Unbelievable. I really like the geometry. Anyone have some time in the saddle on the hardtails? How does the bike feel?

I'd barely tall enough. Could use either the XS or S. (XS is equivalent to my medium Karate Monkey, I think). But I've disproportionately long limbs, and the clyde forum has a lot of gear and fit issues that work for me.

 

I don´t know what clyde forum is.
On the website of Pole there are size recommendations that fit very well. Just look at the Evolink geometry chart.
So I am 187 cm and have the frame size L, as suggested by Pole. And it fits wonderfully. Due to the steep seatangle and the long headtube or stack, the bike does not feel too long despite the long reach. You sit relatively upright.
How tall are you?

 

How tall are you fellas on XLs? Seriously thinking of getting one of these as a second bike, but by my math the L is bigger than the XXL YT I'm on now. I'm 6'5"/195cm and actually leaning towards the L.

 

I just pip you at 196cm. But I fit "large" with respect to me having long arms and legs. So I take what would be considered a fairly big bike for the 6'5" spectrum. I have the XL and compared to my old Scott, it's a monster. But in having finally gotten a road bike the fits me almost properly a few years ago, and knowing that nice fit feeling, I would almost say that I could go even larger than the XL by just a bit. Unless you really want something that sizes smaller for playfulness, I wouldn't go for something smaller than XL at your height. But also in saying that, due to my own experience, your physical dimensions could in fact dictate that an L suits, but your height is not really the best way to tell. If you have the money to check, I'd perhaps suggest finding a knowledgeable fitter with a fit bike to ease your mind on which is better

 

Get yourself XL, it's not as huge as numbers look. I'm 186 and L feels spot on

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Word, XL is the logical choice but it just looks huge on paper. Then again, my YT is probably just as big compared to what I was riding 10 years ago. About time bike sizing caught up with those of us on the tall end of the bell curve.

 

Try punching the figures for your YT vs the Pole into this for a good visual on the difference

Stack and reach calculator

 

Not sure if anyone is watching this tread anymore but I was wondering the widest Maxxis tire you guys are running on the rear? I have a medium frame, i30 rims and the Aggressor 2.5WT didn't fit. Probably try a DHR 2.4 next. Kinda bummed about the tire clearance, thought there'd be more...

 

Damn. That's terrible tire clearance. I had a medium on order. I am super glad the order didn't work out. Personally a 2.5WT Maxxis is just acceptable for tire volume, but I'd much rather have a true width 2.6" tire in the rear. I probably would have just sold the Taival and moved on to something else. I guess I dodged a bullet.

 

Yeah, if I would of known I probably would of skipped it. I did get a great deal on a slightly used one, so I'll figure something out. Plan is to eventually try it 'mullet' but I don't have a 27.5 rear right now...

 

Yes true, thanks

 

Any word on when the XL frames will be back in stock? Two emails to Pole and nothing back. I guess they don't want my money..

 

id also like to know this. Really waiting to purchase one.

 

Got this message yesterday from Pole:

Taival frames will be back in stock end of January 2020. Stock status will be updated on our website https://polebicycles.com/polestore/product/taival/
Stay tuned!

 

Regarding sizing for people taller than 190 cm I got this information from Pole:

Here is the size information: https://polebicycles.com/sizing/ Taival has a long effective top tube and reach, so I would say riders until 195 cm could also go with the size L if you want more agility and playfulness. Often we recommend XL for riders approx. over 193cm.

 

Hi, Great looking bike!
I´m looking into buying a Taival myself.
How tall are you and is that a XL?
And how does it ride?

Best regards
Rafael

 

Finally!

I've had this frame for a little while now, been waiting on wheels. Three rides in, it's been worth the wait. I'm 6' 4" tall and this is an XL Taival. A few notes...

- XTR FC-M9120 cranks don't fit with enough clearance to not take chunks out of the chainstays. I could make the two touch by squeezing with my hand.
- RF Atlas crank fits fine.
- Maxxis Aggressor 2.5 WT fits well on XL frame on WeAreOne Union rims.

 

I've had this frame for a little while now, been waiting on wheels. Three rides in, it's been worth the wait. I'm 6' 4" tall and this is an XL Taival. A few notes...

- XTR FC-M9120 cranks don't fit with enough clearance to not take chunks out of the chainstays. I could make the two touch by squeezing with my hand.
- RF Atlas crank fits fine.
- Maxxis Aggressor 2.5 WT fits well on XL frame on WeAreOne Union rims.

View attachment 1320089
View attachment 1320091

Looks super nice,

 

Hey guys, OP here back from the dead with an update post....

Well after years of patience, multiple emails with no response, missing in stock frames, and more patience, I have finally received my Pole Taival.

I spent 2 years on an XL Evolink 150, before this I had an XXL Santa Cruz HTLT, and once I rode the Pole I knew I wasn't going back to a "normal" bike. I am a hardtail guy at heart even though I tip the scales at 6'8" 255, ride aggressively, and break bike components with regularity, hardtails are the jam. RIP rear wheel. lol

The Evolink 150 is based on 27.5" wheels but I ran it with 29" it worked fairly well but the high BB meant a high saddle which mean low bars, hand pressure, shoulder pain, etc. so I put a lot of time into finding a comfortable riding position with wider bars, offset seat post head, a fork with a longer steerer so I could add 40mm of spacers, a stem with longer reach and more rise, and grips with more cushion. I found a comfortable position but the bike was a bit of a monster truck and I was positioned high on the bike which impacted cornering, climbing, and general dynamics. Jumping from the Evolink to Taival got me about 65mm of stack! Sick! Just what I needed.

Here is a pic of the Evolink

Although I had a bunch of parts ready to go for the hardtail build I ended up building it with the best parts I have, the future full-suspension build )(probably Evolink 158) will get the leftover parts

I have 5 rides on the Taival so far, one of which was 20 miles and 3,500ft of climbing. I love this thing. I need to play around with tire pressure more to find the balance between comfort, grip, rim protection, and sidewall support but that will come with time.

Here are the build specs:
XL Taival
160mm Lyrik RCT3 + Luftkappe + Torque Caps
i9 Hydra hubs laced to E13 TRS+ 36mm internal rims
29x2.6 DHF DC 29x2.5 Aggressor DD + Cushcores F/R
Shimano SLX/XT 12spd
RF Atlas cranks
TAG Metals pedals
Deity Holeshot handlebar + Control Tech Extensions (865mm total)
Anvl Stem
Magura Hybrid Brakes: Trail Levers w/ MT5 calipers
220mm F 203mm R rotors
9point8 20mm Dropper
Deity SpeedTrap Ti saddle
Wolf Tooth Mega Fat Paw Grips
FidLock H20 Bottles x2

Some notes:

Magura brakes are the shiznit, if you are a big boy I highly recommend them. Gobs of power, great modulation, mineral oil, easy service, and hard to beat price. I built my custom setup for about 1/2 the price of what Shimano Saints sell for.

I have been on the Shimano 12spd drivetrain for a bit, the honeymoon phase is over and this is when wear/tear and shifting issues start to show up. The Shimano stuff is working well and has been easy to live with. Although they advertise it as being able to handle shifts under load I don't prescribe to that, I do my best to shift unloaded but regardless it does handle shifts under pressure wheel but the best part is it just seems to work. I am no longer chasing my tail with B-gap adjustments like I was with Eagle. For me Shimano 12>Eagle and this is what I would recommend to other big guys.

On the Evolink I went from the Lyrik to a Fox 36 and I felt like the Lyrik chassis was stiffer, now that I am back on the Lyrik after riding the Fox for 1.5 years I 100% can conclude the Lyrik is stiffer, especially with the Torque caps. All the magazine reviews say they are about the same but those testing these forks are also 100lbs lighter than me. Personally I also prefer the damping of the Lyrik, I have the older Charger 1 damper with the Luftkappe air spring. My Fox 36 had the new Grip 2 damper. The Fox had less stanchion friction but on the trail with chunder the feedback would make it to my hands, I ran the 36 with ZERO H/L compression and fast rebound to match the Evolink so the Fox had all the help it could get from setup/tuning. In contrast the Lyrik sticks more, meaning if you are cruising down the road in attack position and shift your weight from neutral to more forward, weighting the fork, the stanchions wouldn't respond and slide into the lowers. However all the small bumps and square edged hits were soaked up on the trail much better than the Fox. Maybe it's the combo of the Luftkappe and my weight but anyway you slice it the Lyrik is stiffer and more responsive.

If you have big feet (I have size 17) these TAG Metals pedals are amazing. I loved DMR Vaults but the platform was a little small for me. I ran various Crank Brothers pedals and broke 2 pairs. These TAG pedals have the largest platform I have seen, have a full length axle, and are holding up very well. The downside is they are thicker so less clearance and the pins they supplied got ripped out easily but this trade off is well worth having a large, sturdy pedal that you aren't afraid will snap and have an axle lacerate your calf.

That's all I got for now. Here are some pics. Time for a ride!
Evan

 

Any links for trail levers? I couldn't find them.

Hey guys, OP here back from the dead with an update post....

Well after years of patience, multiple emails with no response, missing in stock frames, and more patience, I have finally received my Pole Taival.

I spent 2 years on an XL Evolink 150, before this I had an XXL Santa Cruz HTLT, and once I rode the Pole I knew I wasn't going back to a "normal" bike. I am a hardtail guy at heart even though I tip the scales at 6'8" 255, ride aggressively, and break bike components with regularity, hardtails are the jam. RIP rear wheel. lol

The Evolink 150 is based on 27.5" wheels but I ran it with 29" it worked fairly well but the high BB meant a high saddle which mean low bars, hand pressure, shoulder pain, etc. so I put a lot of time into finding a comfortable riding position with wider bars, offset seat post head, a fork with a longer steerer so I could add 40mm of spacers, a stem with longer reach and more rise, and grips with more cushion. I found a comfortable position but the bike was a bit of a monster truck and I was positioned high on the bike which impacted cornering, climbing, and general dynamics. Jumping from the Evolink to Taival got me about 65mm of stack! Sick! Just what I needed.

Here is a pic of the Evolink
View attachment 1358001

Although I had a bunch of parts ready to go for the hardtail build I ended up building it with the best parts I have, the future full-suspension build )(probably Evolink 158) will get the leftover parts

I have 5 rides on the Taival so far, one of which was 20 miles and 3,500ft of climbing. I love this thing. I need to play around with tire pressure more to find the balance between comfort, grip, rim protection, and sidewall support but that will come with time.

Here are the build specs:
XL Taival
160mm Lyrik RCT3 + Luftkappe + Torque Caps
i9 Hydra hubs laced to E13 TRS+ 36mm internal rims
29x2.6 DHF DC 29x2.5 Aggressor DD + Cushcores F/R
Shimano SLX/XT 12spd
RF Atlas cranks
TAG Metals pedals
Deity Holeshot handlebar + Control Tech Extensions (865mm total)
Anvl Stem
Magura Hybrid Brakes: Trail Levers w/ MT5 calipers
220mm F 203mm R rotors
9point8 20mm Dropper
Deity SpeedTrap Ti saddle
Wolf Tooth Mega Fat Paw Grips
FidLock H20 Bottles x2

Some notes:

Magura brakes are the shiznit, if you are a big boy I highly recommend them. Gobs of power, great modulation, mineral oil, easy service, and hard to beat price. I built my custom setup for about 1/2 the price of what Shimano Saints sell for.

I have been on the Shimano 12spd drivetrain for a bit, the honeymoon phase is over and this is when wear/tear and shifting issues start to show up. The Shimano stuff is working well and has been easy to live with. Although they advertise it as being able to handle shifts under load I don't prescribe to that, I do my best to shift unloaded but regardless it does handle shifts under pressure wheel but the best part is it just seems to work. I am no longer chasing my tail with B-gap adjustments like I was with Eagle. For me Shimano 12>Eagle and this is what I would recommend to other big guys.

On the Evolink I went from the Lyrik to a Fox 36 and I felt like the Lyrik chassis was stiffer, now that I am back on the Lyrik after riding the Fox for 1.5 years I 100% can conclude the Lyrik is stiffer, especially with the Torque caps. All the magazine reviews say they are about the same but those testing these forks are also 100lbs lighter than me. Personally I also prefer the damping of the Lyrik, I have the older Charger 1 damper with the Luftkappe air spring. My Fox 36 had the new Grip 2 damper. The Fox had less stanchion friction but on the trail with chunder the feedback would make it to my hands, I ran the 36 with ZERO H/L compression and fast rebound to match the Evolink so the Fox had all the help it could get from setup/tuning. In contrast the Lyrik sticks more, meaning if you are cruising down the road in attack position and shift your weight from neutral to more forward, weighting the fork, the stanchions wouldn't respond and slide into the lowers. However all the small bumps and square edged hits were soaked up on the trail much better than the Fox. Maybe it's the combo of the Luftkappe and my weight but anyway you slice it the Lyrik is stiffer and more responsive.

If you have big feet (I have size 17) these TAG Metals pedals are amazing. I loved DMR Vaults but the platform was a little small for me. I ran various Crank Brothers pedals and broke 2 pairs. These TAG pedals have the largest platform I have seen, have a full length axle, and are holding up very well. The downside is they are thicker so less clearance and the pins they supplied got ripped out easily but this trade off is well worth having a large, sturdy pedal that you aren't afraid will snap and have an axle lacerate your calf.

That's all I got for now. Here are some pics. Time for a ride!
Evan

View attachment 1358009 View attachment 1358011 View attachment 1358013 View attachment 1358015 View attachment 1358017

 

That's great you got your Taival and are enjoying it.

 

Nice getting your Taival in the current world situation.

I'm having a bit of a love/hate relationship with mine ATM. I love it, but the reality is that the riding where I live is either XC or full retard downhill and pretty much nothing in between, so it's a bit too much bike for local trails. I'm tossing up going to a more XC orientated steed and either keeping the Taival for the times I can get away or ditching it and going to maybe an Evo 140. A Nicolai Saturn 14 would probably be a better bike for what I do, but it comes at a substantial $$ premium.

I want something now, but I want/need to build it up myself and there's pretty much SFA of the bits that I need here in Oz ATM. My last bit of gear I sourced from Germany and that was a 2 month wait.

 

Nice write-up!

It’s probably not intentional, but the bikes from Pole fit us larger guys really well. I’ve been on an Evolink 140 for a couple of years - really loving it, and especially the steep STA.
With a 42’’ inseam, it’s nice not having your ass directly over the rear wheel at full seat extension


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I've just put my order in for an XL Taival frame!

I'm planning to swap everything over from my HonzoST. The only issue will be chasing down a 30.9 dropper post in these scarce components times!

I have my 2019 HonzoST set up with a -2° angleset and 160mm fork. I did really like how it rode until I started riding my newly built up super bike, a G1 GeoMetron. Now every time I get back on my Honzo it just feels tiny and not quite right.

I've had my eye on the Pole Taival for a couple of years now. With riding my G1 and realizing what a bike that fits feels like and selling a DH frame I was never going to ride again I have the funds to make this Taival frame purchase.

I really hope this bike will complement my G1.

Now the waiting for shipping and delivery begins!

 

I will be very curious to your impressions. I am 6'4" and ride a XL Kona HonzoST and have thought long and hard about the Taival!

 

I'm crossposting this from the Pole Taival thread. I figure there may be someone here who can answer this.

"..."
Has anyone installed an angleset in their Taival to slack the HA out more?
I'm curious to know what the thoughts/experiences are if someone has done this.

I'm contemplating getting either a -1° or a -1.5° angleset.
I've fully drank the long and slack Kool-Aid!

With a -1° angleset and a 160mm Lyrik the HA comes out to 62.7°.
With a -1.5° the HA comes to 62.2°.

 

Xposting from the Pole Taival build thread.

I received notification last week that my Pole Taival XL frame has been shipped!

I now have all the parts to complete the build when it arrives.

I'm debating getting the frame Ride Wrapped. I'm not sure if it'll be worth it as I know my long-term plan is to paint strip the frame and maybe get a tinted clear coat in the next couple of years.
I guess I'll wait and see how good the paint job looks to see whether it's worth it to protect the paint.

Here's my build list:

-Pole Taival XL
-RS Lyrik Ultimate RC2 160mm
-Works Components -1.5° angleset
-Chromag Ranger V2 stem 40mm
-Chromag FU50 bar 800mm
-Sram Code RSC 200mm F/R
-Sensus Meaty Paw grips
-Sram GX shifter/RD
-Bike Yoke Revive 213mm dropper
-Wolftooth/9.8 dropper trigger
-Chromag Trailmaster saddle
-Sram Stylo Dub cranks 170mm
-CrankBros Mallet DH LS pedals
-OneUp Switch oval 28T chainring
-SunRace 50-11T cassette
-Chromag BA30 wheelset
-WTB Vigilante High Grip 2.8F/2.6R

I'm stoked!
Hopefully the frame will be delivered early June.
I'll post pictures and wax poetic about how it rides once I have it.

I can't remember if I mentioned it in this thread or not but there's a similar debate happening between the two Taival threads here and in the Pole forum about what max size tire will fit into the frame.

The consensus here seemed to be that a 2.6 shouldn't have a problem fitting while over in the Pole forum the conclusion was that it might be a struggle to fit a 2.6 sized tire into the frame. For reference I'm talking about an XL size frame.
Since I plan on running a 2.6 tire on the rear I'm going to go with the positive outlook and believe the consensus here that it will fit without issue!

 

Another tall guy who’s building up an XL taival. OP influenced my decision!

All parts should be here this week, hopefully ready to go in a couple weeks. This will be a compliment to my XXL transition sentinel v2.

Great to see all the discussion here, definitely helped me out.


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My Taival frame arrived a couple of days ago!

Beauty shot before the build process.

As it sits currently from moving all my parts over from my HonzoST frame.
Now I just need to get the brake hose sorted (the rear line is too short coming from the Honzo) and it'll be ready to ride!

 

How tall are you and what cockpit and fork are you running? Curious how you'll like it compared to the honzo

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I got this beauty of a steel hardtail ready to ride!
STOKED!

And, I went and rode!

It's only been one ride but I could feel the difference immediately between the ride feel compared to the HonzoST.
Supple? Damped? Less harsh through the chunk? Whatever the descriptor is it's a much smoother ride through the trail chatter.

I also changed tires from what I had on before from WTB Vigilante 2.8F/2.6R to Magic Mary front and a Big Betty rear. Both 2.6. But a notibly smaller 2.6 compared to the Vigilante.
Maybe the tire pressure with the new tires is also adding to that supple ride? Although, they do have less volume so, who knows, maybe it is just the Taival frame.

 

Bike looks great. I'm curious about the Chromag bar. How do you like it and how tall are you?
The head tube doesn't look to tiny on that bike.

 

Bike looks great. I'm curious about the Chromag bar. How do you like it and how tall are you?
The head tube doesn't look to tiny on that bike.

Thanks!

I'm 6'6"/198cm.

The bar has a 50mm rise. I like it. I've never ridden a bar that I've not liked so I don't really have a comparison for good or bad.
I've been riding various versions/models of Chromag bars for well over a decade now. In fact the first bar I got from them is now on my commuter/beer bike. It's at least 15 years old! I think it's a 25.8 clamp diameter!
Oh, I just remembered that I've had one bar I didn't like. It was an Easton Haven (maybe Havoc?). That felt like a piece of wood and hurt my arms.

Yes, there is a lot of headtube in comparison to a lot of bikes out there. I really don't understand the love that bike companies have for tiny headtubes on their L and XL sized frames.
The Taival's HT is 145mm.

If you're looking for a more in depth look for my build and current first thoughts on the ride I'm posting more details over in the Pole forum in the Pole Taival thread.