Professional’s Ranking
Execs
- Mid-drive motor with torque sensor
- Snug to experience
- First rate show
Cons
- Heavy
- Could also be too massive for shorter riders
- No gear indicator
Our Verdict
The Eskute Polluno Professional is a good e-bike for commuting and with its torque sensor, comfy, noiseless experience and step-through design it’s nice for on a regular basis use. It’s heavy, although, and shorter riders might discover it too massive.
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 a couple of vital design concerns.
The bike have to be comfy, it should match a wide range of sizes and shapes, it needs to be secure and straightforward to manoeuvre in visitors and most significantly, it should take a look at least considerably elegant. This, in fact, is a troublesome set of priorities to steadiness at any price range, 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 fashion with out breaking the financial institution, the Polluno Professional emphasises a ‘noiseless’ design, a torque sensor and an extended vary of as much as 80 miles as its fundamental promoting factors.
However with some critical competitors at this value, does it do sufficient to earn our advice? Learn on for our full assessment.
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 recognize should you’re sporting your work garments.
The really useful peak vary is 160-200cm, so shorter riders underneath about 5ft3 (162cm) may discover it troublesome or not possible to experience, and there’s no possibility 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 motorcycle that can flip heads for its smooth seems. Like a few of its rivals, together with the Eleglide T1 Step-Via, 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 general weight of the bike, which at 27.5kg is troublesome to lug it up a flight of stairs. This may very well be a problem for many who dwell in a flat and may’t retailer the bike open air.
Luckily, the battery will 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 comfy to experience. The saddle had sufficient padding to make even prolonged rides a breeze, whereas the entrance suspension did a superb job of absorbing lumps and bumps on the highway, working significantly nicely 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 option to differentiate between the buttons by contact alone, the structure lent itself to fast, straightforward adjustments 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 superb factor relying upon your choice.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
The Polluno Professional has nine-speed gears, which have been clean in operation and welcome when tackling steep hills particularly. However we’d have favored an indicator to indicate which gear you’re in.
Efficiency
Whereas many electrical bikes ‘whine’ when the motor is working exhausting, the Polluno Professional guarantees to not. And normally this proved to be true. The place you won’t hear the whine of many rival bikes over visitors, you’ll be exhausting pressed to listen to the Polluno Professional even when there aren’t any automobiles 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 de facto all the way down to the place you experience and the way a lot you care about it. I definitely loved the quiet.
Extra vital is the usage of a torque sensor in that mid-drive motor meeting. In lots of price range 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 visitors particularly. The place cadence sensors may cause jerky actions, the Polluno Professional leaves the rider feeling fully in management, an enormous win for a motorcycle supposed for use on the commute.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
5 energy settings are provided, and because of the 65Nm of torque on provide – significantly greater than you get with most e-bikes at this form of value – there’s loads of help for getting up hills.
One benefit of getting an enormous battery is larger vary. Eskute says “as much as 80 miles” (130km) however – as ever – it will range relying on rider weight, cargo weight, temperature, the incline of your route, the facility help stage you employ and different components which all battle to deliver that determine down.
Sean Cameron / Foundry
Generally use, I discovered that vary was round half, mixing in some hill using and a few tougher terrain. If you happen to commute to work day by day, it is a bike which can want charged not less than twice per week, relying closely on the size of stated commute.
Nevertheless, this isn’t dangerous in any respect, and the Polluno Professional has higher vary than various rivals.
Worth & Availability
Eskute is a direct-to-consumer firm, so should you’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 normal.
There’s additionally a Polluno – with out the Professional – which is sort of equivalent, 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 alternate options you would possibly wish to take into account. One is Eleglide’s T1 Step-Via which affords the identical body design, however at a considerably lower cost, albeit with out the upmarket (and highly effective) Bafang mid-drive motor.
At £1595 the MiRider One would possibly enchantment for a special type of commute. Although it has a shorter vary (45 miles) it’s lighter and as a consequence might be simpler to tackle public transport if essential, not least as a result of it folds up.
For a similar value – £1595 – the Raleigh Array affords extra conventional seems, but in addition 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 perfect 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 won’t have all of those, it does sufficient to deserve consideration.
With a cushty experience, a complicated torque sensor and largely silent operation, it will likely be a dependable workhorse for anybody seeking 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 may afford the worth, the Polluno Professional is a good alternative.
On this context, it will imply a motorcycle that performs nicely 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 Huge
- 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