FIRST RIDE

FOCUS JAM2 SL 9.9

WE LIKE JAMMIN’ TOO

Words by Robert Johnston
Photos by Roo Fowler for Mountain Bike Connection Winter 2024

The Jam² SL 9.9 is the lightweight Fazua-powered E-All Mountain bike in the Focus range, designed to offer a light and agile do-everything package. We managed to get a solid day of riding on their mid-power e-Machine, and had a lot of fun doing so. Check out the video or keep on reading this article to learn about the Focus Jam² SL, and how it performed.

ABOUT THE FOCUS JAM² SL 9.9

The Jam² SL 9.9 is a 150mm rear travel carbon fiber eMTB, with a 160mm fork and pair of 29” wheels.

DRIVE UNIT AND ELECTRONICS | Focus chose to use the Fazua Ride 60 system to power their mid-power, do-everything eMTB. This produces up to 60Nm of Torque and 450W peak power, and is powered by an internal 430Wh battery. This battery is easily removable, and must be done so to charge the bike.

A sleek LED display sits in the top tube to indicate the mode selected and battery life in 20% increments. Using the Fazua app, users can check the battery life to the nearest percent, and tune the ride modes (Breeze, River or Rocket) to their preference. On the handlebar, the Fazua ring controller allows the user to change power mode; activate the BOOST function (which delivers maximum power for 12 seconds, regardless of the power mode selected), and use the Walk mode.

FRAME AND FEATURES | Depending on the model selected, Focus manufactures the Jam² SL from two different grades of carbon fiber – standard, or the lighter weight MAX thanks to the addition of some high modulus carbon fiber. Both of these are said to share the same ride characteristics and strength, with only the weight changing by around 300g. The stand over height of the frames have been lowered thanks to the shock sitting in a recess on the underside of the down tube, maximizing maneuverability.

Focus offers adjustability to the geometry, thanks to two flip chips and an angle-adjustable headset. The headset offers a 1-degree change between 64.5 and 65.5. The flip chips in the chainstay and seat stay must both be used to provide rear end adjustment, between a short 440mm and long 447mm setting.

The Jam² SL features the C.I.S system, which sees the cables routed through the angle-adjustable ACROS headset. These cables remain internal until they exit the frame, giving clean looks. The frame pivot bearings are given additional sealing to protect them from the elements; and there’s generous frame protection against chain slap and for the down tube.

SUSPENSION |

Focus equipped the Jam2 SL with the same F.O.L.D suspension design as the other models in the Jam lineup, offering 150mm of four-bar rear suspension. Focus worked on the kinematics of this bike to offer reduced braking influence, maintaining control whether braking hard or letting off. Anti Rise sits at roughly 60% on average, which is quite low and should allow for the rear end to remain relatively active under braking, at the expense of less geometry preservation when braking in steep terrain.

The leverage ratio is linearly progressive, with roughly 29% progression from beginning to end to keep the rider off the bottom out bumper when pushing hard. Anti Squat – the resistance to compression under pedaling forces – sits at around 110% at sag in the middle of the cassette, offering good pedaling efficiency for hard pedaling efforts. This Anti Squat drops as you approach the end of the travel, which is considered to improve suspension sensitivity deeper in the stroke. 

GEOMETRY | Focus has given the Jam² SL a geometry package that reads like a true all-rounder. The adjustable head tube angle goes from 64.5 to 65.5, and the effective seat tube angle sits at 76.5. Reach numbers are fairly long across the board, with the size large tested coming in at 485mm; and the accompanying Stack height is 632mm. Chainstay length goes from 440mm in “short” to 447mm in “long”, giving welcome adjustment of the handling.

BUILD SPECS | Focus offers the Jam² SL in a range of builds, from the £5,499 / €6,299 Jam² SL 8.7 to the top-spec Jam² SL 9.0 at £10,199 / €11,499.  We tested the Jam² SL 9.9, which retails for £7,999 / €8,999 and comes with a spec list that feels to be a real “riders choice”, offering high levels of adjustability and performance without being excessively flashy.

The Jam² SL 9.9 is built around the lighter MAX carbon fiber frame. Of course, there is the Fazua Ride 60 drive unit, with 430Wh battery. It uses a Fox suspension package, with the 160mm travel 36 Performance Elite fork with Grip 2 damper, and a Float X Performance air shock.

The groupset is mainly Shimano, with a Deore XT 12-speed drivetrain and 4-piston brakes. Driving the Fazua motor is a Rotor eKAPIC crankset with a 32T ring. The cockpit features a Focus stem designed with the C.I.S system, with a Race Face Atlas 35 alloy handlebar. The dropper is by Post Moderne, and topped with a Fizik Taiga saddle.

Rounding out the specs are a DT Swiss HX1700 wheelset, which is wrapped in a pair of Schwalbe tires. As standard, there’s a Magic Mary Super Ground with Soft compound, mated to a Nobby Nic Super Trail with the Speedgrip rubber in the rear. However, Focus spec’d the Jam² SL 9.9 in this test with a more suitable Magic Mary Ultra Soft and Big Betty Soft tire pairing to deliver increased traction on the slick trails of Tuscany, Italy.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

I managed to log a solid afternoon on board the Focus Jam² SL 9.9 for a first ride review during the Mountain Bike Connection event in Tuscany, Italy. During this testing time I was able to log a few shuttle laps of some suitably rowdy trails as well as do some pedal-fed climbing to get a good first impression of its capabilities. That said, with the Tuscan dirt heavily saturated by uncharacteristically wet weather, the trails were slightly treacherous and so limited my ability to push the Focus all the way to the top end of its capabilities. Or, could it be that the top end is much higher than you might expect from a 150mm bike?

Climbing on the Fazua Ride 60 system was a pleasure, as it usually is. In the mid-power space, the Fazua packs the most grunt, which is much appreciated as a heavier rider. The system ran quietly, absent of rattle or excessive noise when being worked hard. The frame geometry let the Fazua system’s power be unleashed without worries of the front wheel lifting, yet retained enough agility to wind through the tight trees on the climbs. Seated pedaling position was fairly comfortable, especially with the saddle pushed forward on the rails.

Onto the way down the hill, and the Focus Jam² SL proved to be a very fun machine. The geometry felt excellently balanced, offering enough stability to feel confident to attack without impacting the playfulness too much. I tested the bike in the slack headset setting and the long rear end. It produced little complaints, but I’d be very interested to see if the shorter chainstay setting may deliver further fun factor without reducing the capability and confidence.

The suspension platform encouraged me to dip my heels and sit into the rear of the bike, letting it eat up the chunky terrain. There wasn’t the most support in the middle, but it didn’t completely rob the energy from pumping efforts. Even so, I’d be very interested to test the Jam² SL with a coil rear shock, which could yield improvements in this aspect. That said, the big hit capability and comfortable early-stroke of the Float X yielded some pleasant characteristics, and could have had me fooled for a 160mm rear end quite easily.

The overall build quality felt solid, and the parts list was nicely selected. I’d certainly be swapping out the stock tire spec, as they seem ill fitting for the bike. There was a small amount of cable rattle, which I believe to have been a result of swapping the brakes to my UK / moto setup. Otherwise, it ran quietly and without complaint. It’s certainly early days on the Focus Jam² SL 9.9 so far, but my initial impressions were very positive, and I’m excited to get some more time on this machine or one of the other Focus models to see how they perform after some more time to get acquainted.

Price: £7,999 / €8,999
Website: Focus-bikes.com