Rode one today. Fantastic! But is it really worth twice the price of the online offers?

Specialized has always been more expensive than most of the competition. They also spend a ton on sponsorship. Many of the Youtube E-bike channels mainly use Specialized products.
I've owned many non-E products and they are of excellent quality. I cannot afford their E products for the time being.

Yes most assuredly. They support their dealers and their customers. They use the high quality Brose mid-drive motors and other quality parts. Plus when you buy from a shop you are supporting local business which is always important. You get a built bike usually with at least one free tune up or some service along with it plus warranty support. For Specialized they offer a lifetime warranty on their frames and forks and may offer a crash replacement discount as well to keep you rolling.

Plus the Specialized Como is probably one of the easiest and most comfortable non-suspended e-bikes I have been on and I have ridden quite a few. I had a lady come in recently who was scared she couldn't ride it and needed a throttle and was looking at a really cheap bike and within a few minutes she was passing me up a steep hill and she ended up being so happy with the bike (and my help) that she went for it.

The online brands offer you cheap products at inflated prices (for what they are offering you) and they pass on the real cost to you. All the service and warranty work is on you if they even give you much warranty. If you need parts in some cases you are well on your own as the company may not have those parts anymore or may not be able to help you. I had one of the cheaper brands tell me as I was helping a customer with their product that their bike was out of warranty (by 4 days) and they would not support their product. Plus a lot of shops might not want to touch something off the internet or might not have the skills or resources to work on the cheap stuff.

Having been selling e-bikes for a while now I can say buying a high quality bike in the first place will save you in the long term. A lot of people go cheap and then whenever they get the opportunity they upgrade and wish they had just done that in the first place. I could tell tons of stories like the Amazon bike that was not working from the box and they refused to help at all and eventually with some serious pressure returned the bike and the customer bought a Como 4.0 and loves it to death but I won't go on and on.

Can I ask what‘'s kind of electric bike is specialized?

Not sure what you're asking.
There is a brand of bicycle called Specialized

I have no idea what you are talking about specifically. That is too broad a statement. They just announced their "new" ebike, and it looks pretty interesting to me:

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/p...vado-sl-455656
https://electrek.co/2020/05/12/speci...icycle-launch/

Sure, 6+ years ago they announced their first bike at, what, $7000? So I just built one myself for about $500 (ironically using a specialized donor bike). But 3K for a top tier brand bike - sure I could go for that. Heck, I've spent that much for a bike without a motor ;-)
I'm still riding my 7 year old bike. 25lbs, 25mph, 25 miles. It gets me to work and back. But these new bikes are starting to have features, integration, reliability, and ease of use that make me look twice at them.

Go to Youtube and Scan this guys Videos : Great reviewer of E-Bikes All Brands > Or at least Most

Looks like this bike could be a game changer (to me) with the price/performance/weight. Finally getting close to where I'll purchase an OEM again.

I agree wholeheartedly. There are a couple of minor things that may make me choose another model, (no removable battery and less assist than my olde bones might prefer), but the Vado SL (and other SL models) can change your perspective on what’s possible in an ebike in 2020.

Need to shave off 5 more lbs.

Went For a 32 Mile Ride on My Non Electric Verve 3 : On They way Out the Ride was Great. A good Combo of Flats and some Hills : On the way back Strong Winds kicked up. Blowing Straight at us : There were stretches that 6-7 MPH was all I could Muster :
The Way back felt like Twice the distance Easily > Not That I've never experienced this : We just weren't expecting it ,since there was virtually no wind on the first part of the ride. .Had it been windy ,We wouldn't have taken the path in the direction we did , It is a Rolla Coaster type of ride. Everyone knows it's a tough Ride under quiet conditions as it is pretty hilly.
Having a Vado SL would have been a God Send
.

Prices increased on some of them.

Well, I did it. Bought the Turbo Vado SL Saturday. Getting it later this week. My test ride demonstrated the Specialized Turbo motto, “it’s you only faster”. It was so smooth and easy. Felt like my analog bike, but less effort for the same results. I’ll have something useful to share in a week or two.

I just purchased a Specialized Creo SL Expert and yes it was EXTREMELY expensive. I never thought I would think that spending $9,000 on an ebike was worth the money....I am a bit embarrassed to say (given how expensive it is) that after riding it several times, it is definitely worth the money. It is very light weight, extremely responsive, and still enables the rider to get an incredible amount of exercise. The Creo SL also allows you to switch to wider tires and use it on gravel roads. (they make an Evo version which is exactly that).

You'll like this story then.
Last week I was finishing up a very fast group ride, and doing my cooldown (on my analogue bike) . Then I see someone in a high end Trek road bike pull out about 100 ft in front of me. I'm curious to how fast he is going, so I ride up behind him. We were doing about 27mph for 1.5 miles. I'm thinking - geeze, this guy is a monster to be doing 27mph into a hilly headwind. When we got to a stop light, he was chuckling and said - you must have been working pretty hard, I'm riding an ebike.

(be nice to us using leg power, lol).

With Specialized its all about the weight. Under 30 lbs makes this so much easier to lift onto my bike rack.

I just picked one up too. It is fantastic. Mine is a mid-level model ($6,500) and it really help me keep my HR down on long climbs. Range is pretty good too. The only quibble is that it is heavy-ish. I'm guessing around 28 lbs but will weigh it soon. So once you are beyond 28 MPH assist max speed, you can feel the weight. That is mostly on mild downhills where you can still pedal fast. That said, it is really helping me get out more. I fell off due to my 100% travel job (that I recently quit) and my baby and my HR was scary high and this has helped me ease back into cycling quite well. The only disadvantage is the weight and some may not feel it anyway. My downhill speeds are lower for sure, across the board on almost all grades. The weight does make it slightly slower to stop and change direction too once you are at a higher speed, so you have to plan those fast curves more carefully. That is my experience so far.

Sorry to hijack.

Where can you ride EMTN bikes legally? It does not seem there are any trails in SoCal that allow them. I am near Aliso/Wood Canyons, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Crystal Cove State Park, Oneill, Whiting Ranch etc, none of them allow Ebikes. Might as well buy a small Kawasaki or Yamaha for 1/2 the price if I have to go out to the middle of nowhere.

Or do you ride and hope you don't get caught? Or ride a stealthy bike like a Specialized Turbo Levons SL?

What happens if you do get caught?

Again apologies for the hijack, thanks.

I have one of those bikes. Specialized Turbo. 28 mph of fun and handling. Despite all my ebike testing I have yet to find one I like any better. They did a great job on that bike.

-SP

I bet. They have done a great job integrating things into a nice package, and its only recently
I guess I'm a maker, because I custom designed and built a bike for my specific needs - even 7 years later I don't think there is a bike on the market as light and fast as mine (25lbs, 25mph, ~$500). It does such a good job getting me to work that I sold a car that I didn't drive much after building that bike.

I thought that I just read on my newsfeed that e-mtb are now legal in all national parks...

In a move being heralded by the electric bicycle community, e-bikes are now permitted to ride in all national parks on any trails open to pedal bicycles. The new decree came in the form of an order signed under the Trump Administration by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.Sep 2, 2019.

Doesn't help me much in SOCal but it would be fun in Arches or Bryce Canyon.

Glad to hear that you like your Creo Exp. I was hoping to find a Comp Carbon Evo but there was no stock in my size up here. Will likely opt with a regular Comp Carbon SL and slap some beefier tires on it.

^ This video brought to mind the biggest e-bike purchase hurdle (for me): heat. Living in southern Nevada, and with e-bikes being too heavy to bring into the house, and garage temperatures that will degrade battery life, maybe when I can detach the whole battery and bring it inside to the a/c lol.

Seems (to me) the only hindrance to bringing a bike in the house is a spouse who says "No", or not enough space. If you live in an apartment and take the elevator, Tern (AIR) has a cargo bike that can be lifted vertically. Also with almost any DIY system, the batteries are removable (but should only be kept and charged where you wouldn't mind having a fire IMO). Doubt anything will change with battery chemistry in the near future (and even if it does, the systems could be more temperature-sensitive).