Pole Voima swing arm CRACKED

[Plummet]

So IF Pole does come back to life, who's going to be buying a spare set of replacement swing arms preemptively, even if your frame is looking fine?

Hell no.

If they come back to life then there is no need to by a spare set in the immediate instance. The company will be funded to last at least a year or two before getting back into financial trouble again.
By that time I would prefer to invest that money towards a new e-bike with a more stable balance sheet that is less likely to go under.

I'd also not touch this stupid cnc machined/glued arrangement again with a barge pole. I will be going back to a material that I can fix myself if the worst happens.... that material is carbon fiber.
I don't regret buying the pole for its performance. But I do regret not spending more time/money getting my first choice of e bike which was a Crestline. At the time the cost was prohibitive. Now it is back in the realms of possibility. Even if Crestline when under I would be able to repair the carbon frame if i broke it.

 

[Hiltix]

My swing arms are ok so far (Modell 2023). But if they break, then unfortunately yes

 

[Ridelow]

Mine has started to crack now.. god damnit..
I love the bike and have sent a mail through poles website thats back up and running. Hope they can sort me out and that they are back in business..

 

[megabobra]

Mine has started to crack now.. god damnit..
I love the bike and have sent a mail through poles website thats back up and running. Hope they can sort me out and that they are back in business..

View attachment 143800

Ouch! Has that started to open up along the seam as well? Perpendicular to the crack?

 

[Onetime]

Mine has started to crack now.. god damnit..
I love the bike and have sent a mail through poles website thats back up and running. Hope they can sort me out and that they are back in business..

View attachment 143800

Let us know if they are able to send you some new ones.

 

[Ridelow]

Ouch! Has that started to open up along the seam as well? Perpendicular to the crack?

I dont dare to look. I went all out on this so really hope they can work out a solution with me somehow to keep me riding. I’m dependent on this bike to stay sane!

 

[Plummet]

I dont dare to look. I went all out on this so really hope they can work out a solution with me somehow to keep me riding. I’m dependent on this bike to stay sane!

Apparently we will know very shortly if they are reborn or die. Leo paid for the website to be re-opened. But that's it. The deals behind the scene's are being done or not right now. So its hurry up and wait. Hopefully all you guys with cracked swing arms are sorted out.

 

[Ridelow]

Apparently we will know very shortly if they are reborn or die. Leo paid for the website to be re-opened. But that's it. The deals behind the scene's are being done or not right now. So its hurry up and wait. Hopefully all you guys with cracked swing arms are sorted out.

I run a business in a Nordic country and believe I understand the process of this, and I totally respect that things feel like the are out of the founders hands at this time. But no matter what happens on the business side, the fair thing to do is find a solution to this one known issue of an amazing bike.

Help me and find a solution to keep this great bikes where they belong, shredding!

Leo or anyone involved with Pole.

 

[jbrown15]

I run a business in a Nordic country and believe I understand the process of this, and I totally respect that things feel like the are out of the founders hands at this time. But no matter what happens on the business side, the fair thing to do is find a solution to this one known issue of an amazing bike.

Help me and find a solution to keep this great bikes where they belong, shredding!

Leo or anyone involved with Pole.

At this point I don't even care if I have to pay for a replacement part. I love my Voima so much I just want to be able to ride it without having to worry about cracking my swing arm.

 

[Plummet]

I will work on a 3d printed titanium, carbon wrapped swing arm option if Pole don't survive. But its not worth investing the money in the R&D until we know for sure that Pole wont restart. If they get going again then by far and away the easiest option is to get a replacement part from Pole.

 

[Bollox]

Ouch! Has that started to open up along the seam as well? Perpendicular to the crack?

That's the edge of the clear wrap, not a seam opening up!

 

[BigG]

Anyone tried doing carbon rod reinforcements described in
Pole Voima swing arm CRACKED ??

I was out with a seriously broken knee for almost 1.5 years, getting back now, bike only has ~500 miles, no cracks yet, but I’d rather reinforce now than after the crack develops I’m pretty heavy especially after being immobilized for so long, so I need ebike to get back on track. But with my current weight I probably will just destroy the swingarm real fast.

 

[Karve]

Yep - mine cracked, did the resin fix 9 months ago on the driveside swingarm and have been riding it hard since. No issues. Its a solid fix.

 

[BigG]

Nice!
I’ll do the reinforcement sometime within next 2 weeks and will try to take photos of the process.
Just waiting for everything required to arrive for now. Ordered some quality materials and resin for this project, not typical amazon stuff.

 

[Onetime]

I found out recently mine was cracked, so I drilled the crack and repaired it with JB Weld, inside and out. Hopefully it’ll hold out until the new swingarms are available.

 

[mustclime]

If it can’t be fixed with duct tape, it can’t be fixed

I wonder if you could use one of those broken swing arms for a casting mold. Then have someone make a bunch of solid castings. Take them to a shop that can drill, tap and finish the arms. You have 10 made and I am sure you could get your money plus some. Solid arms should be more durable.

 

[Onetime]

If it can’t be fixed with duct tape, it can’t be fixed

I wonder if you could use one of those broken swing arms for a casting mold. Then have someone make a bunch of solid castings. Take them to a shop that can drill, tap and finish the arms. You have 10 made and I am sure you could get your money plus some. Solid arms should be more durable.

No need to do that. Pole is back in business and will start by producing some new swingarms. They should be available soon.

 

[mustclime]

One can Hope.

 

[Darkyhs]

For the ones that need it, the store is up and running again with spare parts.

Products

Pole Bicyclesis the original gamechanger in mountain biking geometry, long travel trail bikes and CNC machined and bonded aluminium frame design.

polebicycles.com

 

[tooFATtoRIDE]

So the original Pole warranty is worth s**t yet the most failure-prone part will be soon available for a bargain price of 750 EUR??? Someone is taking a royal piss.....

 

[Plummet]

So the original Pole warranty is worth s**t yet the most failure-prone part will be soon available for a bargain price of 750 EUR??? Someone is taking a royal piss.....

Yeah, it sucks for the guys that paid money and got nothing that they old company can be liquidated and a new one started with same owner
.....

But good for those who need parts.
At least now those bikes might be worth something.

 

[jbrown15]

So the original Pole warranty is worth s**t yet the most failure-prone part will be soon available for a bargain price of 750 EUR??? Someone is taking a royal piss.....

Company went bankrupt, Leo was able to get someone to buy the IP and start it back up. I know it's not ideal, but would you rather pay to get new ones or have a really expensive paperweight?

 

[jbrown15]

Yeah, it sucks for the guys that paid money and got nothing that they old company can be liquidated and a new one started with same owner
.....

But good for those who need parts.
At least now those bikes might be worth something.

Same owner? Are you sure about that? Or is Leo just involved?

 

[TheSnowShark]

For a bike costing over €10,000, I don't find it shocking to be able to find an improved, reliable part for €750.

It's still better than having that €10,000 hanging on the wall as decoration !

 

[Plummet]

Same owner? Are you sure about that? Or is Leo just involved?

No doubt the sames of the ownership title will be different. But the driving force remains to be Leo.

 

[tooFATtoRIDE]

Company went bankrupt, Leo was able to get someone to buy the IP and start it back up. I know it's not ideal, but would you rather pay to get new ones or have a really expensive paperweight?

I would rather have one for free if and when it breaks within the warranty period. My point of view does not necessarily align with the point of view of others. I accept that and have no issue with other points of view. I am just not in the business for paying twice for the same thing. It is a good learning experience for myself, though.

It is good, however, that the alternative exist.

 

[Durrti]

Seems a bit like he’s trying to profit off his poor design choices. No way cost on those is that high…

 

[slickrock]

When you get down to it, if you have a Pole bike and really like the geometry and how it rides and how differentiated and progressive it is compared to other brands (even a year later), then you probably want to keep your bike as a going concern, given the stark reality that Pole Bicycles went abruptly bankrupt. In light of this, I'm glad at least some vestige of the company is still around; able to remanufacture parts to keep prior customers on their bikes. The Voima, when I had it, was an incredible bike and if the swingarm manufacturing was flawed and overly exotic, a more pared down, more robust, slightly heavier version would be welcome, even if I had to pay for it. I mean, I have one of the last shipped Sonni's and doubt that there are enough out in the wild to justify Pole for making a few more replacement parts. But since Leo still has the IP and not letting og, there is always still a possibility. I would take this over a founder wiping his hands and walking away from his company, gutted by private equity and insolvency, and filed away in the annals of failed bike companies.

It looks like Pole Bicycles at this point has shrunk back down to a one-man-band, and it's interesting that he kept the brand name, given historical entailments both good and not so good for the moniker. What Leo makes of it we will see, but I'd rather have him still in the industry than out of it.

 

[Darkyhs]

So the original Pole warranty is worth s**t yet the most failure-prone part will be soon available for a bargain price of 750 EUR??? Someone is taking a royal piss.....

I can understand your frustration and fully feel it, I've been in the same position. Now I try to think of it as following, no longer do I need to scrap the bike if a parts fails. Glas half full or empty