Vado sl 4 vs 5

C

Calcoaster

Active Member
Region
USA
I’ve seen some opinions comparing the Vado sl 4 and 5 but they are scattered within several long threads. My lbs has a Vado sl 4 in my size (xl) but only allowed me a ten minute ride. I know the 5 has a little wider gear range which would be nice, but my question is about the 5’s carbon fork with future shock vs the alloy fork on the 4. Those of you who ride the 4 on long road rides, are you satisfied with the comfort? I have looked at the shockstop and Kinect stems as add ons to the Vado sl4 but they wouldn’t match up with the Vado’s stock stem angle. I only see them in 6 deg. In various lengths, and as a 100mm/30 deg. The vado’s stock 90@14 deg. feels about right to me so I’m not sure if a suspension stem would work for me.

So, opinions please - is the Vado sl4, with its alloy frame and fork jittery on average roads? When I went from an aluminum frame road bike to a carbon frame 15 years ago there was a big step up in comfort. I have been told that modern aluminum frames are manufactured differently and they feel ‘almost like carbon’ now. Is that true or hype? I would probably buy a vsl5 over the 4 if there was one available but it could mean a long wait now.
 
Get the 4 and run 5psig less air in the front tire. That solves the shock issue. 10 speed works perfectly. You can use the different modes of the motor to work around any issue you have with the loss of two gears. This is an incredible bike. Run down to your LBS and come home with the 4.
 
I'm happy with my Vado SL 4 but am not quite happy with the road vibration in the bike front. Upgrade to carbon fibre fork and Future Shock costs over US$800.

So I also ask Vado SL 5 or Creo uses about their experiences with CF fork and Futureshock Worth its money?

@Calcoaster: I'm not sure how you mount the headlamp with a non-Specialized stem. Could be tricky.

@BioWheel: I'm riding almost at minimum pressure allowed for my tyres and it hasn't solved the vibration issue.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
I'm happy with my Vado SL 4 but am not quite happy with the road vibration in the bike front. Upgrade to carbon fibre fork and Future Shock costs over US$800.

So I also ask Vado SL 5 or Creo uses about their experiences with CF fork and Futureshock Worth its money?

@Calcoaster: I'm not sure how you mount the headlamp with a non-Specialized stem. Could be tricky.

@BioWheel: I'm riding almost at minimum pressure allowed for my tyres and it hasn't solved the vibration issue.
Click to expand...

I defer to your comments Stephan. Reading your posts, you have a lot more experience with ebikes than I do. Sorry to hear about the vibration. My bike doesn't seem to have that issue. I do like a responsive ride but have found that lowering the tire pressure, at least for me, works perfectly.

bW
 
Stefan Mikes said:
I'm riding almost at minimum pressure allowed for my tyres and it hasn't solved the vibration issue.
Click to expand...
Try the minimum, then try lower. The stock tires on my Vado listed something like 50 psi as minimum pressure, which is ridiculously high. Not sure what you’re riding, but I replaced the stock Vado tires with supple 40mm WTB Byways at 35psi, tubeless. Results: Magic carpet ride. Don’t want tubeless? You could go with tubes and 40 psi. There are many manufacturers of supple tires. The stock Vado tires are not supple.

Change your tires, change your ride.
 
Rincon: I use Smart Sams with minimum pressure allowed 50 psi. Smart Sams are appropriate for the terrain I typically ride, and are hard to puncture. No, I won't use tubeless again (are Vado SL 4 rims tubeless ready?) And I won't risk the snake-bite.

BioWheel: There is a limit of the tyre pressure, and especially heavier riders and ones often jumping from the curb cannot use too little inflation. Or, those riding over tree-roots. I find ride over damaged asphalt (for instance) really irritating.

Therefore I ask owners of CF fork and Future Shock: Is this worth of the money spent?
 
Stefan Mikes said:
I'm happy with my Vado SL 4 but am not quite happy with the road vibration in the bike front. Upgrade to carbon fibre fork and Future Shock costs over US$800.

So I also ask Vado SL 5 or Creo uses about their experiences with CF fork and Futureshock Worth its money?

@Calcoaster: I'm not sure how you mount the headlamp with a non-Specialized stem. Could be tricky.

@BioWheel: I'm riding almost at minimum pressure allowed for my tyres and it hasn't solved the vibration issue.
Click to expand...
@Calcoaster
I've got the Aluminum Creo with the CF fork and Future Shock. While I can't compare it with anything without those features, I find it works well. I don't think I notice too much road vibration and I do use a Kinect Seat Post. As someone mentioned somewhere, if you press down on the handlebars while standing besides the bike, you see/feel the future shock movement but I don't notice while riding. I left it with the default middle spring tension. I did raise up my handlebars using the spacers.
 
RyedaleMike said:
I've the SL4 and added the Shockstop 100mm 30' option - perfect added flight and grest suspension for a lot less than the SL5.
Click to expand...
Did you ride with the stock stem enough to compare the comfort difference? Details please! I used a stem calculator and see that going from the stock 90 @ 14 to the 100 @ 30 shockstop stem raises the bars by 26mm and reduces reach by 9mm.
How did you manage the headlight mount that some here have talked about? Or any other custom changes needed?
thanks!
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Therefore I ask owners of CF fork and Future Shock: Is this worth of the money spent?
Click to expand...
I have both on my Creo and Vado. But I’m running supple tires tubeless at 35 psi. All I can tell you is it feels harsh if I run them at 45 psi. It would probably be worse without them, but CF forks and FutureShock only do so much.
 
I need to ask anyone who replaced the Vado SL stem to show the picture how it looks now.

1625694352514.png

The headlight mount looks to be dependent on the Specialized stem.
 
Rincon said:
I have both on my Creo and Vado. But I’m running supple tires tubeless at 35 psi. All I can tell you is it feels harsh if I run them at 45 psi. It would probably be worse without them, but CF forks and FutureShock only do so much.
Click to expand...
Thank you Rincon. So FutureShock & CF fork do not do very much, you think?
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Thank you Rincon. So FutureShock & CF fork do not do very much, you think?
Click to expand...
I could tell a difference between on and off for the FS. I run them on the hardest setting that isn’t locked. That may be because I have CF forks, CF handlebars, and low pressure tubeless tires. FS only makes a difference to me on the biggest bumps – the ones that get past the tires, forks, and bars. Otherwise I can’t tell I have it installed. I’m sure I represent an edge case. People love RedShift and FutureShock.

As to CF forks being supple, maybe yes, maybe no. The Stromer ST2, an aluminum e-bike with CF forks, was a really harsh ride. Really uncomfortable even on city streets. (I ride a lot of gravel.) I replaced them with shocks. Much better. Needed a seat post shock too. CF forks are definitely not a panacea.

There are a lot of levers you can pull: tires, stem shock, CF handlebars, front shock forks, CF forks. I’d get front shock forks or a FS style stem over CF forks. I’m really not impressed with them.
 
Last edited:
Calcoaster said:
So, opinions please - is the Vado sl4, with its alloy frame and fork jittery on average roads? When I went from an aluminum frame road bike to a carbon frame 15 years ago there was a big step up in comfort. I have been told that modern aluminum frames are manufactured differently and they feel ‘almost like carbon’ now. Is that true or hype? I would probably buy a vsl5 over the 4 if there was one available but it could mean a long wait now.
Click to expand...
The Futurshock system works quite well, but only a carbon fork is not that comortable. Much less than a whole carbon frame and some carbon forks even less conforable/stiffer than alloy forks.
So carbon fork more comfortable: no or not that much. But as Futureshock works fine, carbon fork with Futureshock works fine as well.
I personally don't like the special solution there. What if something fails here after a years? I would prefer a suspension stem which offers a similar type and amount of suspension while it costs and weighs only 1/3 of Futureshock. And if it fails one day, just throw it away and put a normal stem.
 
Calcoaster said:
Did you ride with the stock stem enough to compare the comfort difference? Details please! I used a stem calculator and see that going from the stock 90 @ 14 to the 100 @ 30 shockstop stem raises the bars by 26mm and reduces reach by 9mm.
How did you manage the headlight mount that some here have talked about? Or any other custom changes needed?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Hi yes I rode the bike first without making any changes - I've been a roadie for the last 20 years but for various reasons wanted a new outlook on cycling. So wanted a slightly improved handlebar height for the Vado SL and suspension so the shockstop solved both issues. I used a garmin/go pro mount for the light - really straight forward. The additional height didn't cause any cabling issues. The difference between the stock stem and the shockstop is very noticeable (UK roads are diabolical - so the dampening effect makes a difference) that said the stock stem set up was pretty good. Great bike and did 140 miles last weekend with no problems(with range extender). I upgraded the tyres to Schwalbe Marathon Plus.
 
Could anyone praising ShockStop stem tell me what they did to the Specialized headlight mount?!
 
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