Pole-EVOLINK-140-2017-savonmaki

The 2017 EVOLINK

Our EVOLINK frames gets some new features on 2017. Here’s the changes we did and stories behind them.

1. Rear hub standards

The BOOST rear hub standard has been around for a while and we are convinced about it. Also, we know that people still have 142 wheels. We designed a clever system which allows the user choose which standard he wants to use. The adapters for each standard are designed so that there is no compromise on stiffness and there is not a complicated bolt on systems that eventually come loose or even drop off. The system has a new hanger which works as an adapter as well. On the non-drive side there is a press fir adapter and for the 142 two 3mm washers for the I.S. mount. We think this design is so clever that possibly some other brands will copy it later 😉

Pole_New Swingarm (1 of 5)

2. Swingarm stiffness

The 2016 EVOLINK 140 and 150 had a small difference on the swingarm. It was the gusset between the chainstay and seatstay. The 140 was designed to be as an all mountain / trail bike but later we noticed that the 140 is much more capable than we originally thought. We decided to rethink the swingarm structure and we found out ways to make it lighter and stiffer. Then we decided to add weight back as a form of the gusset that was on 150. The gusset itself makes the swingarm much stiffer than the previous version. The new swingarm is same weight as the one we had on 140 in 2016 but it’s just stiffer.

Pole_New Swingarm (4 of 5)

3. Upper link

We call the link that connects the front triangle to the rear triangle and drives the sock as “upper link”. We changed the shape on this link more open so it can shed mud better. Also, it makes possible to run the shock so that the shaft of the shock is not so prominent to dirt. We assure you that you can run it the other way as well. The seal’s job is to wipe the dirt off the shaft every time the shock compresses. There is no risk to get the shock damaged on rocks whatsoever. We’ve never seen a single shock that had any dents from rocks flown off the tire. But anyhow we listened to our fans and made this possible. The downside on this position is that it’s not as easy to get to the rebound knob or any other dials. I personally don’t use the climb switch very often so I run the shock this way these days.

Pole_New Swingarm (5 of 5)

4. Cable routing for clamp control Fox seatpost

The seatpost cable routing on our bike is not ideal as the shock goes through the seat tube. Fox has invented a new way to control the telescopic seat post. The lever is so clever that we decided to make an internal cable route just for this dropper post. On our tests this dropper post has been the best so far. It even works in Finnish winter. Just yesterday I had ~three-hour ride in -5°C (41°F) and the post worked just perfect. I’ve had also sub -10°C rides and there has not been a single issue. See Trevor Worsey’s post (Enduro Magazine) on Instagram. The route can be seen on the top tube close to the head tube and close the seat tube.

The build begins, full story coming to @enduromag soon but the #thegeometryaffair is a go! Cannot wait to light this one up. 64.5 degree head angle, 510 mm reach, 1314 mm wheelbase, 456 mm chainstays, and an awesome 77.5 degree seat angle! @polebicycles. Follow the #thegeometryaffair tag to watch the build.

5. Shock tune

On 2016 we used a low compression / medium rebound tune on Rock Shox Monarch. This year we are using L/H tune. The reason on this is that we found out that heavier and faster riders need more air pressure on the shocks. Monarch is a single tube shock and there is no way to externally change the high speed rebound. The rebound knob only effects to the low speed rebound.

The key to get a good damping on our bike is to have low compression tune and high rebound damping on the high speed rebound. The suspension works best if the spring rate is so that the bike sits between 25% to 30% SAG. The progressive leverage ratio with supportive spring rate makes the sock very responsive and not to bottom out harsh. In Seb Stott’s review he used the old tune. The reason to this damping setup is that our progressive curve will store more energy to the ending stroke than in beginning stroke so the damping needs to be different as well. On the low speed rebound we don’t need that much damping as the shaft moves slower due the higher leverage ratio on the beginning stroke area. On EVOLINK’s the anti-squat does not interfere the suspension as much as in many other bikes and it makes a difference how we need to tune the shock.

The 2017 website is coming soon. Contact service@polebicycles.com to book yours.

Happy trails!

Leo Kokkonen 2016
Leo Kokkonen