Pole Bicycles (Finland) - Press Release: More is More. A principle that we strongly believe in at Pole Bicycles. Our ethos is held firmly in function before form and form follows function. The Pole Voima (meaning Power in Finnish) is all of these principles coming together. 

The idea behind the Voima is simple; Ride up, along, and down faster. We worked hard to create a bike with better-pedaling efficiency that had longer travel, the assistance of a motor, and a long-lasting battery range. It’s all about maintaining power transfer from our pedal motion to trail speed mechanically, not only from the assistance of the motor, and with the right suspension kinematics. Our modern suspension design allows us to make the most of pedaling efficiency without a loss of energy. Because of this, the Voima is the ultimate enduro, park bike, long-distance trail rig, and DH play bike all in one.

The Voima has more power, more travel, and it can cover a greater distance. Sourcing the latest technology, we were able to create a bike that didn’t weigh over the odds and has more range and suspension travel. There are no compromises in terms of suspension kinematics, geometry, or how the bike rides either. Based on a completely new suspension platform – a design that has been tested across both bikes with and without a motor and battery. It has proven to be lively and active but without compromising on pedaling efficiency or suspension dynamics.

The Voima has been designed as the truest form of what we believe an e-bike should be. We never benchmark against other bikes and the Voima is no exception. It is not based on an existing bike model with an e-bike motor and battery adapted into the original design either. It has been designed and created as an e-bike from the ground up.

What is More?

With 190mm travel front and rear, the Voima is also the only completely CNC machined and bonded 7075-T6 aluminum-framed e-bike in the world. We’ve also designed the frame to be dual crown compatible. Race tested and approved, we already have two e-bike race wins under our belt with the Voima and will soon complete the industry’s toughest EFBE safety testing in Germany.

“We have everything set here. This beast goes around corners like a snake and hucking to flat is just another day at the office. This bike is a fun machine at the local trails and it can keep up with the big boys at the bike park’s – holy crap it’s fast.”

Key Points:

• Brose Motor and BMZ V10 725W battery
• Battery install from the top of the downtube
• Power inlet close to the headtube away from elements
• Elevated chainstays for less chain slap and ease of use
• Suspension kinematics that works perfectly with a motor
• Brose Motor set completely inside the frame covered from the elements 
• ISCG-05 mount
• Seat post cable can be installed without removing the motor
• Disk speed sensor
• SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger
• Two bottle mounts. One on the bottom of the downtube and one top of the downtube
• The only 7075-T6 aluminum-framed e-bike in the world
• An exclusive Pole suspension platform and design.
• Double bearing links

A big battery that loads from the top of the downtube:

Voima has a 725Wh battery that can be changed really quickly if you want to ride in boost mode more. The battery is best positioned on the top of the downtube for ease of access and weatherability. Water is the worst enemy of the electric mountain bike. That’s why we’ve mounted the power inlet at the top. This is how we can secure the inlet ports from water ingress.

The battery cover also has bottle mount tabs for a Fidlock bottle mount. However, if you charge your battery from the external port and ride with only one battery, a conventional bottle holder will do.

Fully covered motor:

The Voima runs a Brose S Mag motor and BMZ V10 725W battery. We chose Brose because of the great power delivery without being overpowered. The motor is set completely inside the frame, sheltered from trail elements, a decision made after extensive testing of weatherability during design and development. As a comparison, we also tested the motor completely uncovered and exposed to the elements to make sure that connections between the battery and the motor lasted over a long period of time. The Brose motor delivers power naturally and effortlessly but still has 90NM of torque when it’s needed.

Our research showed that many bash plates under the motors are just not strong enough. Very often the chainrings and motors get damaged. The benefit of CNC’d aluminum is that we can enclose the motor inside the frame without worrying about overheating the motor. The frame extends almost under the bottom bracket and protects the motor from rock strikes and trail obstacles. There are also ISCG-05 holes so extra chainring protection can be installed. There is also room under the motor if anything goes sideways, your motor is safe. Behind the motor, we have a cover that protects the motor from the elements.

Yes SENSEI:

We designed the suspension kinematics for bikes that have to have room for a motor or a gearbox. SENSEI pedals extremely well due to a virtual pivot point that hovers near the chain line. SENSEI has a falling rate of leverage ratio (progressive) and a falling rate of anti-squat to keep the pedal feedback low. We have reduced the ground feedback significantly and brought more balance to cornering and jumps. The shock is mounted sideways to minimize the stress to the shock bushings. The whole 190mm of travel can be used with an air or a coil shock and it is versatile for all sized riders.

“Your work will teach its maker,” Leo’s grandfather used to say – a talented self-learned craftsman. SENSEI is Japanese and it means teacher. We named our suspension SENSEI because comes from our relentless testing of different options and learning from them. Our research and testing is our teacher and that’s how we get better every time. Learning from mistakes and accomplishments and adding grit to move forward is what Finnish “sisu” is made of.

With SENSEI we can use 32t front chainring which allows us to have better ground clearance and power delivery. With SENSEI we don’t need to go with big front chainrings that are heavier and more prone to damage. Some claim that a bigger chainring in the front creates less wearing out in the cassette. This is partly true but moving from 32t to 38t with 80 RPM you can only upshift one cog in the cassette. The speed with 38t on 80rpm with 29″ and 10t in the rear is 42.1kph. On 32t the same value is 35.5. However, with 50t the speed difference is only 1,3kph.

Our research says it’s better to go with a smaller chainring because chain breakage is a very common problem on e-bikes. The less power we need from the motor on uphills, the more battery range you will have and you are less prone to chain snap or chainring damage.