Last Bikes from Germany always pique our interest with unique bikes, and the super-lightweight Last Tarvo is no exception!
Last Bikes is a German brand that consistently impresses me with the types of bikes that it releases. The first time the company grabbed my attention was with the release of the Fast Forward, one of the first 29er hardcore hardtails, with modern-day geometry.
In recent years they’ve remained on my radar with alloy linkage bikes like the Last Coal and Glen, but today they’ve reached superbike status with an all-carbon bike that they claim to be the lightest enduro frame on the market.
Like other enduro bikes on the market, the Last Tarvo runs 29in wheels, has a mullet, ‘MX’, option and has the geometry and suspension numbers to make a mark on the Enduro World Series. What makes the Tarvo standout though is the weight.
Working with All Ahead, Last has been able to drop the weight of the carbon Last Tarvo is just 2.08kg (4.58Lbs), an extremely respectable weight for a 160mm travel enduro bike, even more so considering that Last has been given a class 5 certification for the bike meaning it’s good for ‘extreme jumping’ and ‘downhill’.
The carbon construction of the front and rear triangles are the main reason for the low-weight, but a few clever engineering solutions have been incorporated to keep the weight down too.
Cable and hose channels are bonded into the frame to help with ease of installation, but they also increase the stiffness of the frame too, but perhaps more telling is the lack of pivot between the seat stay and chainstay. Last has gone for a flex pivot which saves weight, increases stiffness and cuts down on maintenance. Those of you worried about the idea of a flex pivot might be put at ease with the 5-year warranty, and German construction of the bike.
Speaking of suspension, Last has designed the kinematic to be very progressive that works well with coil and air shocks, along with size-specific tuning of the Anti-Squat and Anti-Rise.
Last plans on releasing 4 size options in total and frames with being labelled 165, 175, 185 and 195 which designates the rider height each bike is suited too. The first batch will cover 175 and 185 bikes with the smallest and largest sizes coming later in the year.
A 175 has a reach of 454mm with a 64-degree head angle and 76-degree seat tube. Chainstays are size-specific too, so the 175 has a 432mm chainstay while the largest bike jumps to 444mm.
Last Tarvo Geometry
Additional features include the MX option which increases the rear suspension to 170mm of travel, allows for the use of a smaller 27.5in wheel and will let smaller riders run longer dropper posts.
For storage, there’s a compartment in the downtube of the frame, for an extra €199. The bike uses an SRAM universal mech hanger as standard, an ISCG mount option is available and there’s even a bottle cage mount in the main triangle too.
Last will offer frames and complete bikes with a full build starting at €5799 for a bike that weighs in at just 12.4kg. Frame only options start at €3599 and rise depending on shock options and colour options, there will even be a custom colour option from €799 for riders really wanting something special.
For more details on the Last Tarvo head over the Last Bikes website.
Comments (13)
Leave Reply
Post Comment
Very nice indeed!
And those prices are without shock! Not many EU made carbon frames on the market for a proper comparison, and this is cheaper than options from Bold or Unno.
I had a fairly hot curry at the weekend. Shame they didn’t tune the anti-squat on that.
Gorgeous, Few new designs are this slick, and the weight! It’s about time carbon frames start to be constructed to the true capabilities of the material. What I want to know is the effective TT length. NO WAY the 175 (medium) is only 523. I know that the trend is for enduro’rs to look like monkeys humping a football whilst dawdling up the hill, but 523 is just not right.
the price is completely fair, d’ya think the Chinese are getting the same per day as a Euro dweller?
This frame is beautiful. One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was selling my Herb 160. Now I want this beauty but have no room for it.
That is gorgeous… Loved my old Herb DH, it was an odd thing- short, with a mad linkage that made it feel like it had a flat rear tyre- but it was ridiculously fast, even with me on it.
this is making me think modern version of Yeti ASR5
Stunning. Although I realised a long time ago, that bikes just need the top tube and seatstay angle to be in line and they’ve got me..
@the00 @dustytires these are made in Asia just like everyone else. From Last’s website:
“LAST frames are hand welded to the highest standards in manufacturing. With our Asian manufacturing partners we share over a decade of experience. Each frame is carefully checked, assembled and finished with attention to detail in our factory in Dortmund, Germany.”
@zerolight – nope “…the raw fibres come from Japan where they are then converted into pre-preg in Italy with the laminating being done in Germany at All Ahead. Frame painting is done in Germany, so too is the frame and complete bike assembly.”
@Mugboo – I know what you mean. I almost pushed the button on a medium P7 until I realised the top tube and chainstays didn’t quite line up. I think I may have a problem 😀
Oh no! I’m 2cm too short for the 185 and 8cm too tall for the 175. How disappointing.
@neilblessitt, joking aside, doing the sizing that way makes a lot of sense. No looking up the manufacturer discussion size chart to discover whether medium fits 170cm or 180cm, or a size S2 or whatever…