We have Stamina!

A new Pole is coming out, and it might be confusing. Why so similar to Machine? Well, the industry has told you that it introduces bikes as year models, but we don’t. For example, last month we just made a revision to Machine that changed its aesthetics and stiffness without a big shout to the media. We improve our products all the time because our product is made on demand. We do not have a long way to China or Taiwan to change our CNC programs with a possible revision issue. We just go to our CNC specialist and make a new program. After we get the first sample, we bond the parts in our factory and go and ride it. Everything happens in same place. We don’t need to wait for a slot between big companies and in the future, all industries may work like us. The rapid production models will enter more and more companies and what it means is more customized and niche products that you have ever seen. Most of the companies work with year models. Their design teams are working on a project for years to create a new product. There are probably ten different engineers working on the same product. Then you have the marketing teams that need to make a bike that suits a large group of people. Then they need to create press releases and teach the sales pitch to all the distributors who will tell the same to their dealers. It takes a long time. For us, it does not take that long. We started working on the Stamina 17.9.2018 and we have finished the design under a month. The bike has all new rear triangle, front triangle, and the links. Next month we are going to test the different versions of the bike with our soon to be released EWS team, and after the test session, we are ready to make the last changes to production, and then the bike is available to be purchased. We can do the same in four months that big companies work for years. Stamina will serve also serve as a mule to a shorter travel trail bike which will be designed based on Stamina’s style. The forthcoming shorter travel trail bike’s design concept will be more around playfulness than speed. After the shorter travel trail bike, we start designing our first ebike and in the meanwhile, the long waited DH bike will emerge. We keep the rights to change the order 😉 There are multiple different projects that are interesting to us and this is not it. In the future, there is going to be a lot more products.

180/180 29″

Machine is 180/160mm. You might think that Stamina is the same, but It’s not. The reason for this is that the 180mm fork works the same as 160mm fork until 160mm of travel. Now, Machine’s rear end is designed to pedal like 140mm travel trail bike, but its travel is 160mm because of the progression and setup. Machine is designed to be one bike for all riding. Stamina in the other hand is designed with the same philosophy, but it’s intended to be ridden even faster than Machine. This bike is not for people who don’t want to go fast. We are entering an only race-oriented design of mountain bike. We have won downhill races on Machine, and we have won Enduro races on Machine. Leigh Johnson finished 13th at the final race of 2018 Enduro World Series. Why stop there? We certainly can create a long travel bike that pedals well and is fun on trails and in a bike park. When I came back from Whistler Crankworx, I was certain that we can add more travel. We were riding every day while we stayed at Whistler. We rode up the mountain for hours in the morning to reach trails that are not accessible on lifts and the afternoon we rode park until the lifts closed. My feeling was that I could use more travel to save more strength on downhills. The uphills are fine, but the downhills are just too brutal as I needed to compensate the hits on the front end too much. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t say that Machine is not bad at all. I want to go faster easier. Stamina has higher standover than Machine and it’s possible that we will have more differences. Let’s see after we have tested this bad boy. All and all, they are pretty similar, but they have made to serve slightly different purposes.

New details

34.9 seatpost

Stamina’s linkage is very similar to Machine although all the links are different. The upper link is 100% new, and the lower link interface to the rear triangle is new as well.  The Stamina is more symmetric than Machine because we are putting a 34.9mm seat post on it. If we wanted to use 34.9 seat post on Machine, the bigger tube would knock the shock a lot more to the side and it would be in the way. The 34.9mm seat post also means is that the seat tube in Stamina is a lot shorter than in Machine. We chose the 34.9mm seatpost standard on Stamina because it’s a bit weird that all bikes have a tube, that has a tube that has a tube. It’s a telescopic system that has too much overlapping. With 34.9 we can make a shorter seat tube and save material.

Integrated headset

On Machine, we used headset cups. On Stamina, the headset bearing seats will be integrated into the headtube. The reason most of the companies are using headset cups is that heat treatment makes the bikes tolerances go off, and if one needs to have good tolerances, they need to machine the surfaces after heat treatment. When we machine the frames from already heat treated material, we don’t need to worry about this. This feature makes the frame just a bit lighter.

Better Foldability

Pole’s have been foldable because we have BB concentric link. The main problem on folding is the cables as they need to move with the rear triangle when the bike is folded. On Stamina, the cables can be routed so that it’s easier to fold the frame. Also, the upper link axle that you need to remove is going to be easier to remove.

Mud protection

Although Machine’s bearing life has been superb, we designed Stamina so that all the bearings are hidden from the elements. The shock is now behind the seat tube away from the direct contact of the mud.

Geometry

Stamina will have similar geometry to Machine as we have found it very good in our EVOLINK 158. Seat tube angle is the steepest we have done yet and the head angle may be slacker, but we don know yet if it’s going to be like that. We have not ridden this thing yet.

New sizing

We are also working to improve the sizing. After the Stamina test sessions, we will introduce a new size chart that will be followed from Stamina on all our machined frames what means for example that we will have between sizes.

The soft values

The Stamina name comes from giving more energy to the rider who is pushing himself to the limit. We want to make the riding easier and more effortless. Sia’s song “The Greatest” lyrics describe my feeling of designing the Stamina. I bet all racers can relate to these lyrics 🙂

-Leo Kokkonen

Uh-oh, running out of breath, but I
Oh, I, I got stamina
Uh-oh, running now, I close my eyes
Well, oh, I got stamina
And uh-oh, I see another mountain to climb
But I, I, I got stamina
Uh-oh, I need another lover, be mine
Cause I, I, I got stamina

Don’t give up, I won’t give up
Don’t give up, no no no
Don’t give up, I won’t give up
Don’t give up, no no no