Originally Posted by
Barrettscv
Well, after more than 20 months of lurking on the sidelines, I've purchased my first E-Bike: The Specialized Vado SL 5.0.
It comes along at a time when I'm eager to rebuild my cycling fitness. I sharply stopped my healthy cycling habit in 2019. I was in very good cycling shape during the winter of 2017/2018 and was cycling 300-500 miles per month. 2019 started strong, but I stopped cycling during the summer.
My search for an E-Bike has been very specific. The combination of features I was seeking really didn't exist in the spring of 2019. This included;
28 mph Class 3 performance
Low to moderate pedal assist power, something to improve climbing but that required significant effort from the cyclist.
Light weight, 35 lbs or less total bike weight
Long cruising range.
Well integrated controls, displays and systems with a hidden battery
700x38 tire size.
Moderate price point
I really didn't expect to find this combination of features on a production bike. However, a few weeks ago I noticed a listing for a near new Specilaized Vado SL 5.0 featured on Facebook. Not only did the bike fit my criteria, it was my size and a 75 minute drive from home. The bike had less than 750 miles and is as-new. I saved $1640 from Retail.
I could not believe your numbers so I checked it out and did some calculations. It depends on your definitions as to whether this bike meets the criterion or not. You might not be average. Real world numbers is going to give a range of something like 20-55 miles on a single battery full charge. If you can contribute more than average to the watts then you can achieve much more.
28 mph class 3 performance? If your definition of class 3 performance is not cutting the power until the max speed of 28 mph, then this statement can be said to be true. If you want the full 28 mph you will need to contribute more than 300 watts per hour to sustain that speed at zero wind and slope. It's more likely that the average person will top out somewhere around 24 mph sustained (39kph).
This bike is very light by my standards and does pretty much what you say it does. Road type bikes are far more efficient than what I am use to.
It's often instructive to look at someone's ideas that are vastly different than my own. It makes me realize that there can be big differences in criterion and, as a result, possible vast improvement with some changes in one's own criterion.
With my own criterion and experience on an e bike, a fat bike for long distance remote dirt bikepacking/touring. The numbers on the Vado seemed like total fantasy. That is why I had to check them out. That exercise points to the fact that I could possibly improve things by changing some of my criterion. Right now that criterion is 28 mph class 3 with 22 mph sustained (35kph), normal 16-17 mph (25-27 kph). High assist from the motor and moderate assist from the rider. Light weight under 85lbs (39kg) and long range 70-275 miles (113-443 km) on dirt. Me the bike and gear under 350lb (160kg)