Swiss army knife: The Koba Trailtool 150 V2 Custom all-mountain bike put to the test
Max Fuchs
· 26.07.2024
Even more powerful, even more robust and even heavier. In the fully segment in particular, the market is currently moving in one clear direction: full throttle downhill. Koba founder Jan Koba is sceptical about this trend. Although he also likes to have fun on downhills, for him the uphill is just as crucial for riding enjoyment: "A bike with over 14 kilos on the ribs is simply no fun to ride uphill. Many other bikers out there see it the same way," says the Swiss rider, describing his view of things. And Koba is dedicating the new Trailtool V2 to precisely this target group.
The facts about the Koba Trailtool V2 150 Custom
- Price: 11,500 euros
- Range of use: All Mountain
- Frame material: Carbon
- Suspension travel: 150 mm front / 150 mm rear
- Wheel size 29-inch
- Frame sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Weight: 12.1 kg in size L
- Weight of wheels: 3878 kg
- Warranty: 10 years
- Special features: extremely light, cable integration in the head tube, carbon as far as the eye can see, two mounting points for bottle cages
More from the Swiss manufacturer Koba:
An impossibility?
Contrary to the market trend, the attributes of the Koba Trailtool V2 are: faster, more versatile and even lighter. The frame platform offers three basic models with 150, 160 or 170 millimetres of suspension travel. Wheel size: 29 inches. As the Koba configurator enables customised builds, weights from 11.4 kilos are possible depending on the specification. The ten-strong team has thus realised what very few manufacturers are currently able to achieve: a lot of suspension travel combined with low weight.
For our test, we opted for the all-mountain version with 150 millimetres of suspension travel. A slim carbon chassis with a simple four-bar rear triangle serves as the basis. For weight reasons, Koba has dispensed with details such as a storage compartment or additional mounting points. The only speciality: the cable integration in the headset. The equipment? Weight-optimised. Although the bike would also be available with a shock with a reservoir and enduro tyres, this would dilute the actual development approach of the Trailtool. Because we remember: A Koba should above all be light. Our test bike is definitely that: 12.1 kg in frame size L! This means that the 150-millimetre all-mountain even puts some mid-priced race bikes in the shade. However, our test bike also owes a large part of its low weight to its luxurious equipment. For a hefty € 11,500, the bike comes with elegant Toboga carbon wheels, top-quality Shimano components and Sram's most expensive Transmission XXL SL drivetrain.
The features of the Koba Trailtool V2 150 Custom
- ForkFox 36 Factory
- DamperFox Float Factory
- CircuitSram XX Transmission
- Ratio/bandwidth: 32; 10-52/520 %
- BrakesShimano XTR BR-M 9120 203/180 mm
- Telesupport/liftRockshox Reverb Stealth/150 mm
- ImpellersToboga SL, DT hubs
- TyresSchwalbe Nobby Nic; Evo Addix Speedgrip SuperRace TLE 29 x 2.40
In practice: pros and cons
The riding experience is dominated by the pronounced forward thrust of the Trailtool V2. The suspension can be completely locked for maximum acceleration. Paired with the Nobby Nic tyres in Schwalbe's fastest rubber compound, the Koba converts every watt of pedalling power into propulsion without loss. Also good: Thanks to the weight advantage, the Koba literally dances through light terrain and ensures pleasantly lively handling. Small tricks are easy to perform and bunny hops are a breeze. The riding position is very sporty. The 490 millimetre reach positions the rider neatly stretched over the frame triangle.
The rear suspension turned out to be the limiting factor. With the "small" Fox Float shock, it reacts less sensitively to subtle bumps, but also struggles with rough impacts on rough terrain. As a result, the bike offers significantly less reserves than you would expect from a 150-millimetre chassis. The geometry also requires sensitivity on the descents. Even if the length of the bike and the slack steering angle promise a lot of smoothness, none of our testers really wanted to let it rip.
Why? The wooden chassis and limited legroom (long seat tube, short seat post stroke) don't give you the feeling of standing securely on the bike. The lack of grip from the super-light tyres makes things even more difficult. In short: only the fork and the high front end are reminiscent of the qualities of an all-mountain bike. Otherwise, the Koba V2 150 is more in the league of sporty touring bikes.
BIKE review of the KobaTrailtool V2 150 Custom
Strengths
- Insane propulsion
- Light-footed and agile
- Large radius of action
- Unrivalled equipment
Weaknesses
- undersized tyres
- weak chassis
- Unfavourable driving position downhill
- Trains rattle
The BIKE verdict on the Koba Trailtool V2 150 Custom
If you want a large action radius, a lot of propulsion and agile handling, you will be happy with the Koba Trailtool V2 in this super-light configuration. If you have higher demands in terms of downhill handling, you will have to accept more weight. - Max Fuchs, BIKE test editor
Max Fuchs
Editor
