# Any opinions / experience of Specialized Turbo Vado 4?



## simon.r (2 Mar 2020)

I’m considering pressing the button on one of these (2019 model): 

https://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/product/14052/2019-men-s-turbo-vado-4-0/

I’d prefer a rigid fork, but could live with a short travel suspension fork. Other than that it ticks the boxes, I think. Flat bar, reasonable spec, 500 Wh battery, Brose motor. 

The specific bike I’m looking at is used, but only about 50 miles ‘on the clock’. The price is significantly less than the new RRP.

Interested in any thoughts.


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## Pale Rider (2 Mar 2020)

I think @Levo-Lon may have a bike with the same Brose motor, albeit bolted to an MTB.

Some reliability concerns, possibly with the internal drive belt, but if you look hard enough you will find stories of breakdowns with every ebike motor.

You can weigh up the rest of the bike as you would a pushbike, in terms of quality of components, and of course, if it's the style of bike you want.

As regards the price, you could obtain a discount of between 10 and 20 percent on a new one, so it's that discounted price you need to set against the price of the used one.


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## Levo-Lon (2 Mar 2020)

They do have some issues with the motor, but thousands don't have any problems.
I think mtb motor use is a lot more likely to cause some issues with sprag bearings and muddy wet riding.
For a commuter you won't be going through big muddy ruts and riding over mountains
The warranty is excellent, so I'd not hesitate if it's for you.


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## simon.r (3 Mar 2020)

I’ve ordered it! £1650 in the end, so significantly less than the RRP of £3200.

The 2020 model is £300 RRP less than the 2019 model, but with a slightly lower spec on the ‘normal’ cycle parts. Having said that, it’s a bit academic as there are none available in my size and Specialized are saying none will be arriving until late July.

Part of my thinking is that I live a couple of miles from a Specialized Concept store, so any problems should be relatively easy to resolve. 

I’ll report back in due course - may be two or thee weeks as I will need to adapt the bike slightly to cope with my my minor disability.


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## Pale Rider (3 Mar 2020)

I reckon the price reduction on 2020 models has worked in your favour.

However you cut it, £1,650 is a good deal for a major brand crank drive ebike.

I see it has a proper, deep, front mudguard which will actually do its job - unlike 95 percent of mudguards fitted to bikes.

It also has a neat single leg carrier which will be supported by a metal mudguard on the rear.

The carrier won't be heavy duty, probably rated for 10kg or so, which is still plenty for most applications.


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## simon.r (15 Mar 2020)

I've had this a few days now and got my first decent ride in yesterday.













Thoughts, in no particular order. For context I'm 56, a regular cyclist, but very definitely not fast! Bear in mind I have almost no previous experience of ebikes, so I can't compare this to anything else:

It's a big bike, even allowing for the XL frame size. The extended wheelbase and size of the battery / downtube make it look and feel huge when stationary.

It's heavy, but not ridiculously so. Specialized quote a weight of 25kg. I can move it around, turn it upside down (to get the wheels out) and so on without too much difficulty.

It's easy to ride, with neutral handling.

Getting up to 15mph is very quick and easy. Initially it almost felt as if the bike was running away with me as the acceleration from a standing start is so much faster than normal.

Cruising at 15mph is very easy on the flat and only slightly less easy up fairly steep hills.

Anything over 15mph (unless freewheeling downhill) is quite hard work. I'm not sure if there is some resistance due to the motor, or if this is just down to the weight / tyres / non-aerodynamic position?

There are 3 power settings - the lowest is enough to maintain 15mph on the flat, medium is good for gentle hills, high is good for a very quick getaway from the traffic lights or steeper / longer hills.

With a pannier and a few bits (total weight would be about 90kg) I did 28 fairly flat miles yesterday yesterday on about 50% of the battery. 

The gearing is very low. I doubt I'll ever use the 3 or 4 lowest gears - interesting that the gearing on the 2020 model is higher.

It almost doesn't feel like cycling! You obviously still get the fresh air / wind in the hair type of benefits, but the physical effort involved is *much* less than riding a non ebike.

After decades of riding non ebikes I haven't yet made up my mind if I really like it or not. As a car alternative (for commuting / general utility biking) it would be fantastic, but getting home after 28 miles and only feeling as if I'd done a very small amount of exercise felt very odd!

I'll keep using it (as well as my other bikes) and see how it goes.

( @Pale Rider - the rack is rated at 22kg, much to my surprise).


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## Pale Rider (15 Mar 2020)

simon.r said:


> ( @Pale Rider - the rack is rated at 22kg, much to my surprise).



Thanks, good to know about the rack, and it also illustrates the danger of making assumptions.

Looks a nice bike, which it should be for the money.

My Riese and Muller is in a similar trekking style, and it is a big lump.

Not sure why the wheelbase should be any longer than a normal bike, not that I've checked, but I suspect mine might be.

I agree with you about the effort required.

Judging the amount of effort is difficult, but you are still putting some in.

I reckon roughly a quarter or a third of push bike effort.

A hundred mile ebike ride leaves me similarly tired to a 25 or 30 mile push bike one.

Looks like your bike - again like mine - has wide MTB style bars.

My view is they are not needed on a trekking bike, so I've chopped mine.

It also makes the bike easier to handle through cycle path width restrictions.

Your battery range is about what I'd expect.

Worth bearing in mind the last 50 percent of any ebike's capacity calculator is usually used a lot quicker than the first 50.


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## richtea (15 Mar 2020)

Love the proper saddle! High tech and retro nicely combined. I'd do the same.


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## simon.r (20 Mar 2020)

A few updates:

Just over 40 miles today, battery went down to 20% left at almost exactly 40 miles. A fairly flat route, but some strong headwinds (one of those rides where the wind never seemed to be behind you!)

I rode in jeans (no padded shorts) and had a slightly sore behind after the ride. Thinking about it I suspect this is because I spent more time in the saddle, in exactly the same position. I normally stand to get up hills and probably sit back down in a slightly different position. No need to stand up on this! I may look into a shock absorbing seatpost. 

As @Pale Rider ‘s comment re. the bar. I agree, for me I reckon the optimal width is about 600mm. The bar pictured isn’t the one supplied, it’s narrower (about 630mm) with a higher rise. I have a couple of stems in the post to play around with the reach / rise and will try different bars at the same time. The position isn’t far off, but I’d like to fine tune it.

Finally and most importantly, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride today


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