Review: Pole's 190mm-Travel Voima is Long, Slack & High

The Voima is Pole's first eMTB. They have a non-motorised version in the pipeline with similar traits, but in either case, it's hard to know where to start when it comes to unusual design decisions. There's the machined and glued frame construction, the super long geometry (even by today's standards), the very high bottom bracket height and the fact it's pumping out a whopping 190 mm of travel. All of that makes for a unique ride experience. Let's get into it.

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Frame Details


Pole have been building bikes out of machined aluminum for a few years now, but the process has evolved over that time.

They use 7075 aluminum alloy, which is considerably stronger and stiffer than the alloys typically used in bicycle manufacturing. The main reason it's not used more widely is that it can't easily be welded. Pole's approach is to start with solid billets of alloy and use CNC machines to carve out the two halves of the frame, then bond them together down the centerline with very strong glue. This allows them to make use of the superior strength-to-weight ratio of 7075 without the need for any welding. Perhaps more importantly, it allows them to rapidly prototype new designs by changing the computer code the CNC machine is fed.

Pole admit there were problems with their earlier machine-made bikes, but they say they've refined their manufacturing method since then. "Yes, we had issues with our technology when we started, but we’ve learned a lot. The bike you can buy now has meticulously evolved and has nearly nothing similar to the bikes we made several years ago. We are so confident in our manufacturing that we give our frames a five-year guarantee."


As one example of this incremental improvement, earlier machined frames were simply machined in two halves and then glued together. This could lead to a slight misalignment of the two halves creating a visible seam (and potential weakness) down the centerline. Now the billets are machined internally first (creating a cavity), then glued together, and then machined externally so there's no chance of creating a visible step between the two halves.

At the same time, Pole have cut down on production steps to help them manufacture more bikes with shorter lead times. Pole's machined frames are still all made in-house in Finland, a country with one of the highest working and environmental standards in the world.


The Voima frame passes the EFBE Catagory-5 Tri-Test Certification, which is one of the most rigorous and well-recognised strength test procedures in the bike industry - after Pinkbike's Huck To Flat Test, that is.


On the back of the bike, the elevated swingarm is made up of two separate arms: there's nothing connecting the two parts together but the four hollow machined links that connect them to the mainframe. These links are tied together with keyed axles that pass through the mainframe, meaning they can't rotate independently. There are two options for these (pictured above): the standard and race axles. Pole say they developed the race version following feedback from their EWS-E race team that the back end was too flexy. I was only able to test the stiffer race axles and, without any scientific measuring equipment, I would say there is more twist in the back end than most bikes. Nevertheless, Pole say the standard axles offer a more compliant and forgiving ride which will be better for many riders, but I can't help suspecting this is more of a mid-production fix than a personal-preference tuning option.

Finally, the colour is provided by a process called Electrophoretic Clearcoat. This creates a hard-wearing surface treatment that's just a few microns thick. Every part of the frame including threads and bearing seats are coated. The process is all done in-house and, Pole say, involves no toxic byproducts like painting does. The colours available are clear/raw, storm grey (pictured) and gold. If you want the opinion of a man who doesn't see a problem with socks and sandals, having seen them all in the flesh I think the raw finish looks best.

On top of this is a custom clear plastic wrap to protect the clearcoat. This is made in Finland and apparently takes an hour to apply with a heat gun.

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Suspension Design


Pole's new Sensei suspension linkage has two short links which rotate in the same direction. This gives them an Instant Center (the effective or "virtual" pivot at the point where lines drawn through the four pivots would intersect) near the top of the chainring, a location where you can't build a physical pivot with a motor.

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Geometry & Sizing


At 191 cm (6'3"), I Pole sent me the K3 size. Although Pole's website says I could ride the K4, I was more interested to try the K2, which I managed to get hold of towards the end of testing, and which I actually preferred to the K3. Wheelbase seems to be the most important single number to me, and looking at all the bikes I've tested I tend to get on best with something around the 1,310 mm ballpark. Having said that, the K3 certainly wasn't too big in terms of cockpit proportions and I was able to ride it happily enough, but I preferred the agility of the K2.

Pole has long been at the vanguard of the trend towards longer reach, slacker head tubes and steeper seat tubes. But the most eyebrow-raising figure for me is the bottom bracket drop: 0 mm. That means the BB is in line with the axles (with the suspension unweighted), which corresponds to around a 370 mm bottom bracket height. This is perhaps 20 mm higher than average for an eMTB with 160 mm of travel. The Voima's 190 mm of suspension travel accounts for some of this difference. With 30% sag, the Voima will sit 9 mm further into its travel than a 160 mm travel bike would, so we're talking about 11 mm higher than a typical eMTB at sag.

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Specifications

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I set the bar height high to compensate for the high BB height and make it easier to shift my weight back on the bike. I swapped the stock grips for my preferred ODI Elite Pro control grips.

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Climbing

This is the best climbing eMTB I've tested.

I've said before that you can get away with a slacker seat angle on an e-bike, but I wasn't appreciating the climbing performance I was missing out on when a steep seat tube and long chainstay are combined with a powerful motor and sticky rear tire.

With most e-bikes, on a steep slope it feels like the bike "wants" to wheelie, so you have to hunch forwards to keep the front wheel on the ground; on the Voima, you can make it wheelie by shifting your weight back, but a relaxed, neutral position maintains enough weight on the front to steer and balance. Combine this with supple rear suspension that irons out the bumps and a high bottom bracket that allows you to keep pedalling uninterrupted, and the Voima regularly surprised me with what I could climb. It's almost comical what you can scramble up by just sitting and spinning. That's a good thing too, as pushing this thing isn't fun.


On flat and slippy sections there can be too little grip on the back wheel, so you have to consciously lean back, but I'd accept that compromise for the steep climbing prowess.

There's very little bob from the rear suspension even with the motor off (yes, it is possible to ride un-assisted - slowly) and it doesn't collapse into its travel when things get steep, but the suspension remains smooth when pedalling over bumps.

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Descending


First time out on the Voima, you're very aware you're on a 26 kg bike with a considerable wheelbase. Threading it through tight trees or picking up the wheels to negotiate off-camber roots and crux moves requires recalibrating the timing and amplitude of every body movement. Running the fork firmer helped, but I'd have liked a faster rebound setting to get more energy back when preloading the ground before lofting the front wheel. Dropping the saddle lower in the frame than the 165 mm dropper allowed helped too, but there's no getting around the fact this bike isn't for jibbing. I can just get it to the balance point of a manual, but it takes accurate timing and more effort. Bunnyhopping is also possible, but hard work and height-limited. I consider myself pretty good at bunnyhops, but anything much higher than a kerb is beyond me. If your local trails involve regularly hopping fallen trees you may want to pack your hernia belt and incontinence pads.


But with practice, you can hustle it through the tight and technical stuff. It just takes more effort and forethought. Besides, these awkward trials-like moves aren't where the Voima was meant to excel. Get it on something fast, rough and open and the speed it can carry is sure to put a grin on your face. The suspension isn't just soft and wallowy; it's surprisingly well-controlled. The touchdown feel at the rear is super supple and forgiving but there's enough progression to prevent any trapdoor feeling when pushing into a compression.

I never bottomed out but always had a smooth and bump-swallowing feel. An impact that might cause a typical 160 mm bike to bottom out hard could still leave the shock O-ring a few millimetres away from the end of the shaft, goading you to go deeper next time. And while shorter travel bikes can be made to resist bottom-outs with volume spacers, this creates a kicking sensation as the ramp of spring force happens abruptly; the Voima's suspension feels continuous and predictable. Combine this with the stable geometry and the Voima encourages you to let it run and go fast. There's loads of grip on offer and the bike is so forgiving of mistakes you feel you can get away with murder.

Trails that are fast and rough, filled with rocks, holes and drops are where the Voima makes perfect sense. To say it rides like a downhill bike would be underselling it. The extra chassis weight adds stability and suspension sensitivity few of them can match. On trails like these, I was looking further ahead, riding faster, and most notably, had much less fatigue than usual.


Cornering is a double-edged sword. The high bottom bracket and long wheelbase slow the handling, which takes some getting used to. I was running wide in the corners to start with. But after a few rides, you can get used to this different timing, especially if you know the trail. Even chicanes requiring quick changes of direction can be handled at speed if you look ahead and anticipate them. But for blind riding where a corner can come out of nowhere, it can feel a little lethargic and demands an assertive approach.

For flat corners, I grew to trust the immense grip and lean the bike over hard. Leo recommends riding with feet level, which I think is good advice on any bike where you can get away with it because it allows you to push into the ground with both feet and generate traction; the Voima's high bottom bracket just means you can do this more often without catching the inside pedal on the side of the rut. During steep switchback turns that go from traversing the fall line in one direction to the other with a steep slope in between, I found the high bottom bracket made the bike feel tall - I was very aware of my feet being above the front axle.

But with practice, I learned to simply lower my body further towards the bike when cornering (another reason for a longer-travel seatpost). A slight bend in the knees compensates for the higher-than-average BB height. Besides, there were plenty of times when riding through stumps, ruts and rocks, where not having to worry about clipping my feet was a genuine relief. Running more sag would lower the ride height too, but I found the suspension too soft and unresponsive when set like this.

Overall, it's hard to say whether the high BB is a good thing or a bad thing - there are pros and cons. I'd like to try a Voima with 20 mm lower bottom bracket just to see. But for now, I think of the high ground clearance a bit like running narrow bars if you live somewhere with tight trees (as I do) - the handling certainly takes getting used to, but the extra clearance makes it easier to ride fast if clipping bars/pedals is a concern.

Dropping some weight would be nice too, but the Voima isn't especially heavy compared to some other big-battery e-bikes (Whyte's E-160 is heavier despite having less travel). As for the Voima's main USP: the 190 mm suspension travel? I'm all for it. It makes it easier to ride challenging features uphill and downhill.


What about a smaller frame size?

Having finished testing the Voima in size K3, I asked Pole to send me a K2 to try out. That's the size Pole's podium-finishing EWS-E racer, Leigh Johnson, rides and he's about my height.

On their website, Pole recommends the K2 to riders up to a maximum height of 185 cm; I'm 190 cm tall, but I wanted to see if the shorter front center would improve the nimbleness. Unfortunately, the K2's super short seat tube (360 mm) wasn't long enough to get my saddle to the proper height, even after I'd swapped the seatpost to a 212 mm travel Vecnum dropper - the longest one I had. But thanks to the motor, I could put up with the saddle being around 30 mm too low. I think only the 240 mm travel OneUp V2 post would be long enough to make the K2 work for me, and even that would be on the limit. That's why I'm putting my thoughts on the K2 separately from the rest of the review: I'm not 100% sure if I can actually get the saddle high enough to make it fit me!

Straight away, it was apparent that it was much easier to get the front wheel off the ground. Sure, you can still tell it's a heavy bike, but for me, it was not too hard to get to the balance point and hop over kerb-sized obstacles or manual through puddles. I was happy doing big jumps on the K3 but getting height on small, abrupt jump faces was tricky. With the K2, it was much easier to generate pop and height when needed. I also noticed I had more grip on the front wheel in flat corners and it was easier to make tight turns and quick direction changes. The bike still feels weighty when changing direction quickly, especially when moving the bike from side to side relative to your body, but overall it's surprisingly easy to sling it through the corners. In fact, with the grip the suspension and tires generate combined with the relatively balanced weight distribution, the K2 Voima allows you to really lean it into corners and carry speed through. After a few laps, I was riding the corners on my familiar test tracks with as much speed and confidence as I have done on any bike.

Downsides? We're still talking about a bike with a 63-degree head angle and a 1,313 mm wheelbase so it's not like the K2 ever feels unstable or prone to "tripping up" when braking hard through bumps, although I was still aware of the high BB height on tight, steep turns.

When sizing down, the handlebars feel close to your lap while seated, but I didn't mind this. You could always slide the saddle backwards on the rails (which would effectively move the seat angle towards 79 degrees) or run a slightly longer stem if this bothers you, but I felt no need.

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How Does it Compare?

I really liked the Megawatt when I tested it last year. It's got less travel, a smaller back wheel and a smaller battery too. That makes it 1.6 kg lighter, but the main difference you'll notice is the shorter wheelbase and chainstays and the lower BB, which make it much easier to throw around on the trail.

The Pole is more surefooted, both uphill and down. The extra suspension travel makes for a suppler ride that feels more confidence-inspiring and smoother at speed. I can't do a direct comparison because it's been a year since I last rode the Nukeproof, but I think the Pole is easier to ride fast, especially on very rough tracks, and easier to get up steep and technical climbs too. The Nukeproof is more balanced, easier to adapt to and definitely more agile. For the 99% of us who never intend to race an eMTB, those are some big advantages.

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Technical Report


2023 RockShox Zeb: There is a review in the pipeline on this fork but for now I'd say it can work very well, but I've had one or two that benefitted from fresh oil in the legs from the factory. Without this, they can feel harsh and overdamped. The 190 mm version was simply too progressive (sat too low in its travel or couldn't use much travel) for my tastes until I fitted a suspension insert most people haven't heard of. At 170 mm travel, it can be very good. As good as a Fox 38? We'll see.

Bosch Performance Line CX motor: The standard Bosch motor is powerful and predictable. The pickup is quick and eager but it's easy to control the power on slippy sections with practice. The 750 Wh battery lasts a very long time if you want it to - I managed a 1,500 m x 50 km ride using a mix of modes, but in full turbo mode, you can burn through it in a couple of hours.

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Posted In:
eMTB Reviews and Tech Reviews Enduro Bikes Pole Bicycles Pole Voima