First Look: Pole's Voima eMTB Has 190mm of Travel and a 725Wh Battery

We're starting to see two distinct categories develop in the eMTB field. Firstly there are the lightweight bikes with a bit less power and weight designed to better mimic regular bikes while the other category contains the beefed-up machines that are designed to get you to the top of the hill as fast as possible and are happy to take a weight penalty to do so. This bike comfortably falls into the latter category.


Voima means 'power' in Finnish and this bike has it in spades. Pole specced Brose's 90Nm S Mag motor as they believe it offers the best power transfer without being overpowered. The motor is paired to the BMZ V10 battery that was launched last year and uses 21700 style cells to produce 725 Wh of power.

Pole has taken great care to protect the electronics in this bike. The motor itself is totally cocooned inside the frame and the battery is loaded from the top of the downtube to prevent dirt ingress. Rather than fitting a charging point near the battery, Pole instead put the power inlet close to the head tube of the bike to protect it from debris and allow for easier charging. The motor also has a four-year manufacturer's warranty.


Sensei suspension

This is the first bike to use Pole's new Sensei suspension linkage. The system was originally designed to provide kinematics suitable for a bike with a motor or a gearbox but we've also seen Pole testing it on more regular bikes too.


The linkage is a four-bar system that Pole says has a virtual pivot point that hovers near the chain line. The new system apparently offers improved anti-squat values and is progressive enough to be run with an air or coil shock. The linkage uses a sideways mounted shock to minimize the stress to the bushings and help the suspension work. Put together, the whole system provides 190mm of travel for the Voima, which is matched to a 190mm fork up front. Pole has apparently been waiting to build a 190mm travel bike for some time but has just been waiting for a fork to match its ambitions.


Construction and Geometry

Despite eMTBs being a new venture for the Finnish brand, there are a lot of similarities to Pole's previous bikes here too. As you might expect the bike is machined from 7075-T6 aluminium in Finland and uses the same construction method as previous Poles with the bike machined in two halves then bonded. This same construction method is now also used on the linkage as well as the front triangle.

The other thing you may recognize from other Pole bikes is the envelope-pushing geometry. The bike is available in four sizes with the reach topping out at 535mm for its biggest size. The entire range has a head tube angle of 63.5° and a seat tube angle of 80°. Interestingly, the bike has zero BB drop despite rolling on 29" wheels front and rear - this means it bucks the longer, lower, slacker trend and has a higher bottom bracket than most bikes in its class.


Pricing and availability

Pole is susceptible to the same delays as the rest of the industry so the Voima will be produced as a frameset only for the time being with complete builds coming later in 2021/early 2022 when the global supply chain levels out. Framesets will cost an introduction price of €5,490 and complete builds coming in at €8,490 and will arrive in early 2022. After the introductory period, framesets will be €5,990 and complete builds will be €8,990. Production is due to begin in autumn, with only K2 and K3 framesets available on a limited basis. Frameset build slots can be secured now for a €200 deposit.


More info, here.

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eMTB Reviews and Tech First Looks Enduro Bikes Pole Bicycles Pole Voima Leo Kokkonen