Thoughts on the Turbo Vado SL and the Cannondale Quick Neo SL
07-14-22, 11:22 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Thoughts on the Turbo Vado SL and the Cannondale Quick Neo SL
I am planning to buy an ebike this year or early next. I need a lightweight step through. Step through because I have Parkinson's and am getting stiffer by the year. Light because I want to be able to tilt it up against the wall in my very limited space garage and would like to be able to lift it onto a standard Thule hitch rack. I have been riding a custom steel sport touring bike for the last decade and have been very happy with it but I have slowed down considerably and have trouble with hills. I am about to turn 74 and want to get a few more years in before I look at eTrikes.
I rode a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 4.0 step through today and was impressed. The Quick Neo SL 1 also has a step through and seems pretty nice but I haven't been able to ride one yet. REI will ship one out if I decide it is worth pursuing. My primary question is whether the Specialized is enough better to warrant the price difference. It looks like I would spend about $1500 more. I don't mind doing so if I will get a significantly better ride but will I?
Edit: I checked with Cannondale and the Quick Neo is no more. They have replaced it with the Tesoro Neo SL, which looks to be similar. So I guess I am comparing the tesoro SL to the Vado SL.
I rode a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 4.0 step through today and was impressed. The Quick Neo SL 1 also has a step through and seems pretty nice but I haven't been able to ride one yet. REI will ship one out if I decide it is worth pursuing. My primary question is whether the Specialized is enough better to warrant the price difference. It looks like I would spend about $1500 more. I don't mind doing so if I will get a significantly better ride but will I?
Edit: I checked with Cannondale and the Quick Neo is no more. They have replaced it with the Tesoro Neo SL, which looks to be similar. So I guess I am comparing the tesoro SL to the Vado SL.
Last edited by donheff; 07-14-22 at 01:32 PM.
07-14-22, 08:06 PM
#2
Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,505
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4348 Post(s)
Liked 3,984 Times
in
2,661 Posts
The Vado SL uses a md-drive motor, the Cannondale Tesoro is a hub drive. The mid drive is going to be more balanced and generally more reliable set up. I would rather have the the Vado personally. It has overall better parts beyond just the mid-drive system and also wider tires. The one point to beerCanonndale is they do have a carbon fork vs. the Vado 4 but the 5 has a carbon fork, suspension in the headset and a much better set of parts on it.
