Anyone tried the Focus Jam2 Plus LTD?

[Gutch]

Btw, I put a 150mm Lyrik fork on mine and it’s awesome. I have the 2018 Jam2 29er Pro.

 

[ricardowight]

I bought my Jam2 Ltd Plus in Nov 18.
It was heavily discounted from the RRP of £3500 to £2800, so I went for it.
So, far I've converted it to tubeless (it's crazy that a Plus bike doesn't come set up as tubeless - twice as much tyre contact = double the chance of a puncture!!!), and replaced the Maxxis Rekon on the front for a Minion DHF.
The Minion has made a massive difference- it's an awesome tyre, and gives a massive boost to grip, confidence and braking performance.
The next upgrade is going to be replacing the forks to a RS Yari Debonair.
I reckon that after all these upgrades I'll still only be up to around £3350 spent out of my original budget of £4000.
That leaves me with quite a few quid in reserve for replacement and further upgrade parts!
So, if you can still pick up a 2018 model sale bargain- Go for it!!!...

 

[Andy A]

I am after my first ebike and as much as I want a Levo expert which i can get at a good discount I would rather pay less and I like this bike and have been offered a 2019 model with the extra battery for £3800 but I just can't like the way the extra battery sits on the frame and when we do some bigger rides I would need that battery and my wife just thinks it looks awful with it on

I would save around £2200 not getting the Levo!

Does this bike ride as well as it looks

 

[ricardowight]

Hi Andy A,
The Jam2 rides great.
I've been riding mtbs for 30 years and up until last summer whilst on holiday in the Taygetos mountains in Greece I had never been on an emtb, and couldn't really understand why I would want one.
My son and I hired a couple of Haibikes and I had a real 'Eureka ' moment when we rode about three times the distance that would have been possible on regular bikes.
After a few months of research and trying a few other bikes I decided that Jam2 was the way to go.
The ride is great. All the reviews that talk about how nimble and playful it is are true. They say it rides like a normal bike.
The normal bikes that I own include a Santa Cruz Heckler, Santa Cruz Chameleon and a Salsa Moto Rapido, which are all classics in their own right.
But, I haven't been out on any of them since I got the Jam 2..............
It's just too much fun - go for it!

 

[Andy A]

Hi Andy A,
The Jam2 rides great.
I've been riding mtbs for 30 years and up until last summer whilst on holiday in the Taygetos mountains in Greece I had never been on an emtb, and couldn't really understand why I would want one.
My son and I hired a couple of Haibikes and I had a real 'Eureka ' moment when we rode about three times the distance that would have been possible on regular bikes.
After a few months of research and trying a few other bikes I decided that Jam2 was the way to go.
The ride is great. All the reviews that talk about how nimble and playful it is are true. They say it rides like a normal bike.
The normal bikes that I own include a Santa Cruz Heckler, Santa Cruz Chameleon and a Salsa Moto Rapido, which are all classics in their own right.
But, I haven't been out on any of them since I got the Jam 2..............
It's just too much fun - go for it!

Good on you it's great you are riding further now I have only very briefly ridden my wife's Haibike down our street but that's it so i have no idea how good they are, I love the Levo and that 700wh battery but i really would rather spend less and I love the Focus but there are times I would need that extra battery but it just doesn't look good on the bike does it and also if anything went wrong with it there isn't a dealer anywhere near me.

 

[steve_sordy]

The Focus Jam2 was the only bike on the ones I tested that had me just enjoying the bike and not thinking about what mode I was in or how noisy the motor was, no power pulsing through the pedals. None of that, just fun, fun, fun!

Before a test, you still need to set the bike up to suit you, don't forget that! Get the %sag sorted, saddle height and also saddle fore/aft. Take time to get the levers in the right place for you so that you are comfortable with shifting and braking. Ignore the impatient sales guy! After all it's you that will be spending a shed load of money, not him! Take your own pedals for the test ride and get them to remove the old ones and put yours on the crank. Then there are no problem with cross-threaded bolts etc. First thing on the ride is to sort out the tyre pressures, so take a pressure gauge and a mini-pump. Then check that the other suspension settings are right for you (rebound, compression etc).

Only then will you be sure that the bike is right for you. If you still don't like it then it's for a good reason, not because it wasn't set up properly.

Note: One thing I didn't do on a test was to take a spare inner tube for the 29x2.8" tyres I would be riding, I only had 27.5x2.2" (for my clockwork bike). So I was a bit troubled when I got a puncture, two miles from base. Fortunately for me, it was a slow puncture and I was able to ride back after a bit of frantic pumping.

 

[ricardowight]

Hi Andy A,
Don't worry too much about the TEC pack.
I've got 35 miles out of a full charge on my Jam2 with 800 metres of climbing.
That's just with the integrated 378Wh battery.
So, unless you're planning epic days out, you won't really need it.
Just ride hard and conserve battery whenever you've got gravity/momentum on your side and you'll get decent range.

 

[OldBean]

Agree with Ricado ....also when you ride at a trail centre you can leave your spare battery in your car whilst using the integral and fit the spare when back at base. Its not all about the looks and as Ricado says 35 miles is a pretty good ride ...well for me it is .
Go for a Focus ...you will love it. Get a good deal with TEC pack. And if you dont like the TEC you can sell it to me!
Have fun

 

[Andy A]

As much as I love the way it looks and how much you guys love yours there are times that I would need that extra battery and to me it just doesn't look good or sit well on the bike plus I would have two batteries to keep charged and one on the bike you can't remove and we keep our bikes in the garage which does get really cold also there isn't a dealer anywhere near us so if anything had to be done under warranty I would be stuffed shame as I do love them and I was recently offered a 2019 Jam2 6.8 in that lovely blue with an extra battery for £3800