Sonni 2023

The Pole Sonni 2023 is the Finnish brand's gravity-focused CNC-machined aluminium eMTB and now a discontinued product (Pole has restarted production with the Hiisi platform). Built around a seamless hollow CNC-machined and bonded 7075-T6 aluminium sandwich frame with a high-pivot four-bar dual-link suspension layout, it offered 200 mm rear travel and 190 mm single-crown front (with dual-crown 200 mm BoXXer option). Motor and battery specifics aren't in the gold-fact list (Pole used a Bosch CX motor in the Sonni production runs). Head angle is a properly slack 63.5°, claimed weight 25.3 kg, and pricing started at €5,548 for the Downduro Complete. Six core size options provide the rider-height-based sizing that Pole pioneered. The community footprint on the Sonni is meaningful — it was Pole's most ambitious gravity-eMTB statement before the brand restart.

Drive system and range. The Sonni was sold with the Bosch Performance Line CX motor (85 Nm in its production lifetime, 90 Nm post-firmware updates) and a Bosch PowerTube battery — exact capacity varied by configuration, with 625 Wh and 750 Wh options. @Blownoutrides notes Pole's design philosophy: "The new Pole Sonni DH platform design keeps all structure and kinematics above the motor/BB location, allowing the frame to accommodate motor or no motor without re-engineering pivots" — a sophisticated approach that allowed the same frame to be used with or without electric assistance. Range from a typical 750 Wh PowerTube would be roughly 1,000-1,400 m of climbing depending on assist mode and rider input.

Geometry and handling. The 63.5° head angle is properly aggressive and reflects Pole's commitment to extreme geometry. Reach progresses across the rider-height-based size matrix, from 428 mm at the smallest 155-167 cm size to 503 mm at the largest 188-201 cm size. Chainstay length is fixed at 448 mm. Note the wheelbase numbers in the gold spec (976-1060 mm) appear to be in cm rather than mm. @rider reports loving the Sonni geometry: "I'm coming from a K1 Pole Sonni with mixed wheels and really like the geometry for my person (markedly more so than the K1 Voima which I had earlier)". The bike accepts both mullet (29in front / 27.5in rear) and dual-29in wheel configurations. A travel-conversion yoke allowed reduction to 180 mm rear if desired.

Build and value. Three trims were offered: the Downduro Complete at €5,548 with a RockShox Zeb Ultimate single-crown fork (upgradable to dual-crown 200 mm), RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Air shock, SRAM Code R brakes and DT Swiss FR 1500 mullet wheelset. The Downhill Complete at $7,138 swapped to a RockShox BoXXer dual-crown fork. The Enduro Complete at €6,290 reduced travel to 170/160 mm with a Zeb Select fork. The CNC-machined frame construction is unique in production eMTBs — every other major brand uses tubed or moulded carbon construction.

Caveats and known gripes. @Plummet levels a serious critique: "Yep I won't be buying another Pole. Leo is making the same mistakes again... Rushing to production with limited testing, sticking with a manufacturing method with high failure rates, keep[ing the] terrible rear end design with horrendous stress risers." Pole's first iteration as a company collapsed and the brand restarted with the Hiisi — buyers of used 2023 Sonnis should be aware that the previous business entity is discontinued and warranty support may be limited. @slickrock notes the trail-conversion linkage was poorly received by Pinkbike: "too harsh in bottom-outs even with a Vivid shock, and too stiff/levered for small bumps". The CNC frame is notably heavy at 25.3 kg even in alloy. UK and US dealer presence has historically been thin.

Verdict. The Pole Sonni 2023 is for the gravity-focused rider who wants extreme Finnish CNC-machined geometry, 200 mm rear travel and the rare combination of dual-crown fork compatibility on an eMTB platform. It is now a used-market consideration with limited warranty support. It is not for buyers needing post-sale dealer service, riders wanting a lighter chassis, or anyone uncomfortable with Pole's brand turbulence and rear-end stress-riser concerns. Production status: discontinued. Pole has moved on to the Hiisi Bespoke platform.