….and its happened to me a lot here in Colombia. I simply cannot believe how ferociously good climbers many of the senior cyclists here are.
 
Marquezdl said:
There is a term that used to float around biking circles years ago from Grant Peterson: retrogrouch. It discribes me perfectly, I wear shorts (just regular shorts, not cycling shorts) and a button up long sleeve shirt (preferably cotton) and bedrock sandals. And few things are more satisfying than passing a lycra clad rider going uphill more slowly than me. Hopefully he won’t notice I am on an ebike. conversely few things are more discouraging than me grinding as hard as I can on my ebike on a steep uphill at 6000 feet elevation and having a lycra clad woman in her 60’s or 70’s slowly pass by me as she chats with her mates….and its happened to me a lot here in Colombia. I simply cannot believe how ferociously good climbers many of the senior cyclists here are.
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Lycra isn't evil. It's just a comfortable choice for riding long distances. And I could make the same comment about helmets - I don't wear one road biking. They look silly to me. But passing someone with a helmet when I'm wearing a durag doesn't make me any cooler. Finally - I was on my road bike one time and a young kid passed me on a beach cruiser. Still hurts.
 
BioWheel said:
Lycra isn't evil. It's just a comfortable choice for riding long distances.
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Also a smart choice for unmotorized roadies with the goal of riding long and fast. Per Wilson & Scmidt, 2020, Bicycling Science, 4th ed., baggy clothing adds significantly to your drag area (CdA), which is proportional to air resistance and aerodynamic power loss at all airspeeds. On a 50 mi ride averaging 20 mph, that really adds up.

Important for ebikers to bear in mind: The roadies can't be wrong about everything.

In my case, rides are butt-limited to ~25 mi on my more upright bike and neck-limited to ~30-35 mi on the other. And I'm quite content at 15 mph. For me, lycra's performance advantage doesn't outweigh the bother of costume changes, the lack of good pockets, and yes, the less-than-flattering look.

But I might end up in lycra bottoms anyway, as the seats of my regular bottoms sometimes snag on the noses of my saddles when remouting after a stop, leading to an unsafe falter in intersections. More about that here.
 
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MartsEbike said:
You'll get some funny looks walking into a British pub wearing lycra. 😁 I'll stick to my baggy clothes. It allows many more opportunities to stop at places along the ride. 😃
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Indeed. My bike workouts rarely last more than 40 mins so shorts are perfectly fine for that kind of duration.

If I need it for shopping or commuting then casual wear is perfectly comfortable I find. I am not planning on sweating so that is what the turbo setting is for :)
 
Bicycling.com's SL 2 review:

www.bicycling.com

Would You Buy a $6,000 Commuter Bike?

The new premium commuter Vado SL 2 e-bike from Specialized is shockingly good and shockingly expensive.
www.bicycling.com www.bicycling.com

Very good marks overall aside from price, but they're not buying the claim that their 41 lb test SL 2 is "easy" to carry up and down stairs.

20240915_152004.jpg

Wouldn't say that my ~38 lb SL 1 is "easy" to carry, either. But it's doable enough that this old guy no longer lets barriers like these steep stairs stand in his way. By carrying up and over this one rail overpass, I can add nearly a mile to my local rail trail. Very liberating!
 
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I do not disagree with what you have said Jeremy, but it is still doable to walk the e-bike upstairs using the Walk Mode. I have to do it often, either on the trail or after grocery shopping (inside my block of flats).

1732053660806.png

18 June 2023, my longest gravel race. I had two very heavy panniers on my Vado SL. I had to detach the panniers and carry them atop separately. When I was back at the stair landing, other riders arrived and I had compete with them (both for the stair access and on the narrow sidewalk along the bridge)!

1732053889930.png

Vado SL EQ + pannier were too heavy for me to carry up the stairs on another occasion (similar but different stairs).

1732054012239.png

Once, I had to carry my Vado 6.0 upstairs in Mława to be able to catch a train!
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
Bicycling.com's SL 2 review:

www.bicycling.com

Would You Buy a $6,000 Commuter Bike?

The new premium commuter Vado SL 2 e-bike from Specialized is shockingly good and shockingly expensive.
www.bicycling.com www.bicycling.com

Very good marks overall, but they're not buying the claim that their 41 lb test SL 2 is "easy" to carry up and down stairs.

View attachment 186323
Wouldn't say that my ~38 lb SL 1 is "easy" to carry, either. But it's doable enough that this old guy no longer lets barriers like these steep stairs stand in his way. By carrying up and over this one rail overpass, I can add nearly a mile to my local rail trail. Very liberating!
Click to expand...

It's a nice bike, and I could have held out for the SL2, but it's quite expensive for what it is. At UK prices it's around double what I paid for an SL1. Carbon is expensive and nice to boast about, but you don't gain much else for spending twice as much. Ok, it has slightly more power, but in Euro Spec it'll still cut out at 15.5mph. I'm quite happy with the SL1 and to have the best part of £2k still in my pocket.

My only wish is that my SL1 had a brighter front light, and a handlebar switch to turn the lights on and off. :)
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Did you play with the headlight angle? You could be surprised! My front light is weaker than yours, still adequate during night rides (but I ride pretty slowly at night!)
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It's not bad most of the time but when I was riding down the country lanes it was virtually pitch black. On one occasion, there was very little moonlight and overhanging trees making it darker. I was riding along with just a small illuminated patch on the floor about 10m in front of the bike. The trouble is if I point the light higher, I don't see potholes until I'm right on top of them. Trying to find a happy medium is difficult. Ideally, I'd say I need a brighter light.

Stefan Mikes said:
"See and be seen" (at all times).
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True you're not wrong, but I have my reasoning! :) I've been checking on some routes for my target of hitting a 100-mile ride. I've planned out two possible rides. One to Oxford, and another to Cambridge. Both are interesting cities with lots to photograph! They're both about an equal distance from where I live - 50 miles there and 50 miles back. I calculate this will be around 6-7 hours in the saddle, maybe more with a little sightseeing chucked in. The lights use around 4-5% an hour, so I can save a good chunk of battery power by turning the lights off when they're not needed, especially along the cycle paths in the daytime! You can reach both cities largely by using the National Cycle Network so I should be ok without lights for these sections. (I will have extra battery-powered lights too just in case!)

I think you can turn the lights off using the bike settings. But a switch would be more convenient. :)
 
MartsEbike said:
Ideally, I'd say I need a brighter light.
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A CatEye Volt 1700? :) Expensive but it is a true MTB light. Once, I rode on a pitch black road in the woods with the full power on. Once I got back to the civilisation, I forgot reducing the output. An approaching car had to stop as the driver could see nothing! (Shame on me!) Note: This lamp is heavy. You could consider Volt 800, AMPP 1100, etc.

Nowadays, my Volt serves only as a torch :)

MartsEbike said:
The lights use around 4-5% an hour
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It is more like 2-3% an hour. You can absolutely make an Imperial Century on the main battery + range extender if the assistance is low. Have you tried the Smart Control in the Specialized App? It really works! I also guess your Mastermind TCU can give you Range and Range Trend, and you could control the Range manually by Micro Tune mode.
 
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