Pole Voima 190mm Travel EMTB

Onetime

Active member
Aug 10, 2022
366
370
Cali
How is the bike on slower trails? with all that travel, length and weight ?

I didn't want ebike that weights more than 22.5-23kg and has more than 160mm travel just to keep it playful. (I have Sender for bike parks).
Did you watch Rob’s review video? If you haven’t, you should because he pretty much covers everything with his review and it’s spot on. This bike can really do it all. It’s really efficient so even with all of that travel the bike is not sluggish at all and the weight isn’t an issue because it’s got a great full power motor. And for the record, it can be build up lighter. Mine is 23kg
 

yorkshire89

E*POWAH Master
Sep 30, 2020
468
660
North Yorkshire
How is the bike on slower trails? with all that travel, length and weight ?

I didn't want ebike that weights more than 22.5-23kg and has more than 160mm travel just to keep it playful. (I have Sender for bike parks).

It's not going to be a great bike on tighter slower trails because of the size and weight, it's more of a plougher and will excel on rougher faster trails
 

Onetime

Active member
Aug 10, 2022
366
370
Cali
Hm. K2 at 26kg. Single crown fork.

@Onetime how are you getting 23kg with a DC fork? My dual crown K2 is over 26 so not sure how you’re 3kg less on a K1 unless you have xc tires and wheels which could potentially save you about 2kg

Carbon bars and carbon seat tube (500g less than having the dropper I have now).
View attachment 104790


Here is a link to my bike check and build specs below. But basically 27.5 wheels and lots of carbon and light but still durable parts including ti or alloy bolts where possible. Wheels, 11 speed drivetrain and controls make up the bulk of the savings. Building it up light but still durable and capable for bike park and black trails was my intention from the beginning of my build so I chose my parts list accordingly. Vital bike check link> Pole ⚡️Voima ⚡
 
Last edited:

PeeDee

Member
Jan 12, 2023
7
6
Finland
View attachment 97932

Part 1 Voima Review: Geometry

I’ve been with this bike for about a month now and there’s quite a lot to take in this whole time. Quite simply, this bike is transformative and stakes out its own ground in the long-travel e-bike space, quite apart for the current lot of enduro EMTBs , not to mention the recent trend of light-weight EMTBs. Everything about this bike is deliberate and designed-in, driven by its maker’s personal notion of what a EMTB should do, from its looks, to motor choice, to suspension design, and most-ultimately its intensely unique progressive geometry. I’m coming from a Tube Levo as a baseline to compare the Voima to. My height puts me squarely with the K1 that I ordered.

More than anything else, and I fully was not prepared for this, it’s the geometry that defines this bike and when you succumb to it, nothing else seems to matter as much. But at first, the geometry looks and feels quite surprising, with an initial sensation that this geometry is not gonna work. The reach is long but the top tube is short. The wheelbase is very long but the BB is high. The chain stay is long but the seat tube angle is high. These are neither downhill nor trail bike attributes, but really something else. You’re further forward on the bike and box seems smallish at first and you are pretty high up. This sounds unsettling but then something starts to happen. You start to notice that this bike is quite stable, when it shouldn’t be given how high you are on the bike. It’s always planted. Always! And at crazy high speeds. In corners. And even hairpins - how can a bike this long handle hairpins with aplomb? You learn to lean the bike to turn. Leaning feels more natural and bike allows you cut sharper when you need to without tipping into instability. It’s as if there is an area or patch in front of you that bike works really well in. The ultra long wheelbase combined with high BB and assertive front-center and high seat angle seem to expand this “area of stability” in various modes of bike pitch and roll. It’s like a personal stability zone that moves along with you while you ride the bike.

With a bike like this its easy to assume that it will “downhill” well. And it does this in spades. But then there’s the uphills. The steep, technical uphills. Again, this bike is super planted and maneuverable. The high seat tube angle and front-center with long chain stay put the rider in very advantageous position that make daunting technical climbs fun without leaning heavily on rider skills to negotiate them. This bike is downright spooky on the super steep, technical uphills. The bike with its geometry creates this strange planted consistency whether cornering or in straightaways, whether going fast or slow, whether riding up or down. Once you come to grips with what the geometry can do for you, you are gonna want to exploit it. And on this path, I have three strong recommendations to dial this in:
  1. Experimentation with a higher stem height and/or handlebar rise: The geometry of the bike demands that your ride position be correctly placed on the bike, which IMO and based my rider proportions, means riding more upright on bike with your elbows bent. This translates to higher stem and/or handlebar height. I deliberately cut the steerer tube at a longer length and play with stem spacers to add more height. But adding too much stem height brings the steerer closer to you so I switched to a 35mm rise handlebar. After this change, the reach and front-center make more sense, especially when oriented downhill. What interesting is that for me, this positioning didn’t unweight steering on uphills. Again, always planted. That said, YMMV, so don’t hesitate to experiment.
  2. AXS dropper: As much value as the high seat angle and reach/front-center provide in uphills, you need to tame them on the step downhills and in heavily tipped bike leans in cases where want to lean the bike more than your person. The instantaneous response of this electronically controlled dropper really maximizes what the bike can do with its geometry on a whim. Yes, it’s a splurge, but it’s a perfect pairing IMO.
  3. Slim Saddle: This bike needs to lean in turns, and when you need slalom left and right quickly, and if you have lowered your dropper, the seat needs to freely move without hitting your thighs. so you want a bike saddle that is slim as you can get for your given sit-bone width. Also, I would stay away from short-nosed saddles with this bike. There’s something about these saddles that, for me, seem pitch the rider forward, which the bike already does with its geometry.

With taller bike, one consequence for my dimensions its the tight standover. As in no-room tight. I’ve got a longer torso but shorter inseam, which simply does not help, however, YMMV as other may not not have this issue.

And I haven’t even started on the motor and suspension and 100% CNC fabrication, as well as my particular bike build, which I’ll leave for Part 2.

Again though, it’s the geometry that defines this bike and like or not, it’s this characteristic that will either draw or repel a potential buyer, in essence. You have to not just try it to assess it, but learn what a different bike like this can do for you on the trail, and will require you to let go of most of your suppositions of how an (E)MTB handles or how it should be designed. You can easily go to your local Specialized dealer and audition a Levo and quickly find out if you like the bike. With Pole, being both a boutique and Internet-only outfit, you will not have this luxury, which is unfortunate, because you need to ride the bike a while to understand it, and if you are not receptive, you might never understand it. I succumbed to this bike, and quite honestly, unless the rest of the industry catches on to this geometry, I’ll be stuck with this brand for years to come.
Excellent and very insightful thanks alot!
 

King Liu

Member
Dec 16, 2019
11
8
Wollongong
lol there's no spider in the box. I've got the lockring in one of the plastic bags of frame bits. I've ordered a spider, and two direct mount chainrings from different local vendors with express shipping. Hopefully it won't be too long.

IMG_2683.jpg
 

Yorkshire Heathen

New Member
Oct 31, 2022
13
14
UK
I have a confession. I bought a different exotic suspension mountain bike during my first mid life crisis. Anyone of you old giffers recognise her? Please be respectful to the older Lady 🙂

IMG_7700.jpg
 

BigG

Member
Feb 15, 2023
90
100
US, SoCal
Hi, I’m new here.
Just pulled a trigger on Voima K4, now waiting game begins. My last experience in 2018-2019 with Pole was stellar, before all the internet drama around them.
I already own Pole Machine XL and geo numbers are pretty similar looks like. Machine is still alive and kicking, not creaking)
Edit (how my ordering goes):
14 Feb - ordered.
17 Feb - released to production after some part discussion (post height, spring rate, crank length).
22 Feb - shipped to US, SoCal.
 
Last edited:

Karve

Member
Subscriber
Jan 12, 2021
33
41
UK
The new bosch integration looks nice. What's the changes to the swing arms?
Just matching the swing arms on the on the Vikkelä I think - which has a bolt on brake adapter... I asked Leo why he changed the design when Vikkelä was a launched and he said it was easier to manufacture which makes sense as the as the machining on my integrated Voima LED brake mount looks pretty intricate. Didnt say anything about stiffness... As a 12st 175lbs rider the rear end without race axles has just the right amount of give IMO…. fastest bike ive ever ridden across off camber sections for sure
 
Last edited:

Jay29er

Member
Subscriber
Jun 30, 2022
44
22
TN
Wondering about dropper post lengths. Currently I’m right at 6’1” inseam 34-35”. What size dropper is everyone running there builds? Got a K3 on order.
 

theklaw

Member
Oct 27, 2022
11
19
New Zealand
Wondering about dropper post lengths. Currently I’m right at 6’1” inseam 34-35”. What size dropper is everyone running there builds? Got a K3 on order.
I’m 6’2” with 34 inseam and the 170mm fits well on the K3 although the collar for the dropper is 5cm from top of the seat tube so the 200mm would fit and give a bit more clearance when dropped although I have plenty of space to move around and the seat doesn’t get in the way at all.

I ride mainly expert trails with decent drops, rocks, roots and off camber sections, and can confirm that this is a very fast bike. I run out of capability way before the bike does.

Have installed a 27.5 on the rear to make it quicker around corners and that made a big difference. Way more confidence not having to set up for right corners well in advance anymore.

Also only have the Bosch remote on the LED model with no other displays and have zero buyers remorse, even with the release of the new ID model
 

cozzy

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2019
763
800
Basingstoke UK
I’m 6’2” with 34 inseam and the 170mm fits well on the K3 although the collar for the dropper is 5cm from top of the seat tube so the 200mm would fit and give a bit more clearance when dropped although I have plenty of space to move around and the seat doesn’t get in the way at all.

I ride mainly expert trails with decent drops, rocks, roots and off camber sections, and can confirm that this is a very fast bike. I run out of capability way before the bike does.

Have installed a 27.5 on the rear to make it quicker around corners and that made a big difference. Way more confidence not having to set up for right corners well in advance anymore.

Also only have the Bosch remote on the LED model with no other displays and have zero buyers remorse, even with the release of the new ID model
Any pics or info on geometry changes? Not seen any mullet bikes yet, but I will 100% be doing this when I buy mine.
 

theklaw

Member
Oct 27, 2022
11
19
New Zealand
Any pics or info on geometry changes? Not seen any mullet bikes yet, but I will 100% be doing this when I buy mine.
Yep, measured the head tube at 63 with the 29er which surprised me because spec on the pole site is 63.5.
Anyway switched to mullet with a fat old DHR II (2.8) and HTA slackened to 62.
This thing is a beast. I smashed 7 x PR on my local trails today.

328E5E09-67C5-4368-B5C5-9CF0B40EC9FA.jpeg B90E3993-09B4-414B-B287-752621759AD5.jpeg 2C07A474-EFFE-4445-A5FD-3108ED0E116E.jpeg 47A72908-37B1-4AA2-98E1-A2F41F22109E.jpeg
 

cozzy

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2019
763
800
Basingstoke UK

theklaw

Member
Oct 27, 2022
11
19
New Zealand
Nice thanks for the pics. Sweet. I dislike full 29ers. They just looks weird & ungainly. (y)
I have more of an MX background so it works for me.
Used the MAVIC E-Deemax 35 27.5´´ MTB Rear Wheel Black 12 x 148 mm/Sram XD, so a wider rim which suits the plus size tyre well
 

Onetime

Active member
Aug 10, 2022
366
370
Cali
Hey everyone, I thought i’d let evereverybody know i’m going to sell my K1 Voima frameset. I really love this bike, but I really really want the new K1 race id frameset. Mainly because I run full 27.5 and a 40, so the new frame with a narrower head tube will give me a better turning radius with the 40 and the slightly better ground clearance will help me since i’m running full 27.5 wheels. Also I am a bit of a weight weenie and the new frame with the race motor will be a pound lighter. So the wife says I have to sell this one before I can buy the new one. The frame will include the original Rockshox rear shock which only has a couple rides on it, (since i’ve been using a Fox X2) as well as the frame guard and chainguide and bash guard. I can also include it with the Cane Creek headset and 165mm e13 carbon cranks and an unused 34t e13 chainring if you want. Also, the motor has been reprogrammed for 27.5 wheels so you will get the full 20mph if you run it in a mullet setup or maybe slightly faster with a 29” I think. I will ship it in the original box that it came in at the buyers expense anywhere in the US. So if you know anyone who is looking for a raw K1 frameset thats in great condition pm me.

8BD916F3-66F5-431B-8159-93CF5F638B11.jpeg EDF02A35-29C2-4F53-80C7-7FAC8CA7087C.jpeg F63DE97F-F86B-40F9-9CEC-DB4EEB3CB263.jpeg Bike frameset is sold and new Race ID frameset ordered! 🤘🏻😎
 
Last edited:

EMTB Forums

Since 2018

The World's largest electric mountain bike community.

518K
Messages
25,435
Members
Join Our Community

Latest articles


Top