The Specialized Turbo Vado SL 5.0 EQ is a fully urban-equipped ebike, designed to provide an entertaining ride while remaining versatile enough for the demands of everyday life.<\/p>
If, like me, you think the term SUV is a tag for a series of dreadful cars that are neither sporty nor useful, then reimagine that term for the Vado SL.<\/p>
This is a sport electric bike<\/a> that\u2019s also practical and useful. It\u2019s fast and fun, yet forgiving and practical.<\/p> The Specialized Turbo Vado SL 5.0 TQ is our Urban Electric Bike of the Year winner for 2024.<\/p> Head to our Road Bike of the Year announcement<\/a> to find out why \u2013 and to see the rest of our winners. We’ll also be publishing 54 reviews from our test \u2013 head to the Bike of the Year 2024 hub<\/a> for more.<\/p> The standard Specialized Turbo Vado<\/a> is a classic town-and-trail ebike, built around a sturdy frame with a large battery, mid-drive motor, big tyres and a suspension fork.<\/p> The Vado SL, however, is very different. Specialized has taken the template of its premium lightweight Turbo Creo all-road ebike and built the frame from aluminium rather than carbon to help keep the price down.<\/p> The geometry has been tweaked to match the flat riser-bar cockpit and produce a bike that\u2019s tough enough for the daily commute, yet at just 16.68kg, sufficiently light enough to feel rapid on the road.<\/p> Importantly, this should mean it\u2019s not too heavy to lift for apartment-dwelling commuters.<\/p> Instead of using a heavy suspension fork, Specialized has ported in the Future Shock 1.5 suspension system that debuted on the Roubaix<\/a> road bike, and can now be found on the Turbo Creo<\/a> electric road bike and Diverge<\/a> gravel bike.<\/p> This offers 20mm of ride-smoothing travel via a unit in the head tube.<\/p> The frame is finished beautifully in brushed aluminium (or you can have it in a road-safety-conscious bright yellow) with reflective black details.<\/p> The huge down tube, which houses a 320Wh battery, flows smoothly into the mid-drive motor.<\/p> Specialized also offers the Vado SL in a step-through version.<\/p> The frame features triple bottle bosses so you can add more carrying capacity, or a piggyback battery range extender without having to give up bottle space.<\/p>
<\/div><\/div>The Specialized Turbo Vado is our Urban Electric Bike of the Year for 2024<\/h2>
Specialized Turbo Vado SL 5.0 EQ frame details<\/h2>
![\"Specialized](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/04\/Specialized-Turbo-Vado-SL-5.0-EQ-15.jpg\")
![\"Specialized](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/04\/Specialized-Turbo-Vado-SL-5.0-EQ-14.jpg\")
\ufeff<\/th> S<\/b><\/th> M<\/b><\/th> L<\/b><\/th> XL<\/b><\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Seat tube angle<\/b> (degrees)<\/td> 73.5<\/td> 73.5<\/td> 73.5<\/td> 73.5<\/td> <\/tr> Head tube angle<\/b> (degrees)<\/td> 70<\/td> 70.5<\/td> 71<\/td> 71.5<\/td> <\/tr> Chainstay<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 445<\/td> 445<\/td> 445<\/td> 445<\/td> <\/tr> Seat tube<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 415<\/td> 446.5<\/td> 494.5<\/td> 535<\/td> <\/tr> Top tube<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 554<\/td> 587<\/td> 610<\/td> 630<\/td> <\/tr> Head tube<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 185<\/td> 217<\/td> 250<\/td> 285<\/td> <\/tr> Fork offset<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 50<\/td> 50<\/td> 50<\/td> 50<\/td> <\/tr> Trail<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 71<\/td> 67<\/td> 64<\/td> 61<\/td> <\/tr> Bottom bracket drop<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 70<\/td> 70<\/td> 70<\/td> 70<\/td> <\/tr> Bottom bracket height<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 270<\/td> 270<\/td> 270<\/td> 270<\/td> <\/tr> Wheelbase<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 1062<\/td> 1091<\/td> 1110<\/td> 1126<\/td> <\/tr> Standover<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 770<\/td> 790<\/td> 815<\/td> 840<\/td> <\/tr> Stack<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 595<\/td> 626<\/td> 660<\/td> 696<\/td> <\/tr> Reach<\/b> (mm)<\/td> 378<\/td> 401<\/td> 415<\/td> 424<\/td> <\/tr> <\/tbody> <\/table>