Electrical machine rotors and electrical machines are disclosed. The electrical machine rotors may include a shaft, a pair of permanent magnets arranged to form a magnetic pole on the rotor, a pole iron, and a pair of opposed inter-pole irons. The pole iron may retain the pair of magnets against the inter-pole irons and relative to the shaft. The electrical machine rotors may be assembled into electrical machines that include the rotor and a stator that includes a stator iron and at least one coil. In some examples, the shaft may be hollow, nonmagnetic, fiber-reinforced, and/or fabricated at least partially from a composite material.