Hello! I’ve been riding a Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 5.0 since July 10th. I searched around and haven’t seen many reviews on this bike, so I thought I’d share my thoughts and experiences so far. 

The short version: I love it! Great for someone who wants the benefits of an e-bike but still wants it to feel 80% like an analog bike. Excellent feature set for a city commuter. High-tech, premium vibe, with some quirks in the smartphone connectivity.

The long version… I’m going to get pretty detailed and exhaustive, so continue at your own risk:

Background

I’ve been a car-free bike commuter for the past 16 years, mostly on road and gravel bikes, including a Specialized Diverge, which I still own. My daily commute has varied over the years from 2-11 miles, but currently it’s a 4-mile trip each way, with additional trips for shopping and recreation. I average about 40-50 miles per week.

I also work as a bike fitter at a bike shop that primarily sells Specialized. I’ve worked there 11 years, and am deep in Specialized lore and internal training, so I’d say I definitely have a bias versus other brands.

The Haul

Early last year I bought a Globe Haul ST, which was a hell of a lot of fun. It was a powerhouse, capable of carrying a massive load of groceries without batting an eye, and surprisingly nimble despite its utilitarian appearance. But the torque-based sensor felt more like a foot-activated throttle — it never felt like my legs were actually contributing much to the overall momentum. I was reminded of this a few times when I forgot to charge the battery and it died on me — my speed dropped from 22 mph to under 10. It didn’t feel great in my knees when that happened, as the super-wide q-factor (\~220 mm) was awkward to pedal with any efficiency.  The 77-lb bike was also a beast to get up and down a flight of apartment stairs several times a week, and I was starting to develop worrisome aches in my lower back and shoulder.

I’ve test-ridden other e-bikes from Specialized and other brands, but the Haul is the only other one I’ve owned. It’ll be my main point of comparison.

Purchasing Decisions

I’ve been lusting after the Vado SL 2 ever since it launched early this year. The main features that stood out to me were the weight (44 lbs), the SL 2 motor — lighter, slimmer, quieter, and more powerful than gen 1, the large 520Wh battery, and the new Mastermind H3 display and UI. I started figuring out how to budget for it.

I did briefly consider the carbon model (6.0 EQ), but the 30% increase in price didn’t feel worth it for a 10% decrease in weight, and in my experience e-bikes don’t benefit from the ride feel of carbon fiber as much as analog bikes do.

One day I went to pick up the Haul and accidentally lifted with my back instead of the knees. My lower back ached for the next week. I decided that a bit of credit card debt was cheaper than a major back injury, so I bit the bullet and ordered the Vado SL 2. I refurbished and sold the Haul a couple weeks later to recoup half the cost.

Overall Ride Feel and Fit

It’s now been a month and a half; no regrets so far. The SL 2 is much easier to carry than the Haul at nearly half the weight, and the aches I was feeling in my back and shoulder have disappeared. Still heavy compared to my 22 lb Diverge, but not crushingly so. 

Pedaling feels very natural with its 169mm q-factor, equivalent to most hybrids and mountain bikes. When I ride with my partner on her Sirrus, I turn the assist off entirely and it still feels great, just like a normal bike.

The bike is generally quite capable and comfortable on paved surfaces and light gravel. It’s funny how much smoother the 700c wheels glide over cracked asphalt vs the 20” wheels I’d gotten used to, even with the tires being half the volume. On the Haul I added a suspension seatpost to make the ride less jarring, but haven’t felt the need to do so on the SL 2. The FutureShock suspension unit is a nice feature, however, and definitely helps dampen vibration through the handlebars.

The tires themselves, the new Specialized Hemispheres, are adequate but unremarkable. I’m running them at 27 psi front, 30 rear (per Wolf Tooth’s tire pressure app). They’re stable when cornering, and grip fine on most surfaces, dry or wet. They don’t feel super responsive like high-quality road tires, but also not clunky and dead like super-thick touring tires. I haven’t had a puncture yet after 312 miles. I’m planning to switch to TPU tubes once Schwalbe releases their new Clik Aerothan tubes in the fall, to save weight and further increase flat resistance.

I changed out the main touch points on the bike after a couple rides. Ergon GS1 Evo Large grips and Look Trail Grip pedals fit my large hands and feet better. The Rivo Sport saddle with its extra cushioning is more comfortable on my sitbones in the slightly-more-upright position I have the bike adjusted for.

To dial in the fit on my size Large bike, I needed to increase the bar reach and raise them slightly. This was more complicated than it needed to be as the display and headlight are attached to the stem using proprietary mounts, and the stem only comes in two sizes: 60 x 8° and 75 x 8°. After some trial-and-error, I was able to use the 90 x 14° stem and light mount that come on the Turbo Tero X (not officially compatible, but they fit), along with the Turbo TCD handlebar mount. I would have preferred if Specialized simplified compatibility by just mounting the light to the head tube as they do with other Turbo models.

Something I didn’t anticipate is that it feels slightly difficult to swing my leg over the back of the bike. I have the same saddle height on my Diverge and don’t have a problem mounting it. I think it’s a combination of the rear basket, increased bottom bracket height, and increased chainstay length, along with the bike’s weight making it harder to lean it towards me. I do miss the step-through frame on the Haul, but I went with the standard frame on the SL 2 due to aesthetics.

Motor, Battery

The motor’s pedal assist feels eerily smooth, and is fairly quiet compared to most e-bikes. The Haul had a noticeable “kick” when the motor activated, whereas the Vado is much more subtle. Put in more torque through the pedals and the bike matches it in a very intuitive fashion. The tagline, “It’s You, Only Faster” is an apt description. It definitely feels less powerful compared to an e-bike with a more standard-sized motor, but also feels more like your legs are actually doing something. There’s a nice acceleration curve that gives a bit of a boost when starting from a stop; very handy in stop-and-go downtown traffic. When I rode the Haul I would temporarily increase the assist level at a stoplight to get the same effect, but on the SL 2 it’s built-in.

By default, there are three pedal assist modes: Eco, Sport, and Turbo. I usually keep it on Sport, averaging 17-20 mph with a heart rate around 130 bpm, cadence 80-85 rpm, rider power \~100W. If I have to get into traffic, I can turn it up to Turbo and maintain 22-27 mph easily. I don’t use Eco very often, but it puts me around 12-15 mph, about as fast as I’d be traveling on my Diverge with similar effort level.

Range seems consistent with the estimates given by Specialized. Last time I charged to full, I got about 50 miles on Sport mode, plugging it in at 10% remaining. I don’t usually charge to 100% though, as I have the 80% charge limit enabled and plug it in once or twice a week when it drops below 30%.

User Interface & App

The display is bright and easy to read, even in broad daylight. The default display page shows speed, cadence, assist mode, and battery life, which is all I usually need. I added a page to show rider power vs motor power, which is neat to see in real-time.

I’m not a fan of the joystick-like toggle that comes with Mastermind H3. It seems cool on the sales floor, modern and video-gamey, but in practice is much more finicky than the discrete +/- buttons on the older Turbo models, and the Haul. I still find myself accidentally clicking the stick in (changing the display page) when I mean to click it up or down change assist levels.

The app is fairly easy to use. It’s nice to be able to tune the assist levels, but I’m fine with the default settings. Auto-record does a good job of recording your ride as soon as the bike starts moving. It integrates with Apple Health and Fitness on the iPhone, but doesn’t output rider power, cadence, or map data. For a while I was accidentally double-recording my rides through the Specialized app and my Apple Watch. Surprisingly, the Specialized app can access heart rate data through the Apple Watch, and can be shown on the bike’s display if desired. 

I also have auto-lock and unlock enabled, which locks the motor as soon as the bike is turned off, and automatically connects to the app to unlock when turned on. The built-in alarm, however, is a bit of a joke. For some reason it triggers immediately if you manually lock the bike through the app, and with auto-unlock on it also triggers during the 5-10 second window when it’s still connecting to the app. When the bike is off, the alarm only triggers if the bike starts rolling, which doesn’t help if someone is actively trying to cut your lock or remove components. I added an aftermarket motion alarm for peace of mind.

The integrated Apple Find My capability does tell me where my bike is, but doesn’t seem to update when I start riding? It often tells me I’ve left it behind when I’m five minutes into a ride.

Cargo and Other Components

The fenders are effective at keeping me from getting splashed on wet roads. I like how the rear fender and rack are integrated — it keeps the bike looking sleek while still being functional. I miss having the headtube-mounted front rack on the Haul, but I imagine it was skipped to minimize wind drag.

Carrying capability is great for light-to-medium loads. I drilled an Old Man Mountain Basket to fit a MIK adapter plate and keep it on the rear rack 95% of the time, for snacks and quick runs to the store. I also run a Specialized Coolcave on the left side of the rack about half the time, which is a nice fit for my 24L backpack, or additional groceries. I do notice the higher center of gravity when the bike is loaded, especially if I stand up to pedal out of the saddle. The smaller wheels of the Haul kept cargo weight low and stable, at the cost of road feel. I have a Burley Flatbed Cargo Trailer if I need to carry something larger, but haven’t gotten a thru-axle adapter yet.

The lights are pretty decent. The headlight puts out a wide beam that’s just bright enough for unlit roads, and drivers seem to see me approaching at cross streets. I would appreciate a high beam toggle — Specialized lists some compatibility for other front lights, so I might look into that in the future. The rear light integrated into the rack is also quite bright, and acts as a brake light. I seem to get plenty of passing distance from drivers.

I wasn’t optimistic about Shimano Cues, but so far, the 1x11 drivetrain works great! A little crunchy when shifting under load, and I wish I could downshift more than two at a time, but it still does its job admirably. The bike also feels geared appropriately as I hover towards the middle of the cassette, and the steps between gears aren’t too big. I’m looking forward to being able to change out the smallest four cogs individually instead of the whole cassette as the teeth wear down. Small annoyance: the seams along the edges of the plastic shift levers made them feel cheap, but a few strokes of an emery board took care of that. 

Conclusion

I’m really enjoying the Vado SL 2 — it’s everything I want in a commuter e-bike. It feels great, looks great, and has a great feature set out of the box, with plenty of options for aftermarket customization. I do have a few criticisms, but nothing major — I’m a fairly nitpicky person in general. It’s definitely expensive compared to offerings from smaller outfits, but the support of a big brand is a selling point that shouldn’t be taken lightly. I’m looking forward to riding this bike for many years to come.