Specialized Turbo Vado SL 5.0 EQ
£3,400 Slick, smooth and speedy suburban ride
Weight 16.69kg (L) Frame Aluminium Fork Carbon Gears SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed (44t, 11-50t) Brakes Tektro HD-R510 hydraulic disc Wheels DT Swiss R500 rims Motor system Specialized SL 1.1 custom motor and 320Wh battery, remote, colour integrated display Finishing kit Stealth alloy stem, alloy seatpost, both Specialized; Stout Mini Rise alloy bar, Bridge Sport saddle, Nimbus II Sport Reflect 700x38mm tyres
“This alloy bike’s tough enough for commuting, yet light enough to feel rapid on the road (or to carry up to your flat)”
Specialized has taken a fast, flatbarred all-road bike template and infused it with an ebike motor. This gives ample power and a good range yet doesn’t spoil the ride when the motor’s off. Plus it’s keenly priced and comes ready for yearround riding.
The Turbo Vado SL is lighter than the standard Vado, with geometry to match its flat riser-bar cockpit. This alloy bike’s still tough enough for the daily commute yet, at just 16.7kg, it’s light enough to feel rapid on the road (or to carry up to your flat). Above the carbon fork, the FutureShock 1.5 suspension system sits in the head-tube with 20mm of ride-smoothing travel.
The huge down-tube houses a 320Wh battery and flows smoothly into the middrive motor; there’s also a step-through version. Our model has triple bottle bosses, adding useful carrying capacity.
Motor power
Specialized’s own 1.1 SL motor delivers up to 35Nm of torque via its three power modes. Eco is ample for urban riding, Sport’s perfect for rolling rural roads and Turbo for steep hills. You can buy a range extender that fits into a bottle cage, adding 160Wh capacity. Specialized claims that’s good for an extra hour’s riding.
The drivetrain combines a custom Praxis crankset and parts from SRAM’s GX Eagle mountain bike range. A single chainring is paired with a very widespread cassette (1150t). The 38mm-wide Nimbus tyres are
tough, but narrower than most ebikes of this type, proving speedy on the road. This EQ (equipped) model comes with full mudguards, a 20kg-load-capacity pannier rack and a kickstand. Lezyne lights are powered by the bike’s battery.
Bump smoothing
While the Vado has plenty of speed and nimble handling, it’s still comfortable: the FutureShock unit, plus a great-shaped bar and grips, makes it easily a match for ebikes with suspension forks. At the back end, the compliance of the tyres is ample on the roughest of road surfaces and worked well on bumpy bike paths.
The Vado rides really well. The motor is unobtrusive with its assistance, but generous when you need it, and the steering is quick, making the bike feel agile without being twitchy: navigating slow traffic is easy, as is riding through fast corners on narrow roads. Get out of the city and into the hills, and the Vado SL is brilliant. On climbs, your own efforts are rewarded more than on heavier bikes, and it rides almost like a non-assisted bike when you aren’t using the motor. Descending is fun, and the ride position, road-buzz reduction and great steering all contribute to ride confidence.
Tektro’s hydraulic brakes offer ample power with decent modulation and control, but there’s quite a bit of lever travel before the pads bite (ask your bike shop to sort this). The motor is controlled by a neat remote on the left of the bar, with a fullcolour display screen in the top-tube.
Specialized claims a range of up to 115km in Eco mode. My cold, hilly rides were more like 68.4km with 606m of ascent: still a respectable range from a 320Wh battery.
Verdict Specialized has created a practical yet sporty ebike that’s exciting to ride but also very easy to live with