The $7000 e-bicycle that's worth every cent

There I was, standing on the side of the road next to my broken-down vehicle, on the phone to tech support.

The technician on the other end of the line called up a screen on his computer and said to me: "Oh, it looks like the speed sensor on the rear wheel isn't working." He located a replacement part and promised to collect the vehicle and have it repaired the next day.

This must be what it's like to own a Tesla, I thought. Remote diagnostics! Instant service!

Only, this wasn't a battery-powered car. This was a battery-powered bicycle, the new Vado SL e-bike from Specialized, the most luxurious, easiest-to-use, and overall best e-bike we have ever reviewed here in the Digital Life Labs.

And at $7000 for the top-of-the-line model I was riding, it would want to be great, too.

Everything about this bike is on point, starting with the way it looks and acts more like a regular bicycle than any e-bike we've ever encountered.

E-bikes may well be the most life-changing bit of tech to come out in years, but, let's face it, they're usually pretty ugly. They have whopping great batteries, a whopping great motor somewhere, and a conspicuous digital control panel that is always going to be a target for thieves and vandals.

(I watched in horror one day as two girls approached my own ugly e-bike and tried their darnedest to snap off the control panel. I spent hours with a hair dryer getting it back into position.)

But the Vado SL has almost none of that. The battery is hidden inside the (admittedly fatter than usual) downtube, the very compact and lightweight motor is (relatively) discreetly tucked away in the cranks and the control panel is a masterpiece of simplicity.