Jam2 - 5000 miles later!!!

[ricardowight]

This morning's wet and windy ride took my Focus Jam2 over the 5000 mile mark, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on owning this bike.
I bought it brand new in November 2018 for the bargain basement price of £2800.
That's back in the days when bike manufacturers discounted surplus stock of each year's bikes to make way for the new stock of the next year's model - those were the days!!
I changed a few parts in the first few months of ownership:
Fork upgrade, 200mm rotor on the rear, better seat post clamp, tubeless tyre set up with Maxxis Minions, better grips etc., nothing radical or mega expensive, just items that were particularly lacking performance wise on the original spec.
There's a longer list of replacement parts that I've been through over the 5000 miles:
4 sets of tyres, 3 sets of Cassette/Chain, several sets of brake pads, 1 chainring, 1 rear brake lever & 1 dropper remote lever(crash damage) and a new Shimano E8000 Display due to a freak accident of the bike falling over in the garden and the display hitting a garden chair - expensive and annoying!
Dropper cable has been replaced twice.
The gear cable and XT mech have probably been adjusted no more than twice (when I replaced the jockey wheels), over the whole period and the shift is slick and precise still.
About 4 months after purchasing the bike (March 2019), I retuned the Motor/Assist set up so that available power was lower than default in all settings.
Eco - 20% assist / 30Nm (Default setting was 60% assist / 30Nm)
Trail - 60% assist / 30Nm (Default setting was 90% assist / 70Nm)
Boost - 100% assist / 70Nm (Default setting was 300% assist / 70Nm)

This change vastly improved the range and created a pedalling experience much more to my liking.
At 22.2Kg (Med) the bike is at the lighter end of regular EMTBs due to the smaller battery, so tuning down seemed like the obvious thing to do to me.
It meant that in Eco (20%) the Jam2 feels like a regular bike with a level of assistance that helps with most regular riding situations. Trail set at 60% gets me pretty much everywhere, but quicker than Eco, and Boost is there to get up the steep stuff.
When I first did this adjustment the E8000 display stated the full charge range figures of Eco - 44 miles, Trail - 33 miles and Boost - 22 miles.
In reality a ride of 30 - 35 miles with 3000-3500ft of climbing is realistic depending on conditions, out of the 378Wh internal battery

Now almost 3 years later it states Eco - 40 / Trail - 30 / Boost 20, so there is some depletion of the internal battery capacity, but not much.
Based on those figures it seems that my internal battery is at about 90% its original capacity.
Earlier this year I bought a Trailwatts 252Wh Range Extender which has been something of a revelation.
I've done 45 mile rides with 4000 ft of climbing and got home with 10 miles of predicted range remaining, so pretty huge rides are possible these days, again all depending on conditions, temperature etc., etc.

If anyone is considering one of these range extenders, I would recommend you go for it as the Trailwatts item is beautifully put together and is pretty stealthy looking on the bike.

So far the Shimano motor is showing no signs of any wear or depletion of performance.
There is no play in the BB axle.
Everything powers up as it should.
Although, I do often have to depress the power button twice to turn the bike on, but I understand this is a standard glitch that lots of Jam2 owners experience.
I regularly check the torque of all the rear suspension linkage, bearings etc., and everything is still smooth with no play.

I'm no motor expert, but I can't help thinking that by tuning down the assistance levels the lifespan of the whole system is potentially increased.
You do have to put in more pedalling effort though!!!

Since Nov 2018 when I originally bought the bike I've probably now spent in the region of £4.5K (including the original price of the bike and the range extender), so I feel like I've had extremely good value for money so far.
I always bulk buy (2 or 3 sets at a time) of Chains, Cassettes, Brake Pads etc., whenever I see them on offer, so it is possible to keep the overall running costs down, although these kind of deals have not been so easy to track down over the last year.
I do all servicing myself as I've been fiddling with Mountain bikes since my Muddy Fox Courier in 1989!!

Currently most entry price range full suss EMTBs cost at least £4.5K, and most of them are not really very much more advanced from the spec my bike currently has.
Focus were ahead of the game in 2018 - it does make me chuckle when I see bike a manufacturer talking about how they have "integrated the motor sensor into the frame" in bike adverts published in 2021!!!!

I'd love to hear any other long term owners views of their bikes.

 

[aarfeldt]

We have the same bike - actually the same colour
It was discounted with 33% at 25.000 DKR (2.832£)

I have allmost the same history as you - upgraded brakes, fork, shock, range extender 250wh etc.
No faulty stuff of any kind.

It has now become my wife's bike - she is very happy with it.
She dosent push so hard, so she is on the 2. casette and at 5.000 km.

Lovely bike.....and quite light.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

6000 miles on mine and bought new in 2019, 2018 Jam2 plus C model here in the US, discounted to $4200. Similar track history as you, mullet now with 150mm Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate on the front and DVO Topaz 3 on the back. All bearings tight on the motor and zero electrical/motor issues too. I try to avoid mud, water and washing the bike. I think I get a 40 mile or maybe 38 mile prediction in ECO, set to the high setting in the Shimano app. I think it gets 40 mile prediction when in medium ECO mode, not sure what all that translates into in support or power. I made my own 250 wH range extender and use it a lot and also have a few smaller ones. I don't like adding the weight but I think it might be impossible to get a new battery or motor in the USA. I am looking for a LEVO SL carbon bike because the Focus is not exactly the bike you want for bunny hops and bouncing around which I'm trying to learn. I think the longer stay length and taller front end might make that more difficult. A 5-7 lb lighter bike with 25mm shorter stays might help. But I'll be keeping my Focus since it's still a very sold fun bike and it climbs hills like no bodies business, lol.

 

[ricardowight]

Great to hear that there are other owners still loving their high mileage Jam2s

 

[Peaky Rider]

4100 miles on my 2018 but that is on two motors (torque sensor problem on first). Mechanically, no problems but electrically, the bike has been pants. In bits on my garage floor all over Christmas (motor and battery out) as it would not turn on, again. This has been a regular occurrence.
I had so little confidence in the bike I bought a Canyon Spectral On 6 for £2700 (same power train) to use when the Jam had failed. The Canyon has now done over 4000 miles and has been 100% trouble free.
I think, with power trains and electrics, it is the luck of the draw.