Every so often it’s fun to check out the types of ebikes that live at the higher end of the market. It’s not an area in which I spend most of my time, as VICE’s ebike reviewer, because even entry-level ebikes cost over a grand. But some truly magnificent engineering lives a bit higher on the price ladder.

I’ve been testing the Specialized Turbo Vado SL2 5.0 EQ for a while, and it’s a beast of natural pedal feel and lightweight construction. The hardest part about the bike was its $5,100 retail price. Not poorly earned, given the technology poured into it by Specialized, but crossing that $5,000 mark is a hard sell for most people.

At $3,500 on this limited-time sale, though, it’s easy to recommend. If you value an ebike that feels more like pedaling an analog bike and less like you’re riding an electric motorcycle, the Turbo Vado SL2 5.0 EQ is top of the market.

all in the pedal feel

Since I’ve picked up the ebike for testing it’s gained an “EQ” at caboose of its already long moniker, which seems to have arrived at around the same time as this massive discount.

I’ve tested both the medium and large sizes of the Turbo Vado SL2 5.0 EQ, and the bike runs large. Even though Specialized’s size chart puts me (5′ 10″) nearly on the fence between the two sizes and suggests me a large, I found the medium frame fits me better. Riding the large felt like I was steering a truck. It wasn’t unmanageable, or even unpleasant, given the bike’s low (for an ebike) 44-pound weight, but I could throw the size-medium frame around corners with more gusto.

As a class 3 ebike, its electric motor will provide power all the way to 28 MPH in theory. In practice, the bike gets up to around 22 MPH quite easily and then makes you work hard to eke out the last few MPH of electrical assistance. You need to use that 11-speed gearset and your leg muscles without mercy to achieve that top speed.

I doubt it’s a design by accident. Specialized has the technology prowess to make a bike that zips its rider right to 28 MPH. It’s a design philosophy, as Specialized puts it, that emphasizes a natural riding feel over raw speed; and, I’d wager, it’s also a function of placing a 320W motor into a lightweight frame. It’s on the less-powerful side, which is both allowed by the bike’s light-ish weight and helps it achieve its light weight, as smaller motors weigh less.

I’ve been reviewing ebikes for six years. The Turbo Vado SL2 5.0 EQ—let me catch my breath for a moment—is one of the finest I’ve ridden. The build quality is superb. Its pedal feel is the most natural of any of the near-hundred ebikes I’ve tested. And when it comes to a dealer and service network, Specialized is a major brand that any half-decent bike shop will know.