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Specialized E'bike Turbo Vado Super Light 5.0 first impressions.

Climber said:
BTW, your new E-bike pretty much looks like a regular bike, you should have some fun with it and run down some of the hardcore riders. :laughing

People in cars are probably thinking that you're a total stud going up those hills!
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Nah, to your first point I'm not "that guy" and I respect their talent and, in general, they don't ride where I do anyway, they ride in places I'd never ever consider on two wheels other than a moto.

But yes, in the past, I've been crushed by E'bike riders who I considered "cheaters." :laughing

As to the second point, not a chance.

My studly days were short and a long long time ago! :laughing
 
I find that it bridges my abilities with some of my friends. I ride with people that KOM, regularly. This helps prevent me from feeling like I am holding them up or feeling bad that I am holding them up too much.
 
mbsv said:
Class II eMTB are motorcycles. And should be regulated as such, though they're not always.
This is the history of the motorcycle, repeated over a century later!
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Exactly. It's problematic and challenging for a manufacturer to deal with all 50 states regulations.
 
augustiron said:
Anything that gets someone out riding more and exercising more is a net positive.
Lots of hate for e-bikes up here, much like everywhere else, but the fact is tons more people are out on bikes riding to school, riding to work, generally just riding around town which is a good thing.
.
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100% this. Glad your stoked Geoff.

Ken if your still riding the bluffs I might cross paths with you on my gravel bike. I signed up for a big gravel "race" in Feb, time to train :laughing
 
Yakoo752 said:
Good timing on this thread Geoff. I developed pretty severe arthritis in the last year, and it's completely kept me off the pedal bike. I was just at the bike shop (eMTB) and the $15k price tag had me pause. :laughing I think I will still pull the trigger though. I moved up to Roseville, so I could be closer to the mountains, only to be robbed of it within months of arrival. :cry

What size frame Ken?
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It's a large. Turbo Levo SL Carbon Expert. It is in excellent condition, and the price I am going to ask for will make me cry. I'm a cheap Englishman...:rolleyes I got a smoking deal on my full power Levo Carbon, so I can afford a loss on the SL. PM me if you would like further details please.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-levo-sl-expert-carbon/p/175106?color=302465-175106
 
augustiron said:
Anything that gets someone out riding more and exercising more is a net positive.
Lots of hate for e-bikes up here, much like everywhere else, but the fact is tons more people are out on bikes riding to school, riding to work, generally just riding around town which is a good thing.

900ss ,what year and size is the Levo? I've been on the hunt for one for riding up here in Truckee.
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It's a 2021, size large, in excellent condition.
 
augustiron said:
Anything that gets someone out riding more and exercising more is a net positive.
Lots of hate for e-bikes up here, much like everywhere else, but the fact is tons more people are out on bikes riding to school, riding to work, generally just riding around town which is a good thing.
Click to expand...

That's me. I went the DIY route. Replaced a bunch of local driving with the bike. Bonding time with my older kid has been incredibly fun. Next goal is to incorporate the bike into school drop off / pick up.

Bike, motor, and battery was ~$3,000.

iHylqHvh.jpg
 
uclaktsai said:
That's me. I went the DIY route. Replaced a bunch of local driving with the bike. Bonding time with my older kid has been incredibly fun. Next goal is to incorporate the bike into school drop off / pick up.

Bike, motor, and battery was ~$3,000.

iHylqHvh.jpg
Click to expand...
That's a great seupt! :thumbup

I know that my daughters have never forgotten the time that I spent with them in a child seat mounted on the back of my bike. This setup looks even better and probably safer for them.

An E option opens up a ton more distance and time capable to use.

Do you have good lighting options for the bike? There are some really crappy drivers who are busy texting out there, anything that can make you more visible is always a good investment.
 
Johndicezx9 said:
Looks like a bicycle! :thumbup
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They do, and so do the Turbo Levo SLs I've been prattling on about. My wife and I were chatting with a hardcore mountain biker in Quicksilver Almaden a few months ago. I mentioned how my e-MTB has made life much easier for me (and yes, I do still get a workout). He was amazed it had a motor. The same was true in a bike shop with my Turbo Creo SL. The kid was floored when I turned it on. The SL motors really blend in with the frame. The full power motors not so much.
 
Mike95060 said:
100% this. Glad your stoked Geoff.

Ken if your still riding the bluffs I might cross paths with you on my gravel bike. I signed up for a big gravel "race" in Feb, time to train :laughing
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Hey Mike, good to hear from you as always. You should reach out to Geoffrey, he's into gravel big time. He did the Rock Cobbler, Sea Otter and another race up north earlier this year. Since hiring in at Specialized to program and run their Okuma Multus, he picked himself up a Turbo Levo Pro that he's thoroughly enjoying. It's funny after all the pooh-poohing he did and crap he gave me about e-assist bikes.

We ride every Sunday. Next time we plan on riding UCSB, Wilder or the bluffs I will let you know.
 
Climber said:
That's a great seupt! :thumbup

I know that my daughters have never forgotten the time that I spent with them in a child seat mounted on the back of my bike. This setup looks even better and probably safer for them.

An E option opens up a ton more distance and time capable to use.

Do you have good lighting options for the bike? There are some really crappy drivers who are busy texting out there, anything that can make you more visible is always a good investment.
Click to expand...

Yeah, going all black was not a good decision. Next bike will have color.

My front lighting is pretty good. I have the older road light from Outward Lighting (https://www.outboundlighting.com/collections/road-bike-lights/products/detour). One of the founders is a former automotive light engineer, so the light is real bright, but has a nice, clean cut-off line.

Rear light sucks. I need a better option.
 
Back in the day I had a tandem bike for my daughter and I; great bonding time.

We passed a house one day and the sign said free kittens so we pedaled home to ask my wife if we could get yet another cat.

"Only if its black" she said.

My daughter and I went back and knocked on the door.

"Do you still have any kittens left?"

"Only one, it's black, is that OK?"

Koko lived a long and happy life with us.
 
900ss said:
Hey Mike, good to hear from you as always. You should reach out to Geoffrey, he's into gravel big time. He did the Rock Cobbler, Sea Otter and another race up north earlier this year. Since hiring in at Specialized to program and run their Okuma Multus, he picked himself up a Turbo Levo Pro that he's thoroughly enjoying. It's funny after all the pooh-poohing he did and crap he gave me about e-assist bikes.

We ride every Sunday. Next time we plan on riding UCSB, Wilder or the bluffs I will let you know.
Click to expand...

No shit! I signed up for the Cobbler this year. Is he doing it? Good on him for finding a sweet gig and good you guys for getting out there!
 
900ss said:
It's a large. Turbo Levo SL Carbon Expert. It is in excellent condition, and the price I am going to ask for will make me cry. I'm a cheap Englishman...:rolleyes I got a smoking deal on my full power Levo Carbon, so I can afford a loss on the SL. PM me if you would like further details please.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-levo-sl-expert-carbon/p/175106?color=302465-175106
Click to expand...

Love to take you up on it but at 6’4”, I think I would have to pretzel on it. Why am I so tall :cry
 
Buddy got back to me and I won’t quote him here but it aligns with the comments re: legalization.

Pm inbound
 
Yakoo752 said:
Buddy got back to me and I won’t quote him here but it aligns with the comments re: legalization.

Pm inbound
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Yeah, if he wants a throttle assist mountain bike it will be a second tier product limited to 20mph. Hub drive which I'm not sure is good or bad but I'm guessing it isn't the desired approach by the E'bike segment leaders.

Looks like the big companies want to stick with pedal assist which is fine by me as no way was I getting a throttle bike.

Thanks.
 
A guy I work with picked up a DOST KOPE CVT, which apparently goes over 20 mph and has a throttle. He commutes on it most days from San Jose, somewhere around Piedmont Hills, to Campbell. He loves it.

https://dostbikes.com/product/kope-cvt
 
GAJ said:
And a small part of it is that riding without my riding partner, (who I had an idiotic falling out with after decades), who was always slower does indeed allow me to push more, so there is that.

If you are noodling an E'bike I'd say go for it as long as you can afford a decent one from a reputable manufacturer.
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Nice. Looks like a bike. So.. $5k? Man.

OK and what was the problem with your riding partner? You could.. go slower. :gsxrgrl

GAJ said:
That Specialized S Works?

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/s-works-turbo-levo/p/188252?color=317309-188252

Saw it $1000 off at Napa Valley Bike Shop, you'd have to call to find out the frame size but it was something to see, for sure.
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:wtf wow, so it's $15 k? Okay..
 
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