abridges01

I am looking to replace my ageing Surface 604 Colt with a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 4.0 and would appreciate any feedback - positive or negative - on this bike. I am aware that it is not a 'sit back and cruise' type e-bike and I am quite OK with that as I need the exercise!
Thanks in advance.

veganbikes

It is a great bike. My one biggest qualm with it is the fork/headset situation. Either go with a future shock or a carbon fork but aluminum fork and no future shock doesn't gel with me. The SL 5.0 has both but the 4.0 has neither but is ready for a future shock. Beyond that it is a decent drivetrain and a so far so good mid-drive motor and has decent assist and is nice and light. If I could swing I would go 5.0 for the comfort and the 12 speed XT is actually quite nice and having the TCD as standard is nice as well however the 4.0 is not a bad option in the least.

I say test ride one but go for it. The Vado SL is on my short list of E-bikes I really want and probably will be my next bike purchase this year assuming all the funds work out.

abridges01

Thank you Mr. Griswold, your thoughts are much appreciated.

veganbikes

No worries, having ridden a lot of e-bikes that is a favorite of mine because it is a bit more like my regular bikes and I have no intention on giving those up.

abridges01

I did get to test the Turbo Vado 4 SL EQ, and am definitely leaning that way, but have not had the chance to ride the larger Vado 4. Given my liking for a little off roading (loose dirt), I am tempted to try the bigger bike to see if the suspension and larger motor make it a better choice.

veganbikes

If I weren't going for a Vado SL I would look at the Como instead. I and many others are not as big fans of the regular Vado. It is a bit too heavy and the suspension isn't worth the weight. If I wanted a suspended bike it would be more like the R+M Charger or Supercharger or Nevo or something like that. The Vado SL 5.0 has the right amount of suspension for what it is and if you went with a 650b wheelset you could run plenty wide tires for the bike if the 700c tires are too thin.

abridges01

Great, thank you VeganBikes, I very much appreciate your thoughts.

abridges01

Nuff said.

veganbikes

Awesome!!!! Ride it and enjoy it. Also make sure you are using the Mission Control App and do all the normal bike maintenance. You are going to have a great time out there. I think I might pounce on mine soon assuming I can get bossman on board.

BEC111

I love mine, though I agree with veganbikes that the 5 with front suspension would have been better. I couldn’t justify the extra bucks as I was $1000 over budget with the 4. Chose it for weight and range. Rides like my Cannondale Adventure 1, but easier on my old bones.

veganbikes

It is odd they couldn't do one of the two? It is ready for Future Shock and at most it would have added $100 to the price realistically and would have made it awesome or add $200 for the carbon fork. Why have a second part when you could just do one carbon fork for both and bing bam boom you don't need to produce that second fork in potentially a different factory. A penny saved is a penny earned.

Honestly if they had done the 4 with a carbon fork I would go for that and it would be way better on my end. I could do what I wanted with the drivetrain and swap the brakes which I would do on the 5 anyway (because I am a chronic tinkerer and I can get flat mount XTR brakes now) and I would be changing bars, stem and seatpost as well so it could save me some coin.