The Finns are crazy, you think at first glance at the Pole Vikkelä Express. This bike looks so different from all other bikes. The young label from Finland is a pioneer of the longer and flatter trend. What's more, the Finns go to extremes and manufacture their MTBs according to their more-is-more philosophy. Like all Poles, the Pole is milled from a single tough block of aluminium (7075 T6). This results in two frame shells, which are then glued together. Eye-catchers wherever you look: the monstrous swingarm, the insanely high bottom bracket (373 mm), the twisted shock absorber, the frame sealing, etc. Incidentally, "Vikkelä" means "manoeuvrable" in German, which made us particularly curious about the geometry data.
But enough of the backstory, what does the Popometer say? It says pretty quickly: comfortable suspension. The "floating" shock absorber squeezes 190 millimetres of travel out of the long rear end (454 mm) - you can feel it. Both: the suspension travel and the long rear end. Manuals? Only with Dwayne Johnson arms. The wheelbase (1304 mm) also recommends: like to be on the fall line into the valley. And we confirm: With the Pole Vikkelä Express, you want to go straight and go for it.
So: vikkelä no, Express yes. The hefty weight also contributes to this: over 17 kilos with pedals - this stabilises the bike, while the tough tyres with double-down casing provide additional damping. We cannot confirm that the Pole handles almost as nimbly as a trail bike on tours (as the manufacturer promises).
Conclusion on the Pole Vikkelä Express from Team FREERIDE:
You have to know and celebrate the Pole philosophy to really get to grips with the bike. We liked the DH performance of the aluminium bike, but not so much the handling.
Comment by Lars Scharl, tester and photographer:
The Pole Vikkelä Express felt most at home on the downhill track. This is where the chassis really comes into its own. The track-following geo and the weight make handling easier. On twisty sections, the sluggish Pole was rather cumbersome.
Technical data and notes Pole Vikkelä Express
Manufacturer information
- Material / Sizes: Aluminium / K1, K2 (tested size), K3, K4
- Price / weight without pedals: 6725 Euro / 16.8 kg
Measurement data
- Front / rear suspension travel: 190 mm / 190 mm
- Rear suspension system: Multi-link
- Reach: 476 mm
- Stack: 647 mm
- BB drop: 2 mm
Equipment
- Fork / Shock: Rockshox ZEB Select / Rockshox Super DeLuxe Ultimate
- Cranks / gears: Sram GX Eagle / Sram GX Eagle brake system Sram Code R (220 / 200 mm)
- Wheels: Crankbrothes Synthesis E29 system wheelset
- Tyres: Maxxis Assegai 3C MaxxGrip TR DD 2.5
Park ranking
- Radon
- Santa Cruz
- Norco
DH ranking
- Norco
- Pole
- Giant
FREERIDE ranking
The number (maximum 10 points) reflects the overall impression of the testers and is not an addition of the performance points.
- 10 - Test winner, it couldn't be better
- 9 - Very good. Buy recommendation
- 8 - Good. Solid performance
- 7 - Below average. The product has weaknesses.
- 6 - and less: We can only warn against this!
