Road Test

SPECIALIZED TURBO COMO 3.0 TEST BIKE MEASUREMENTS SPECIFICATIONS Price: $3,250 • Stack: 699mm • Frame: E5 aluminum, rack and Sizes available: S, M/L, XL • Reach: 363mm fender mounts Size tested: M/L • Head tube length: 225mm • Motor: Specialized 1.2E, 250W Weight: 47.6 lbs. (including pedals) • Head tube angle: 68° • Battery: Specialized integrated and lockable, 460Wh • Seat tube length: 450mm • Fork: Turbo Como aluminum, rack • Seat tube angle: 68° and fender mounts • Top tube: 660mm (effective) • Handlebar: Specialized alloy, 30° • Chainstays: 485mm sweep, 680mm width, 31.8mm • Bottom bracket drop: 75mm clamp • Wheelbase: 1142mm • Stem: Specialized Flowset, 20° rise • Standover height: 835mm • Derailer: Shimano Alivio Shadow SGS, 9spd SPECIALIZED • Shifter: Shimano Alivio • Brakes: Tektro HD-T275 hydraulic disc • Rotors: Tektro, 160mm rear, TURBO COMO 3.0 180mm front • Crankset: Custom alloy forged BY DAN MEYER crankarms, 170mm, 46T chainring

➺Among Specialized’s electrified offerings, all of which are named Turbo something — Levo, Kenevo, Creo, Vado, and Como — the Turbo Como is the “comfort” model, a bike designed for ambling around town. It’s styled like a cruiser bike, and indeed it rides a bit like a beach cruiser: seated over the rear wheel, the front way out ahead of you, relaxed, unhurried. But even if you’re going nowhere in no hurry, there’s a 250W motor helping you get there faster. The Turbo Como is a Class 1 eBike, meaning it’s pedal-assist only (no throttle) with a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph. The 3.0 model tested here comes with a 460Wh battery integrated into the downtube. The 4.0 and 5.0 models — there are also “Low-Entry” (step-through) models at each price point as well — offer similar motors with larger batteries. The Como’s aluminum frame and fork have rack and fender mounts to suit your all-weather and carrying needs, the meaty tires help tune out bad road vibrations, and it even includes a kickstand and front and rear lights. The drivetrain is simple, dependable Shimano Alivio; with nine gears, it’s plenty to get you up even the steepest of hills. And braking power comes from Tektro’s T275 hydros, which are a smart, affordable spec for this application. In the cockpit you’ll find a comfortable, swept-back handlebar

34 ADVENTURE CYCLIST a pr il 2021 • Cassette: Shimano CS-HG200, GEARING RANGE 9spd, 11–36T 46 adorned with a bell and a remote for • Chain: KMC e9 11 115.3 dialing up or down the boost level, • Pedals: Specialized Commuter 13 97.7 as well as a display that shows your • Seatpost: Specialized alloy, 15 84.7 speed, battery level, mileage, etc. I 30.9mm 17 74.8 found the bell particularly handy; on • Saddle: Body Geometry “The Cup,” 20 63.5 the Como, you will be going faster 245mm 23 55.2 • Hubs: Specialized, 15 x 100mm than pedestrians, drivers, or even 48.8 front, 12 x 148mm rear, thru-axles 26 you would expect, so it’s important 30 42.2 • Rims: Double-wall alloy, 32h to make your presence known. 36 35.3 • Tires: Nimbus II Sport Reflect, Aft of the cockpit is — surprise! 650b x 2.3in. — a saddle, and a big, squishy one at • Grips: Body Geometry Contour Contact: Specialized Bicycle Components, that. I generally don’t find comfort • Extras: Kickstand, bell, front and Inc., 15130 Concord Circle, Morgan Hill, CA rear lights, bar-mounted display 95037, 877.808.8154, specialized.com saddles like these to be terribly, well, comfortable, but it suits the Como given the pedaling position. The seat tube angle is a very slack 68°, putting a lot of your weight on your behind and necessitating a wider perch. This being a comfort eBike, smooth is the name of the game. Regardless of which of the three modes you’re in — Eco, Sport, or Turbo — the assist comes on smoothly and without any undue violence. Unlike some other eBikes that shove so hard you nearly fall off the back, the Como is more civilized. Whereas other mid-drive eBikes suffer from resistance when you cross the assistance threshold, Specialized’s motors — which it developed with Brose, the German electric motor manufacturer — eschew direct drive for belt-driven planetary gears. According to Marco Sonderegger, leader of Turbo eBike Product Development at Specialized, the belt drive makes for a quieter motor and eliminates that resistance. Indeed, although I rarely bothered to go any faster than 20 mph, doing so was a much smoother affair than I’ve experienced on other eBikes. The real genius of an eBike is not that you’re getting someplace faster or perspiring less along the way. Instead, it’s this: as soon as I picked up the Como from Bingham Cyclery, my local Specialized dealer here in Salt Lake City, I found myself making up excuses to run to the grocery store or to the post office. Trips for which I might have

ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG/MEMBERS 35 Indeed, I made the 20-mile round- WHILE I HAD THE COMO IN FOR TESTING, IT KEPT DISAPPEARING trip trek to REI a couple of times on the Como, a mostly flat route with a lot FROM MY APARTMENT. WHERE WAS IT GOING? of stops. I used Turbo mode because, well, why not, and, having started with a full charge, each time I returned TURNS OUT MY WIFE HAD BEEN STEALING IT FOR HER COMMUTES with about a quarter to a third of the battery left. Once depleted, it’s about UP THE (VERY) STEEP HILL TO THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. four to six hours to reach full charge. I usually plugged it in at night when it got low and enjoyed a full battery otherwise walked or taken the car or all that weight in the back. And going the next morning. (The battery is simply not taken at all, I was now riding down the hill was a good test of the removable and lockable.) the Como. Tektro brakes, one they passed with Another handy tool is Specialized’s To test its carrying capacity, I flying colors. Mission Control app, which connects mounted a rear rack, affixed a couple When it comes to range, the Turbo to the bike via Bluetooth. In addition to of large Ortlieb panniers, and scurried Como likely won’t be your pick for tracking your rides and showing your off to the grocery store. This store an electrified cross-country epic. bike’s firmware status, the app lets you happens to be at the top of a large Specialized doesn’t offer a claimed customize the assist modes to your liking. hill, and, as expected, getting there on range for the 3.0, but it does have a But the most useful part of the app is the Como was a breeze. Once there, I handy range calculator on its website Smart Control. With Smart Control, you bought a week’s worth of groceries and (specialized.com/us/en/turbo- pick how far you want to ride by time or crammed it all in the panniers. It was calculator/app). Using Eco mode with distance, along with how much climbing enough that, coupled with the Como’s few stops and on flat terrain — and an your route has and how much assist already hefty 47.6 pounds, I could average speed of 16 mph — the calculator you want on the climbs, and the app hardly lift up the back of the bike to claims a maximum range of 53 miles for will adjust the motor to get you to your swing it around. Once rolling, the me, which sounds about right. In Turbo destination without depleting the battery. Como handled pretty well in spite of mode, that drops to 29 miles. It’s a great way to eliminate range anxiety.

36 ADVENTURE CYCLIST a pr il 2021 At $3,250, the Como 3.0 is ADVENTURE CYCLING Specialized’s most affordable eBike. There are certainly less CORPORATE MEMBERS expensive eBikes out there (such Adventure Cycling’s business partners play a significant role in the success of our as the Charge XC in last month’s nonprofit organization. Our Corporate Membership Program is designed to spotlight issue), but it’s hard to discount the these key supporters. Corporate Members are companies that believe in what we do benefits of buying from a major and wish to provide additional assistance through a higher level of support. These brand with widespread dealer corporate membership funds go toward special projects and the creation of new support. If it were my money — programs. To learn more about how your business can become a corporate supporter of Adventure Cycling, go to adventurecycling.org/corporate or call 800.755.2453. and, with each new eBike I ride, it looks increasingly more likely that it will be my money someday TITANIUM soon — I’d spring for the Como 5.0 for its larger (600Wh) battery, fenders, and front Pizza Rack. But the 3.0 is an excellent foray into electrified ownership, a bike that can serve your cruising and commuting needs and even carry your camping gear for a quick overnight, assuming you keep your mileage in check. Author’s note: While I had the Como in for testing, it kept disappearing from my apartment. Where was it going? Turns out my wife had been stealing it GOLD for her commutes up the (very) steep hill to the University of Utah. In her own words: “When Dan wheeled the Como through our front door, I knew it would be my new commuting bike. It was striking just how easy it made my mornings. Thanks to Turbo mode, my commute time was cut in half. I no longer had to plan two outfits: one for class and one for the ride up to class. I could now just toss on my scrubs, throw a lunch into my pack, and be on my way. The integrated headlight and taillight meant never needing to worry about whether I had charged my usual commuting lights. The SILVER zippy pace erased my fears about creeping slowly uphill in the dark Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. PC Joplin CVB with impatient motorists honking at Astral Cycling/Rolf Prima ShipBikes.com me from behind.” So maybe the real danger of buying an eBike isn’t running out of BRONZE juice or developing a hernia from Baumgartner Law Firm Portland Design Works heaving it up a set of stairs. Instead, Bedrock Sandals Rocky Mountain Print Solutions the real danger is that you might Kisling, Nestico & Redick Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have to buy two. Lavent Law Senior Cycling Maus Law Firm SlowCycle Tours Dan Meyer is the Deputy Editor of Adventure Cyclist. Montana Cycling Project Steven M. Sweat, Personal Injury Lawyers, APC Oveja Negra Visit Mississippi

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