Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0 review: the ultra-customizable electric bike

The American company Specialized, founded by a cycling enthusiast in 1974 and having started its adventure with the production of a tire, is today a juggernaut in the world of cycling. Its very top-of-the-range bikes for competition rub shoulders with mainstream models for the road, a wide range of technical accessories and, of course, electric bikes.

On this ground, Specialized wanted to transmit its expertise and its passion for cycling. Its electric bikes, entirely designed by the brand with an electric part entrusted to the giant Brose on the production side, have a clear ambition: to offer all cyclists, beginners or experienced, a complete experience. Specialized’s Turbo lineup covers all sectors, from mountain biking and city biking to ultralight powertrains, allowing the manufacturer to build bikes at the intersection of muscle power and electric power.

The Turbo Vado 3.0, vintage 2022, is Specialized’s most classic electric bike: at € 3,400, it ranks among the first high-end bikes, generally well equipped for effortless urban journeys. But does the American brand have anything to stand out in such a competitive sector?

Design and components of the Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0 (2022)

The Turbo Vado is a big bike, fitted with 27.5-inch wheels and Pathfinder Sport Reflect tires (obviously taken from the Specialized catalog). The tested version features a high frame that remains easy to step over, with the taller tube angled slightly to end well below the seat post – an open-frame version is also sold by Specialized.

The Turbo Vado’s large gravel-type tires, combined with a Suntour suspension fork, allow you to handle the roughness of the asphalt without the shocks being transmitted to the driver. This is the type of setup we like most on e-bikes, because it’s a misconception that city roads are uniformly flat… and well-maintained. This large bike, designed for comfort, has nothing to do with potholes and other deterioration of the road.

On the safety side, each wheel is braked by Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, powerful enough to withstand the decelerations demanded by an urban environment. On wet roads, this is the best way to avoid having to fear absent braking or slippery pads. Specialized has also made excellent choices in terms of lighting, meeting the need to be seen on the road when you are a cyclist: the red rear light is very large and mounted directly on the luggage rack (MIK HD compatible, luggage up to 27 kg). It gives style and visibility.

The front light has the particularity of projecting a very wide cone of light, without being too dazzling for people arriving in front of it. It’s an excellent layout for sideways viewing even in a dark night: the Turbo Vado 3.0 is clearly immune to failure of street lights, or unlit country lanes or glades. The entire bike, black as it is, is painted with reflective markings to complement this visibility so essential for cyclist safety.

To support the pedal stroke, we count on 9 classic speeds for city bikes (11-36 on the cassette, which will not allow for mountain biking type crossing). But it is the engine that will interest us the most on this Turbo Vado 3.0: Specialized designs its own engine and has it produced by Brose – a German supplier in direct competition with Bosch. For its electrified bikes for 2022, the American brand equips the “2.0” version of its engine. On the Turbo Vado 3.0, version 2.0E is equipped, that is to say the one designed for energy saving – to the detriment of raw power.

In fact, in its normal version, this motor is capable of delivering 70 Nm of torque (250 W of power). The E version is limited to 50 Nm of torque (250 W of power), but allows a high autonomy. Clearly, you pump less on the 530 Wh battery when starting, which allows you to go further. This 2.0E motor, in its most powerful mode, looks a bit like what Bosch does in its eMTB (Performance Motors) mode: it really feels like working with the bike. Each pedal stroke is replicated and an increase in intensity results in greater assistance, up to 25 km / h.

The Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0 on the road: an eBike for cycling lovers

Let it be said: this electric set is a real treat on the road. It doesn’t have the raw power of the Turbo mode of a Bosch engine, but offers no less exhilarating sensations. They fit perfectly into the philosophy of the brand which knows how to speak to professionals: even on a bike as accessible to the general public as a Turbo Vado, Specialized invites you to pedal. This can be seen straight away on the on-board computer which, in its default configuration, displays the revolutions per minute of the crankset on a gauge system that will allow you to see whether you are under-supporting or over-supporting the engine. The ideal is to be in the green to save energy.

For fans of technical and data subtleties, Specialized has gone above and beyond. The on-board computer can be configured at will, with up to 6 information displayed in real time. The list of what you can have in front of you is endless: max speed, average speed, range, elevation, hour, distance traveled, pedal revolutions per minute, consumption, smoothed consumption, altitude, odometer … You can combine all this information or have several thematic screens that you can change with a button on the remote control on the handlebars.

The on-board computer also allows you to play finely with the assistance settings of the bike, from 10% to 10%, while you are driving. Off-driving, you can fine-tune the various modes to suit your needs on the road. We can even give a destination to the on-board computer which will adjust the engine power as well as possible, in order to provide you with battery power throughout the trip. You probably won’t have all the faders full, but you will be able to make your journey without being dry – within the limit of the maximum range of the bike, around 130 km.

Finally, the computer enables a digital lock to be activated which deactivates the motor and prevents the bicycle from being paired with another smartphone. It’s also supposed to sound an alarm, but don’t count on it: we had to ride the bike a few yards for it to go off and it’s far from audible to passers-by or overwhelming to a thief.

What’s particularly nice, however, is that everything you’ve just read is optional. If you don’t care about those details, you may very well be able to press the On button on the bike and start your ride, using only the default modes. Personalization or connection with a smartphone and an app are just an added bonus here – which you would be wrong not to use – and not an obligatory passage like on many connected bikes.

And this optional side allows you to enjoy a bike on which you really feel free. The motor constantly senses the constraints (pedal, road, incline, speed, etc.) and will adjust its power according to this information, in order not to blow you away. The refereeing is often very good and the fact of putting a little more potato in the pedaling allows very fast explosive acceleration, ideal for getting out of a situation presenting a danger – starting at a red light for example. We have on this bike sensations very close to a muscular model, to which we would have added more legs which pedal alongside us. It’s less breathtaking than a Bosch motor from the same range, but very pleasant on the pedaling side. The result is the same: we arrive at our destination without sweating and the huge mudguards do the job to keep us from getting wet.

It is on a very inclined slope that we can see the difference with a motor with a higher torque: when a Bosch Performance allows to go to 20/22 km / h before forcing, we are more between 17 and 20 km / h on this 2.0E model. On the other hand, the “E” is not overused: it is one of the bikes with which we did the most kilometers without recharging, in the highest mode. When a Bosch Performance engine, in almost constant Turbo mode, can cover 40 to 60 km in one charge, we were more around 70-90 km with this Turbo Vado 3.0. An argument for those who do not want to fit the removable battery every day at home.

In any case, with this Turbo Vado, Specialized has the cards in hand to extend its reputation to a general public who is less familiar with this brand, which is popular with cyclists.