Focus JAM2 Pro Plus 2018!

J

jared1843

New Member
Hello!

This past week I purchased a new Focus JAM2 thought I should share my first impressions. First, the bike is beautiful. After my girlfriend and I finished our ride we stopped at an old historic bar and parked the bikes outside. More than a few people asked questions and looked at it. Its definitely a head turner. I have the flat green/black one. I upgraded to this bike from a specialized hard tail Levo, and also own a Yeti 4.5C for reference. This thing feels so planted and sturdy while riding it I just love it. The suspension feels bottomless and is very smooth on trails. The vast majority of climbs I did were great, the only small issue is with really steep stuff the front end has a tendency to get light. That's more of a footnote than a concern though. Shimano's Steps E8000 system is just about as quiet as my specialized and is definitely just as smooth. The power comes on quickly and consistently. I did order the TEC battery pack for it to double the battery range but haven't received it yet. I plan to use the TEC pack for my longer ride days. My whole idea behind electric bikes was to regularly pedal 40 plus miles in a day without completely wrecking myself. So far its been a great experience!

Let me know if anyone has questions.
 

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The rack is made by 1upUSA.... The entire thing is alluminum and will last forever. I've had it for 3 years and love it.
 
Had some damn bum try to steal my bike off the rack a few weeks back while i was picking up lunch. Thankfully I saw him through the window and ran out to confront him. He couldn't figure out how to get the latch released. Passive security against idiots??
 
jared1843 said:
The rack is made by 1upUSA.... The entire thing is alluminum and will last forever. I've had it for 3 years and love it.
Click to expand...

Jared-That is an awesome rack-like you said will last you forever. I believe they have made some upgrades to the old models which make them even easier to grab latches/arms etc. About one of the best designs in bike racks I have seen out there IMHO.

That is a class 'A' ebike and love the flat green. So stealthy and if you are comparing to the Levo, it looks like it is nimble and cuts the trails well.

I am curious if eMTBs in general can take a beating on downhill roots and rock gardens like your Yeti or a Santa Cruz without causing electronic parts to become loose and fragile over time. I have seen the beating these bikes take during some wicked downhill and it is so extreme.
Any thoughts?
 
Bob,
You're right the bike is very nimble. Its a solid 5 pounds lighter than the comparable spec Levo unless i'm mistaken. That is due in part to having a smaller batter for regular use and the piggy back battery for bigger adventures. The Shimano motor is also quite a bit lighter and smaller than other brands too I believe.

The bike is still new to me and have only pedaled it on two 15 mile or so trails last week. Both trails had some steep black diamond sections and the bike just ate that stuff up with no problem at all. This bike and most of the higher end full suspension eMountain bikes will take a beating for a long time without running into electrical issues. This bike for sure is built and engineered to take a beating. The battery is very secure in the frame and doesn't rattle or move about at all. I'll continue to ride this thing on some very challenging stuff and beat it up good. My plan is to update this later on with more impressions and reliability info.

J
 
jared1843 said:
Bob,
You're right the bike is very nimble. Its a solid 5 pounds lighter than the comparable spec Levo unless i'm mistaken. That is due in part to having a smaller batter for regular use and the piggy back battery for bigger adventures. The Shimano motor is also quite a bit lighter and smaller than other brands too I believe.

The bike is still new to me and have only pedaled it on two 15 mile or so trails last week. Both trails had some steep black diamond sections and the bike just ate that stuff up with no problem at all. This bike and most of the higher end full suspension eMountain bikes will take a beating for a long time without running into electrical issues. This bike for sure is built and engineered to take a beating. The battery is very secure in the frame and doesn't rattle or move about at all. I'll continue to ride this thing on some very challenging stuff and beat it up good. My plan is to update this later on with more impressions and reliability info.

J
Click to expand...
Hi J I am currently looking at both the carbon Levo expert and Jam2 C plus pro and the fact that you have both was wondering which one do you like the best. I currently ride a Bulls e stream evo 45 fs and I really like the brose motor mainly for how quiet and smooth it is the main problem with the bulls is it weighs 56lbs. What is your impression of the brose vs the shimano e8000. Keep us posted as you ride the Jam2.
 
jeffb said:
Hi J I am currently looking at both the carbon Levo expert and Jam2 C plus pro and the fact that you have both was wondering which one do you like the best. I currently ride a Bulls e stream evo 45 fs and I really like the brose motor mainly for how quiet and smooth it is the main problem with the bulls is it weighs 56lbs. What is your impression of the brose vs the shimano e8000. Keep us posted as you ride the Jam2.
Click to expand...

Jeffb,
My Levo is an aluminum hard tail so the handling of a full suspension Levo I can't really speak to. The Brose motor is great and is very quiet. This new Shimano e8000 motor is just about as quiet and I hardly notice its on. Both motors are really smooth and responsive. The Shimano motor is smaller and lighter and the Focus has a smaller battery in the down tube which is done on purpose to keep the bike lighter. Its in the neighborhood of 5 pounds lighter than the Levo and that weight is noticeable to me. Right now I'm loving the new firmware update that has the trail mode constantly sense torque from your pedaling and apply more power when you provide more power. Very cool.
 
I agree the Jam2 is one of the closest looking e mtb to a regular mtb Focus as a company has some very interesting ideas. Check out the in the works Raven.
 
jared1843 said:
Bob,
You're right the bike is very nimble. Its a solid 5 pounds lighter than the comparable spec Levo unless i'm mistaken. That is due in part to having a smaller batter for regular use and the piggy back battery for bigger adventures. The Shimano motor is also quite a bit lighter and smaller than other brands too I believe.

The bike is still new to me and have only pedaled it on two 15 mile or so trails last week. Both trails had some steep black diamond sections and the bike just ate that stuff up with no problem at all. This bike and most of the higher end full suspension eMountain bikes will take a beating for a long time without running into electrical issues. This bike for sure is built and engineered to take a beating. The battery is very secure in the frame and doesn't rattle or move about at all. I'll continue to ride this thing on some very challenging stuff and beat it up good. My plan is to update this later on with more impressions and reliability info.

J
Click to expand...
Jared-Thanks for the info! Sounds like you are really lovin your new bike! I also see how they beat up the MTB bikes on Youtube (MTB yumyum, Seth's bikes, etc). It will be interesting to see how your new bike holds up. Please keep us all posted if you can. Have fun!
 
Hi Jared. Appreciate your thoughts on this bike, but its been 4 months since original post. Any new observations? Problems? Im especially interested in how loud the motor is? Did you get the TEC pack? Some more photos too!

Thanks
Forrest4trees
 
Forrest4trees,
Well 4 months later and I still love the bike! No problems to speak of. I'm really liking the Di2 electronic shifting by wire. Never thought I would but do really enjoy it. Love that it is customizable in many ways too. The bike still handles everything I throw at it like a champ. And that is everything from simple rails to trails days to very technical downhill single track where I need to stop and rest my hands from braking so much! The motor is surprisingly quiet. You can definitely hear it working while you pedal, but I don't even notice it any more. My friends that pedal with me say they can't hear it at all if they're more than 10 feet away. Its the Shimano Steps motor system so all bikes with that setup should be the same.

Also, I did get the Tec pack as I bought the bike to do very long touring days or multiple trail days of 30+ miles on the regular. Particularly back to back days. Anyway, the pack works great and doubles your battery capacity. Each battery works independently of the other and some people complain about that, but I see it as a plus. I like draining one of the batteries and getting to evaluate where I am for the day and if past half way just cruise on, etc....

My only regrets right now are the slow adoption of e-bikes on trails I want to ride. I've had some dirty looks and a run in with outright aggressive people. I do mostly stick to whats open to me as well as fire roads and other multi use areas. My favorite is pedaling up ridiculously steep roads to shuttle myself instead of paying for shuttles :)

J
 
Nice to hear that you are still enjoying it. I love the looks of the green Focus Jam2 Pro. I dont own an Ebike yet, but I have been renting them and riding in the local hills of Pocatello. I love how quiet the Brose motor on the Turbo Levo is, and the Bosch CX is just too loud for me to enjoy. I do like the Yamaha PWX motor on the haibike as well, but havent really been able to ride it outside of the parking lot next to the shop. I havent riden a bike with the Shimono e8000 motor, but I love how flexible the Focus Jam2 with the TEC pack could be.

The main bike I am interested in the Bulls Estream EVO AM 4 due to the quiet motor and the general stealthy-ness of it looking like a regular bike to most people. It is not out yet (mid july) but I have a pre-order ($500 off MSRP) in with an out of state dealer. It also has a 650 wh battery which is almost as big as the Focus Jam2 with the TEC pack (756wh). The bulls bike does weigh about 8-9 pounds more than the Jam2 without the TEC pack.

Im in rural Idaho, USA and the laws have yet to keep up with the technology. The local bike shops all just put their hands up and say just go ride, "We dont know what the laws are." wink wink nudge nudge say no more. It seems Idaho says a bike with a motor and pedals is considered a "moped" and cannot go on any trails that say "No motorized vehicles". I have not had any dirty looks when I am on local trails and no confrontations with people or law enforcement about being on these trails while on a rented Ebike. These class 1 bikes (20mph and under) do not tear up the trails any more than regular bikes do. I have had young guys on regular bikes pass me like I was standing still, while they zip on up the trail. They have more impact than I do, especially on the downhills since I am a very cautious rider coming down due the fragility of my 50 year old body.
 
Forrest4trees said:
Nice to hear that you are still enjoying it. I love the looks of the green Focus Jam2 Pro. I dont own an Ebike yet, but I have been renting them and riding in the local hills of Pocatello. I love how quiet the Brose motor on the Turbo Levo is, and the Bosch CX is just too loud for me to enjoy. I do like the Yamaha PWX motor on the haibike as well, but havent really been able to ride it outside of the parking lot next to the shop. I havent riden a bike with the Shimono e8000 motor, but I love how flexible the Focus Jam2 with the TEC pack could be.

The main bike I am interested in the Bulls Estream EVO AM 4 due to the quiet motor and the general stealthy-ness of it looking like a regular bike to most people. It is not out yet (mid july) but I have a pre-order ($500 off MSRP) in with an out of state dealer. It also has a 650 wh battery which is almost as big as the Focus Jam2 with the TEC pack (756wh). The bulls bike does weigh about 8-9 pounds more than the Jam2 without the TEC pack.

Im in rural Idaho, USA and the laws have yet to keep up with the technology. The local bike shops all just put their hands up and say just go ride, "We dont know what the laws are." wink wink nudge nudge say no more. It seems Idaho says a bike with a motor and pedals is considered a "moped" and cannot go on any trails that say "No motorized vehicles". I have not had any dirty looks when I am on local trails and no confrontations with people or law enforcement about being on these trails while on a rented Ebike. These class 1 bikes (20mph and under) do not tear up the trails any more than regular bikes do. I have had young guys on regular bikes pass me like I was standing still, while they zip on up the trail. They have more impact than I do, especially on the downhills since I am a very cautious rider coming down due the fragility of my 50 year old body.
Click to expand...

Haha. We are about the same age. I got the BULLS AM 4 too. I fell in love with the aesthetics. I debated hard about whether to get a Focus or Trek Powerfly or M1 Spitzing. Bulls is great, but too heavy to be called nimble. As I've complained elsewhere, bike came with lots of front end noise/rubbing. Dealer said that occurred on their whole shipment. Bulls USA looked at it and did not completely fix it. They supposedly acknowledged a widesoread problem like mine. So far, no remedy. Bulls also doesn't take support calls.

LESSON SO FAR : I SHOULD HAVE GONE WITH A LOCAL COMPANY WITH BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE ON WARRANTY ISSUES.

Thinking about returning my beautiful Bulls for something that works out of the box.

Btw, I do love that BROSE S motor, though. Just wish top speed was 28 mph
 
Walk assist mode?

Does anyone know if this bike has the walk assist mode working? The Focus company website says it's a feature of this bike.
EBR review of this bike makes no mention of it however.

Also, this youtube video of Shimano e8000 ebike motors talks about the walk assist mode working.

Can someone confirm if it works on USA models for this bike?
 
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