“Calling it an ‘e-bike’ is an insult,” says Specialized about its latest e-bike, the Vado SL 2 Carbon. We honestly don’t know what they want us to refer to it as instead. At one point in their press release, they refer to it as “a multi-tool.”
Let’s file the ‘not an e-bike’ thing away as rhetoric, because it certainly boasts all the obvious qualities of one.
The Vado SL is a lightweight urban hybrid. The previous version – which we rated very highly – featured Specialized’s SL 1.1 mid-motor, but the Vado SL 2 Carbon gets an upgrade to the SL 1.2.
This motor – which is capable of delivering up to 320W of peak power – is only available on Specialized branded e-bikes.
One quality worth highlighting is that it’s seriously quiet and this time around, it’s combined with a decently-sized 520Wh battery that Specialized says should be good for about five hours of riding.
The SL part of the motor name indicates that it is ‘super light’, in case you’re wondering. You can find out how it stacks up against other lightweight mid-motors here.
This, together with the carbon frame, keeps the overall weight down to 14.9kg for the LTD model - although there will only be 250 of that one available.
The ‘equipped’ model – the Turbo Vado SL 2 EQ Carbon – is a bit heavier at 17.9kg, but that’s still pretty flyweight considering it has mudguards, lights and an MIK rear rack rated to carry up to 27kg. (The rear rack together with the optional front rack are what elicit that description of the bike as a 'multi-tool'.)
The gearing is 12-speed Shimano XT and there’s Future Shock 3.2 suspension offering 20mm of travel. They’ve also switched to wider 47mm tyres for this latest incarnation of the bike.
Only the Turbo Vado SL 2 Carbon LTD (£7,500) and Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0 EQ Carbon (£5,500) will be available in the UK.
There’s also a standard, unequipped Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0 Carbon in other markets.
