Pole Voima 190mm Travel EMTB

[Onetime]

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

 

[Paul Mac]

Another positive review here.

 

[yorkshire89]

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]

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 ️

 

[megabobra]

Posted a quick note on a derestricter I built for my Voima and its rim magnet.
Give it a read if you're interested - link to post here: Derestricting bosch smart system

 

[PeeDee]

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]

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.

 

[King Liu]

I just assumed the spider would be included. It just made me laugh to get to this stage finally, and be stopped by this. I'm in a pretty good mood, as the customs process was painless.

 

[Yorkshire Heathen]

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

 

[slickrock]

Frame only orders don’t come with spider and chainring. At least when I ordered mine it didn’t.

My frame did come with both spider and chainring (32T). The irony though is that I assumed it did not, so I had already obtained a 34T Rotor single-piece CNC chainring before I got the bike. Way lighter, so swapped it out.

 

[BigG]

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.

 

[Bob Orbea Rise]

no, I need a Voima
wanted one since they first appeared with a brose motor.. want one more now

A Vagoima?

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

2023 Voima Updated:

300g lighter frame
New Bosch integration
New swingarm
Revised charge port
revised motor casing
Race motor option
Slimmer head tube
Updated bash guard

 

[Tankboy]

Nice - will be another 800 Euro twats more plus import duty etc so about £1000 upgrade....

 

[Rob Rides EMTB]

Nice - will be another 800 Euro twats more plus import duty etc so about £1000 upgrade....

Its the same price as before (well frameset only price at least is the same, not checked the others)

The older one is now discounted though..

 

[D3xt3rMTB]

The new bosch integration looks nice. What's the changes to the swing arms?

 

[Tankboy]

Its the same price as before (well frameset only price at least is the same, not checked the others)

View attachment 107806

The older one is now discounted though..

Well spotted

 

[Karve]

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

 

[Jay29er]

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.

 

[Jay29er]

I’m 69” tall and find the one up 210 to be dead on.

What size bike?

 

[Zimmerframe]

What size bike?

K2

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

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.

interested for the same reasons.

 

[theklaw]

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

 

[Jay29er]

Thank you all for your responses. Going with the bike yoke 185.

 

[cozzy]

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]

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.

 

[cozzy]

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.

View attachment 108075 View attachment 108076 View attachment 108077 View attachment 108078

Nice thanks for the pics. Sweet. I dislike full 29ers. They just looks weird & ungainly.

 

[theklaw]

Nice thanks for the pics. Sweet. I dislike full 29ers. They just looks weird & ungainly.

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]

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.

Bike frameset is sold and new Race ID frameset ordered!

 

[wavekiter]

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 have 34'' inseam, riding a K2.
Went for the Revive 213 -- works perfectly.