Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Execs
- Mid-drive motor with torque sensor
- Comfy to experience
- First rate show
Cons
- Heavy
- Could also be too giant for shorter riders
- No gear indicator
Our Verdict
The Eskute Polluno Professional is an honest e-bike for commuting and with its torque sensor, snug, noiseless experience and step-through design it’s nice for on a regular basis use. It’s heavy, although, and shorter riders could discover it too huge.
As cycle-to-work initiatives proceed to develop in availability and recognition, there was a corresponding rise within the variety of e-bikes aimed solely at commuters. And if the hypothetical Joe/Jane Bloggs wants one to experience to the workplace, dressed to impress within the boardroom, there are just a few vital design concerns.
The bike should be snug, it should match quite a lot of styles and sizes, it needs to be protected and straightforward to manoeuvre in site visitors and most significantly, it should take a look at least considerably elegant. This, in fact, is a tough set of priorities to stability at any finances, and so the likes of the Eskute Polluno Professional have their work reduce out.
Focused at those that wish to ditch the automobile and get to work in type with out breaking the financial institution, the Polluno Professional emphasises a ‘noiseless’ design, a torque sensor and a protracted vary of as much as 80 miles as its principal promoting factors.
However with some severe competitors at this value, does it do sufficient to earn our advice? Learn on for our full evaluate.
Options & design
- Step-through design
- Mid-drive Bafang motor
The very first thing you see is the Polluno Professional’s step-through body design, which makes it simpler to mount than a ‘regular’ bike, and that’s one thing you’ll admire for those who’re carrying your work garments.
The really useful top vary is 160-200cm, so shorter riders beneath about 5ft3 (162cm) might discover it tough or not possible to experience, and there’s no choice of a smaller body. That’s the primary compromise, them.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
The second factor you discover is the big motor meeting between the pedals. That’s as a result of that is mid-drive bike: the motor isn’t within the rear wheel hub as it’s with most e-bikes.
Eskute has opted for the M200 system from Bafang, a well-respected producer within the e-bike world.
The Polluno Professional is available in any color you want (as long as it’s black) and isn’t a motorbike that may flip heads for its smooth seems. Like a few of its rivals, together with the Eleglide T1 Step-Through, there’s an enormous battery, which is cumbersome and makes the body look thick and never very elegant.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
The large battery contributes to the excessive total weight of the bike, which at 27.5kg is tough to lug it up a flight of stairs. This could possibly be a difficulty for individuals who stay in a flat and may’t retailer the bike open air.
Luckily, the battery may be eliminated and/or locked in place utilizing the offered keys, and a full cost took round 5 hours on common.
We discovered normally use that the Polluno Professional was snug to experience. The saddle had sufficient padding to make even prolonged rides a breeze, whereas the entrance suspension did a great job of absorbing lumps and bumps on the highway, working significantly properly on cobbles.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
The disc brakes, too, proved to be tight and responsive, even at greater speeds.
There’s a management panel mounted on the left handlebar, with an influence button, buttons for energy help ranges and an on/off button for the headlights. Although there isn’t any solution to differentiate between the buttons by contact alone, the structure lent itself to fast, straightforward modifications on the fly.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
The show is separate, in the midst of the handlebars. It shows solely journey distance, remaining energy and the present pace. There’s no app or Bluetooth, which can be a great factor relying upon your desire.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
The Polluno Professional has nine-speed gears, which have been clean in operation and welcome when tackling steep hills specifically. However we might have appreciated an indicator to indicate which gear you’re in.
Efficiency
Whereas many electrical bikes ‘whine’ when the motor is working laborious, the Polluno Professional guarantees to not. And normally this proved to be true. The place you may not hear the whine of many rival bikes over site visitors, you’ll be laborious pressed to listen to the Polluno Professional even when there are not any vehicles in any respect.
The motor does emit a noise, however it’s so minimal as to be completely insignificant.
Whether or not it is a actual profit in on a regular basis use is basically all the way down to the place you experience and the way a lot you care about it. I actually loved the quiet.
Extra vital is using a torque sensor in that mid-drive motor meeting. In lots of finances e-bikes a cadence sensor is used, however a torque sensor implies that the motor will attempt to match the stress used when pedalling to use energy, making for a a lot smoother experience normally.
The advantages of this setup are filter on the highway, in site visitors specifically. The place cadence sensors could cause jerky actions, the Polluno Professional leaves the rider feeling fully in management, an enormous win for a motorbike supposed for use on the commute.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
5 energy settings are provided, and because of the 65Nm of torque on supply – significantly greater than you get with most e-bikes at this type of value – there’s loads of help for getting up hills.
One benefit of getting a large battery is larger vary. Eskute says “as much as 80 miles” (130km) however – as ever – this can differ relying on rider weight, cargo weight, temperature, the incline of your route, the facility help degree you utilize and different elements which all battle to convey that determine down.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
Typically use, I discovered that vary was round half, mixing in some hill driving and a few harder terrain. If you happen to commute to work each day, it is a bike which is able to want charged at the least twice per week, relying closely on the size of stated commute.
Nonetheless, this isn’t dangerous in any respect, and the Polluno Professional has higher vary than numerous rivals.
Worth & Availability
Eskute is a direct-to-consumer firm, so for those who’re tempted by the Polluno Professional, head straight to its web site the place costs begin at £1899. You get a two-year guarantee as commonplace.
There’s additionally a Polluno – with out the Professional – which is nearly an identical, however doesn’t have the mid-drive motor and makes use of a rear-wheel hub motor and cadence sensor as a substitute. That is £1299, so is kind of a bit cheaper and reveals how a lot of a premium you pay for the Bafang M200.
Sadly, Eskute doesn’t but promote electrical bikes within the US.
Naturally, there are a number of options you would possibly wish to take into account. One is Eleglide’s T1 Step-Through which presents the identical body design, however at a considerably cheaper price, albeit with out the upmarket (and highly effective) Bafang mid-drive motor.
At £1595 the MiRider One would possibly enchantment for a distinct sort of commute. Although it has a shorter vary (45 miles) it’s lighter and as a consequence will likely be simpler to tackle public transport if obligatory, not least as a result of it folds up.
For a similar value – £1595 – the Raleigh Array presents extra conventional seems, but additionally lacks the finesse of the mid-drive motor.
And Eskute has different fashions you would possibly like, too, together with the Netuno.
See extra in our roundup of the very best electrical bikes.
Verdict
There’s no scarcity of e-bikes designed for commuting. To achieve success requires a sure mix of options and though the Eskute Polluno Professional may not have all of those, it does sufficient to deserve consideration.
With a snug experience, a classy torque sensor and principally silent operation, it will likely be a dependable workhorse for anybody trying to get to the workplace and again with out fuss.
However it’s exceptionally heavy and the big body doesn’t cater for shorter riders. If neither of this stuff hassle you, and you’ll afford the value, the Polluno Professional is a superb selection.
On this context, this can imply a motorbike that performs properly and with no particular person element that seems like a compromise.
Specs
- MAX LOAD: 125kg
- DIMENSIONS: L190 x W65 x H77cm
- RANGE: 80 miles
- BATTERY: 36V/714.5AH Samsung INR-18650 2900mAh
- CHARGING TIME: 5-7 hours
- MOTOR: 250W Bafang M200
- MAX TORQUE: 65 Nm
- POWER ASSIST LEVELS: 5
- MAX SPEED: 25km/hour
- CHAIN: KMC E9S
- PEDALS: M195DU from Massive
- SADDLE: S1 529E with out clip
- FRONT LIGHT: 36V1.5W
- REAR LIGHT: Built-in rear brake mild
- USB PORT: No
- DISPLAY: LED Show
- CHARGER: Customary UK 3-pin plug
- WHEEL DIAMETER: 115cm
- TYRES: KENDA K935
- BRAKE TYPE: DB-330
- BRAKE LEVER: BL-06E-L/BL-06E-R E-bike Brake
- GEARS: 9 pace, 16-53
- FRAME: 6061A Aluminum Alloy