Phil Reports

The most insightful reports about eBikes come from long time avid bicyclists. Phil Vickery, one of the FOGBEE co-founders has been riding a bicycle for over twenty years. He like many of his comrades are finding "keeping up" has become a challenge. Gone are the days when 60 miles would have been an average Saturday afternoon ride followed by lunch and a pitcher of beer at the FOGBEE club house. In late April he purchased a Specialized VADO 5.0 SLEQ. I was looking for a candid report from him .

At a few pounds short of 300 and 6-foot-5, Phil is not your average spandex-clad warrior. However, he rides around Sumner County several times a week and is likely to rack up more than 3000 miles a year on his 17-pound Specialized carbon-fiber bike.  Having just retired from his dental practice he was anxiously looking forward to joining other FOGBEE retirees at their favorite pastime - multi-day bike tours. He was, however, a bit apprehensive. Whereas his mind was willing, the body had some reservations. He was hardly alone with that perspective.

One by one his retired comrades were facing the reality of age but were refusing to surrender to the rocking chair. They planned to remain active. The eBike offered a way to get back those Saturday jaunts in the countryside with the dozens of similarly-minded friends whom they made over the last decades. 

But these guys also were a bit of the bike-snob. An eBike? That was for the "townie" class, not for the guy or gal that envision themselves in the Tour de France. They would have to ride the thing at night so no one could see them. They didn't want the League of American Bicyclists rescinding their LCI. 

Nevertheless, time does instill common-sense along with the need for ibuprofen. Also, not all ebikes resemble mopeds. Some actually look like bicycles. The Specialized VADO SL was an example of such a compromise. It also had a few other attractive features for the aching body.  It was a hybrid allowing one to sit more vertically and lessen the strain on the lower back. It also didn't weigh as much as a Sherman tank as most eBikes do. Even more important -- Specialized KNOWS BIKES. The VADO was designed with bicyclists in mind -- great gearing, hydraulic disk brakes, 38-mm tires, proper lighting, and a front shock-absorber. 

Besides Phil, I also bought a VADO SL. In my first test ride around the neighborhood, I found it rode like a dream -- smooth shifting, effortless braking, and a ride so easy and smooth that I turned off the motor for much of my pedaling. My inner-snob was showing through. 

However, when I met a hill, I cheated. I added a little electrical boost.  This thing is not a moped. I still had to work at the climb and raised my heart rate.

So what was Phil's assessment? Last week, he and Doug Depew (also a VADO owner) did a 50-mile extended version of the Pedal for Paws 32-miler with 2300-feet of climbing. He was so excited about the great performance of himself and his new VADO that he sent me a photo of his Strada stats along with a picture of Doug and him celebrating post-ride with a few fingers of Glenlivet. He followed up with an enthusiastic call saying, "I still had 16% of battery-charge left and I sent David Hardin a thank you note for selling me the VADO."