Last Bikes has been developing trail-ready mountain bikes for over 17 years, and what has grown into Enduro has always been close to their heart. Now the updated 160mm travel aluminum Coal heats up the enduro category again, with a host of modern trail bike upgrades.
Last Coal 160mm aluminum enduro mountain bike
The 27.5″ aluminum Coal was designed & engineered in Dortmund, Germany, then the 6013 aluminum frames are TIG welded in Asia.
But they return to Germany where Last builds in modern precision with 5-axis CNC machining for all the suspension pivots and bearing seats.
With the advanced CNC setup, Last can machine every contact face & thread in a single pass from one jig setup for each triangle.
That gives them more control over the process, for both increased precision and better quality control. Then frames get a full set of stainless Enduro bearings pressed in before shocks are installed and the frames go through assembly & final finishing in-house at Last.
6013 is an alloy we don’t see that often in frame production, but Last claims it to build up light frames overall with a longer lifespan. It also results in relatively large, smooth & durable welds without the need for secondary finishing before the bikes go through a two stage T4 & T6 heat treatment.
The progressive, linkage-driven single pivot Coal frame then gets a pair of machined 7075 T6 rocker arms to drive a vertically oriented metric shock. Last even makes an adapter link for riders who want to stick with existing 26″ wheels while retaining the new geometry.
Last says the suspension feels like you could never bottom it out with the air shock properly dialed in. But if you want a more linear feel, you can always swap in a coil shock directly. With 160mm of rear wheel travel, Last best matches the Coal with 160 or 170mm forks, but some riders could go as far as to pair a 180mm fork too.
Geometry
A move to updated contemporary trail bike geometry – long, low & slack – means the new Coal handles better than ever before. Looking at the details the new bike grows 5mm in the toptube for a large and 10mm for the XL. Headtubes stay constant at 65° across all sizes, chainstays hit at just 428mm, but actual seat angles vary to get each rider into an ideal seat position around a 75° seattube angle.
All sizes also shorten overall seattubes as well, to slide in the latest in long throw dropper posts, and still get extra standover.
They each also fit a water bottle in the main triangle, although the small frames do so without a piggyback shock.
Coal tech details
The bike features Boost spacing with an X-12 148mm rear end. And Last ships the frames with a DT Swiss RWS thru-axle with its removable lever arm. Tire clearance in the rear is up to an actual 2.5″ with for 27.5″ wheels.
But again Last builds in some legacy compatibility and offers an optional derailleur hanger & spacer kit to build it up with 142mm wheels as well. The rear end also gets 180mm post mount brake tabs, with replaceable thread inserts.
Last optimized the Coal for a Boost spaced crank, but again older cranks will fit too in the 73mm threaded bottom bracket. Around the BB, there are also ISCG 05 tabs to set up a chain guide or even a bash plate. But provision for a front derailleur.
Up front the 3D machined headtube houses a tapered zero stack headset. Cable routing is a mix of internal & external. The full length rear derailleur cable and rear brake stay outside in custom clamps to keep them easy to access/replace, while a stealth dropper remote goes into the downtube. A set of triple housing clamps are also available if you want to run a remote shock lockout.
Frameset & complete bike builds
The new version 2.0 Coal is available in four sizes (S-XL) and in either black ano or clear red or blue powdercoat over a polished frame. The 2.89kg frameset is available on its own for 1600€, or you can pick from one of five complete builds.
The Coal Flow is the most affordable with SRAM GX Eagle for 3000€ complete, including a Deluxe RT3 shock, Revelation RC fork, DT wheels & Guide R brakes.
The 3600€ Coal Ride steps up to a Super Deluxe RC3 shock & Pike RC fork, with the same GX drivetrain, also adding a Reverb dropper.
Then the Coal Trail at 4200€ notches up to a Pike RCT3 and gets an X01 Eagle drivetrain, plus Bike Yoke’s Revive dropper seatpost.
At 5500€, the Coal SL is the last of the reasonably priced builds, upgrading DT wheels and cockpit to get the weight down to 12.8kg.
Then if price isn’t really an object, spend up to 10,000€ for a Coal Custom. There you get to pick everything you want. Get in touch with Last directly to get the premium XX1 Eagle drivetrain, carbon cockpit & wheels to build a race-ready Enduro bike with no limits.
