2018 Men's Turbo Vado 6.0

This was the best ride/most fun of the e-bikes that I tested, and have loved commuting on it since October 18. The problem comes with the reliability of the components. I am currently on my 3rd Brose motor and second battery to engine power cable. All the failures have taken place as part of normal daily use and I don't ride in the rain or in rough conditions. My local bike shop is awesome and has fixed the issues with little delay, but I have concerns as to whether the problems will continue post the warranty period. Specialized seem interested in improving their products and takes these issues seriously, but based on what I've seen online these types of component failures are not uncommon. I love this bike and will keep trying, and would recommend based on the awesome ride, but caveat emptor.

I've had this bike for a week. I put 100 miles on it. I work 20 miles from my house, and my intention was to use this bike to commute. The folks at the Camas Bike Shop, where I purchased the bike, correctly recommended I get a second charger for my office. I'm 250 pounds, and I had real concerns about how the battery would last for the ride back. I live in Camas, WA, and work in Gresham, OR. It's uphill across the I-205 bridge coming home to WA, and there's a sizable hill that I live on. The first day, I used 60% of the battery going to work, charged it, and used 85% going home. By the end of the week, it was more like 75% going home. I'm getting better at the battery, and getting stronger each trip. I do a 12-hour shift between trips, where I'm not torn up from the ride. The folks at the bike shop told me they'd never sold one before, so they were glad to see something new. This increased my enthusiasm for the bike. I like the solitude on the ride to/from work, but it wold be nice to see the number of commuters grow.

I love this bike and it is so far performing great ( bought 4 weeks ago- July 2018)- in looking for some specs on line I ran accross these reviews and now I am concerned. Mike Bikes in San Rafael Ca is a great shop and assures me the updates are coming for Mobil app but no evidence this is happening. Getting ready for big multi day ride with friend who bought same Vado 6.0 and will be really passed if it breaks down.

After a shocking Vado 3 experience with near total replacement over time, I thought I'd try the Vado 6. Immediately regretted it as the 2019 specifications I recieved do not match what is shown on the specialized sites at the time of purchase a month ago, however they are now slowly being updated. Be very wary of what specification you will receive vs the specification shown on any specialized website. A dishonest practice.

I bought my Turbo Vado 6.0 two weeks ago after riding an St1 for almost 4 years, logging about 18k miles, averaging about 100 miles/wk in urban commuting. Comparisons: Ride over rough payment: Vado 6.0 is clearly better, with less jolting. Improvement is more than I can explain by the front shocks on Vado 6, possibly more weight on center of bike? Acceleration: On Vado it's clearly better to start in lower gear. I find I'm shifting down 2 gears from cruising to take off from stop. I don't mind, just took about a week to get the reflex. Otherwise, acceleration from stop seems similar. Cruising speed: I'm faster on Vado 6 by 2-3 mph with the same amount of effort - I can hold 25-28 mph on level vs. 24-25 (comparing Vado 6 sport mode to ST1 - touring). The higher output modes aren't relevant to me because they shorten the range too much. Range: about the same. I charge the bike in the middle of a 32 mile day... though either bike would probably make it without, it is too close for comfort. Riding when wet: The extended front fender on Vado 6 is remarkably effective. The 2nd day I rode there was a heavy thunderstorm mid-day leaving puddles I had to ride through - as deep as 2 inches. I got home with dry feet. Puddles always splashed water on my feet on St1 Overall feel: I prefer Vado 6 - more like a regular bicycle. Feels more nimble, peddling is more like a regular bike, and also faster.

I love the bike - so much fun to ride - if, and that's a big if, the control unit boots up. ... which often it does not. Brought it to the dealership, they updated the OS, but no change. About 1 in 3 times it fails to boot. Rebooting sometimes helps, hard reset sometimes helps when rebooting does not. But hey, I want ride my bike - not gamble. To be clear, I have nothing bad to say about the Vado, I love it, it is everything I want and then some! ... I just wish I could rely on it booting up properly. Reading the other comments I am realizing that I did not get the lone bad control unit (sigh). I don't even care that the advertised GPS gizmos etc is not actually available - don't need that, just the basics is fine with me. I still would recommend the bike to a friend (which I often do) - I am just hoping they get that little computer fixed very soon.

Nothing works ! No app to operate any functions..many emails sent & no changes . 4 pages of functions and none of it operates..not even an odometer. The power settings are disfunctional also there is no off .it is really Econ mode.so you have Turbo, Sport econ1,Econ2. No maps,gps light dimmer..been pedaling three weeks &have no idea how far I went .(no odometer):

I was attracted to this bike and after a brief test ride I fell in love. It rides great and the motor integration is very natural. It is so well integrated that you come to feel the assist is coming from you and not the bike. That is wonderful as are the shifting, brakes and handling. The lights are amazing. The electric horn to gets the attention of that texting driver about to cut you off. These features, which are the heart of the bike could not be better. What is not so great is the total lack of updates for the bike firmware or the phone app. These have been promised since 2017 and calls to Specialized indicate that they and the developer are ""working on it."" Guess they work slowly. I see bike has firmware updates on the German website but so far nothing at all for us. Likewise, the application for the phone that is advertised as doing so much is MIA. I feel cheated since I bought the bike in part for these features. That highly touted color display is essentially a cadence, speed and battery level monitor. Nothing more at all. Battery management features are one reason some have complained about charge levels. The bike wants to discharge the batter to 50% and will take it from 90+% to 50% in a week or 10 days if you don't ride it. I get that since LiON batteries store better when half charged. I have adapted by trying to keep the battery about half charged and only charge it to near 100% the night before I have a longer ride. The display has limited life if you don't turn the bike on every two days or so. It resets to defaults. With such a big battery (that is trying to discharge itself actively) it seems they could have kept power going to the display. Doesn't it?? I have lost confidence that the electronics part of this e-bike will ever be fixed. If you do decide to buy the bike, buy it for how it rides and feels (great!) but don't believe any of the hype about integration with a phone or GPS. It just is not happening

Had since early Nov. 2017 and have used it quite a bit for daily commute in Columbus, OH. I am an experienced rider with solid mechanical/technical skills. The bike looks and rides like a bicycle, not like an e-bike. You don't feel the weight, it handles well, very balanced, acceleration and stopping are responsive and smooth. Drive-train, high-end disc brakes perform well. Saddle, fenders, grips, etc. do their job very well. Integrated rack is nice, but the plastic tail light is flimsy. The power of the mid-drive motor is fantastic, but you can still get a workout if you want. Battery life has been great and it charges quickly. Battery is tricky to get in and out of the frame, not effortless. They need to fix an issue that causes the bike to lose motor support abruptly, as I have had the same problem as the other reviewer twice. The computer freezes and you lose motor support. Rebooting fixes the problem, but it is not safe to lose power unexpectedly on a commuter, in traffic. The computer issue needs fixed! Specialized told my local bike shop that they haven't heard of the issue, but now 2 of 2 reviewers have had the same problem. The Vado is a on the cusp of being a great bike with a lot of potential, but Specialized needs to finish the job on this bike. I have no regrets buying it and love riding it. If Specialized fixes the issues, it is hard to compete with the Vado, especially for the price. Great components and features, and it rides like a dream. Specialized does need to acknowledge and resolve the problem with the computer locking up, and also they need to release completed firmware and mission control apps. Also, they should address the flimsy tail light issue. If those things happen, this bike is definitely a 5-star bike. For now, I am going with 4 stars, giving Specialized the benefit of the doubt that they will do the right thing and resolve these issues. If there wasn't a character limit for reviews, I would provide more details.