2018 MEN'S TURBO VADO 3.0

The good: Purchased as a commuter, I can get to and from work (18.6 miles) in about an hour, even with a 500 foot mile long climb near the end of the homeward commute. Staying eco on the flat allows me to do a round trip commute on a single charge. The bad: watched a video featuring Mike Sinyard (CEO) where he admits to quality issues on the Vado and I quote ""We own that"" and he goes on to tout the Apple/Android app for the Vado. I purchased the 2019 model, which still has the BLOKS display and does not hook up to the app. The UGLY: Specialized said I would have to submit a warranty claim to get the proper head unit, and it should be free if its a 2017/2018 Vado, 2019 model is out of luck. Local bike shop mentioned the fix for the 2017/2018 was never free, regardless I have the 2019 so now I get to spend 10% of what I paid for the bike to get one of the features that was promised from the beginning. Final thoughts: Amazing bike! Terrible customer support fixing a feature that was promised years ago. Do your research and buy a 2020 model to avoid this issue.

After over 1000 miles I still love this bike. Got rid of my car as I was hardly using it and now use this. I've actually ridden more miles on this since getting it in April 2018 than I drove in the last 18 months of owning a car. Now, the only complaint is the saga about the Mission Control app and it's non use for the Vado series of bikes. Specialized have since removed mention of the app on most (not all) of the bikes advertising. It wasn't by any means the only reason I brought the bike but it is a disappointment still that it hasn't yet arrived. I've spoken to Specialized via email and while they still maintain that the app is coming, there is no timeframe for it. I get the impression that it's the Android version that's the problem but I've no way to confirm this. End of the day however, the bike is brilliant. Gets me around quickly, no messing with hills and is a perfect commuter bike.

I work from home so commuting is not my issue, but going to the store or the bank is, and that is now done on the Vado 3.0. Starting up my car for the short local trips was hard on the car and got me no exercise. Now the Mercedes stays in the garage, unused for most of the week. The Vado (unlike my standard road bike) makes me want to get out for a ride every day, rain or shine, I've added one pannier to the rack and so far that's all I need. The bike is fast on pavement or gravel trails, very solid, handles like a dream and makes a 14 mile trip to get coffee an absolute joy. On any ride I have a 250' climb at the end to get to my house, this used to be a major reason not to ride, as i would be spent and still have to climb the 15-20% grade for the last 1/3 mile. But no more, the Vado takes it in stride passing other cyclists like they are standing still and I arrive home not in a pool of sweat but energized and ready to go. I've ridden over 250 miles so far, I get 25-30 miles per charge in turbo/cruise for short fast trips, if I stretch it with Eco and no-assist I think I could get 60 miles on a charge. Never mind all the talk about apps and connectivity, get the bike, save some gas, have some fun and feel like a kid with the best new toy ever.

Vado 3 has only 3 power settings. Makes it very difficult to ride with my friend who has 9 power settings or someone with a powerlezs bike. A,so makes it difficult to ride for exercise but need occasional help up hill.

Got a 3.0 last year to help me rehab my knee, love the bike. Able to burn calories and go farther, good battery life, they need to figure out how to regenerate electricity from pedaling in the future. The app story is/was confusing. The mountain bikes have it, as they have no display and the battery is BT/ANT. The Vado is not app compatible at this time, as battery is not wirelessly enabled, but you do have the display.

I never was able to locate an app for this bike. Both Vado and the dealer misled me. It's very disappointing.

I love the bike. But... whats going on with the App?? is this false advertisement? specialized is saying the app is available for turbo vado 3.0, but is not.

The Turbo Vado 3.0 has made it possible for me to commute to work from home, which is a 40km round trip. I bought the bike in late September 2017. I'm happy to recommend this bike, however, it has been far from a trouble-free first 1000km, not by a long shot, I've had to return it to the shop 4 times for maintenance, which has meant I've equally not had it for about as long as I have had it, since I bought it. I'll summarise my experience here: One of the first things I did was to replace the tyres with more robust city continentals as I got two flats the first night I rode it out around town, and immediately bought a brighter light to add to it as I couldnt see where I was going. I raised the handlebars with an extender as they were too low. Replaced the handgrips with body fit ones that allow for end holdy things. The rear carrier rack while styly, is reasonably impractical for much. At 300lumen the front light might as well not be there at all as I have to always carry with me a CatEye to enable seeing where I am going in darkness which is half of the time. I replaced the hard seat that came with it almost immediately. The electronics locked up and had to have a cable replaced which took 3 weeks to come to New Zealand. The chain has skipped for as long as I had it until the rear cassette was replaced, and looks like I will need to replace it again shortly as the cog teeth are broken while changing gears despite not applying pressure whenever possible. I bought the travel charger as when I cycle the 19km to work with turbo assist, I don't have enough charge to get home again. I enjoy the bike, although there is more work needed in the manuals that come with it, and video support is not available.