This season, bikes like the new FOCUS Jam² SL herald the next generation of light eMTBs. They promise better, more agile handling and thus wow trail junkies and analogue bike fans far more than conventional eMTBs. Together with FOCUS Bikes we took a reality check: Are light eMTBs the better mountain bikes?
Agile handling, a sexy design and a new high in riding experience and fun on the bike: the list of promises of the new light eMTBs is long. Facts or just empty promises? Together with FOCUS Bikes we took a reality check and went to the Dolomites with the experienced mountain biker Katrin. Why Katrin? When Katrin gets on her bike, she attracts many envious glances with her skill and style, not only because she rides faster than most guys (including us), but also because she is damn cool and funny – good times ahead! She has no problem tackling long day tours with well over 1,000 metres of altitude using her own muscle power. However, she would like to get a bit more out of the tours or be on the road for several days in a row without having to take rest days between energy-sapping stages. While she knows her analogue mountain bike inside out, Katrin has had little experience on eMTBs so far.
Peter: Hey Katrin, what do you expect from this ride?
Katrin: I have two requirements for an e-mountainbike that I won’t compromise on. For an eMTB to be worthwhile for me, I first have to have a more intensive biking experience with more descents in a short time on my evening spin, or I have to collect more trail kilometres spread over the day on a bike trip without being completely screwed in the evening. Secondly, the motor system should support me as discreetly as possible instead of restricting me with its weight. All in all, I expect playful and nimble handling from an eMTB, preferably just in the same way as I am used to from my analogue mountain bike.
Peter: And how have your eMTB experiences been so far?
Katrin: I’ve tried eMTBs before, but they didn’t suit my riding style. A 25 kg bike and the respective performance were simply over the top for me. Downhill, a “full-blown” ebike costs me so much strength in my upper body that I am actually just as exhausted in the evening as when I ride my analogue bike. In addition, the speed on the eMTB wasn’t quite right: I had to wait for my friends with their analogue bikes when going uphill. Downhill, I had to hold myself back in order to manage my energy – that never really happens to me on a mountain bike.
FOCUS Jam² SL 9.9
In our experiment we swap Katrin’s analogue bike for a FOCUS Jam² SL.
As a representative of the new light eMTB generation, the Jam² SL is designed to combine the best of both worlds: the riding performance of analogue bikes combined with comfortable e-support. This is made possible by the new FAZUA Ride 60 motor, which was specially developed for use in light eMTBs. Due to its lower weight and compact design, it is supposed to have only a minimal effect on the riding characteristics, while at the same time allowing manufacturers maximum freedom in the design of the bike. To match the motor, the eMTB comes with a 430 Wh battery that is smaller and lighter than the battery in full-size eMTBs. Thanks to the economical motor, similar ranges can be achieved as with significantly larger batteries in the full-size all-rounders. Despite e-support, the FOCUS Jam² SL weighs only 18.8 kg in size M. And it is not only the handling that is more akin to an analogue bike, you also have to look twice to realise that the FOCUS Jam² SL is an eMTB. Only the somewhat bulky down tube gives away that this bike has some extra assistance.
We have put together a programme for Katrin with a mix of freestyle riding and some compulsory exercises. These consist of a long day tour tackling many metres of technical climbing, followed directly afterwards by exploring the full downhill potential of the light eMTB.. Leaving the battery in the car, we instead take the gondola for the last ascent. The battery can be removed from the FOCUS Jam² SL in seconds with just a few simple steps.
This makes the E-MTB almost 2.3 kg lighter, taking the total down to only 16.5 kg, providing the best conditions for a riders’-high experience for Katrin. On the second day we finally go on a short but intense trail ride to see if Katrin’s worn out or if she can still go as hard on the FOCUS as she did on the first day.
Day 1
Peter: Without having actually ridden it, what is your first impression?
Katrin: Okay, I could warm to this bike. It looks quite modern. With the eMTBs I’ve ridden so far, I could already sense the heavy handling when stationary. Here it is mainly the down tube that is a little on the thick side. Let’s see if it rides as well as it looks.
We turn the flip chip in the chainstays to the long position, the second flip chip in the shock mount serves to ensure that the geometry does not change due to the extended chainstays. The headset cups are set at a 64.5° steering angle, the extended chainstays and the slack steering angle both serve one purpose: more stable downhill handling. The long position of the chainstays also helps on uphill climbs by shifting the centre of gravity further forward and thus providing more traction under the front wheel.
We meet at a car park in St. Vigil. To warm up, we first hit the Col d’Ancona, the neighbouring mountain to the Kronplatz. In summer there is only limited lift service here, so we climb the first 400 m with electric assistance, which only takes about 15 minutes. At the top we have a short stop, mainly to enjoy the view. In Rocket mode, the Fazua motor in the FOCUS JAM² SL delivers 60 Nm torque and gives quite a powerful push for a light eMTB.
Peter: How was the first ascent?
Katrin: The pink level (Rocket) pushes quite a bit, so I didn’t really have to make an effort.That’s why I rode in the blue level most of the time (River). Shortly before we arrived up here, the first little light went out. If the battery keeps on going like this, it will be a day with quite a lot of altitude.
We take the Piz de Plaies Trail with lots of jumps and curves back to the valley of St. Vigil. Katrin sets the pace and we struggle to keep up. And this is despite the fact that she is riding the quite challenging trail for the first time. In St. Vigil we hand Katrin the keys for her second test vehicle of the day, a Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid with rear rack.
Peter: We figured a speed freak like you would get in a bad mood if we put you on or in a slow vehicle. That’s why we’re now moving on to the Porsche.
Katrin: And I get to drive it now?
Peter: Yes, but you also have to load the bike onto the rear rack yourself.
Katrin: Fair enough!
When loading, it becomes clear that Katrin not only knows how to stow bikes in the back of her Ford Transit camper, but also how to transport bikes safely at the rear. Here, light eMTBs prove to be particularly user-friendly and score points in terms of handling thanks to their low weight. From St. Vigil we take the Furkelpass to the Ruis valley station at the Kronplatz. According to Google Maps, the route takes 14 minutes, yet Katrin only needs 11.
Katrin: Vroooom, vroooom!
Peter: Katrin, please chill, we still have all day.
We take on the south side of the mountain and do laps on the Furcia Trail as well as the variation CC Top Line and the Crazy Bunny. Katrin is visibly thrilled and we are sure that this is not only due to the perfect weather we caught for our test period at the end of September.
After ascending the Kronplatz for the third time and piling up 1200 vertical metres both over monotone gravel paths and a short singletrack section, there’s only one battery bar left on the minimalist Fazua HUB display. Katrin’s spirits are still high and she is in a joking mood.
After a short stop at the top of the Kronplatz, it’s time for the next phase of our experiment. It’s back to the car park to take the battery out of the bike and test the FOCUS Jam² SL in analogue bike mode. Katrin opens the battery cover using the allen key hidden in the rear thru axle and takes the compact battery out of the bike.
Katrin: Do I have to consider anything when the bike is without a battery?
Peter: No, in fact, here basically comes what you do best: Mountain biking.
This time, the gondola takes us up the mountain. On the previous descents, Katrin had the opportunity to become perfectly familiar with the more than 120 curves of the Furcia Trail.
Now it’s a matter of remembering the ideal line and reeling off the curves as quickly and smoothly as possible. Katrin must concentrate fully on the trail and not let anything distract her. Throughout the day she gained confidence that the bike works. While she was still in a joking mood all morning, she now seems deadly serious. We turn onto the trail. After a long bend, Katrin scrubs the first jump on the following straight and pushes the bike through three rollers with a lot of physical effort to generate speed. Katrin has to give us the report on her experiences of the rest of the descent down in the valley, as she left us behind right after the first straight.
Peter: And how was it?
Katrin: Fast! When I turned from the open passage above the tree line into the dry part of the forest, I even had to slow down a bit because I kept being blinded by the light. If it wasn’t so bright today, I might have pulled through and achieved a segment record.
Day 2
For day two, we start directly in St. Vigil and tackle the laid-back trails through the Fanes-Sennes-Braies Nature Park towards Pederü and back. The ascent has only a slight gradient, on just under 12 km of trail we climb 350 metres in altitude. What the trails lack in gradient compared to the Kronplatz, they make up for with their natural splendour.
Surrounded by the steep crevasses of the adjacent mountains, the Vigilbach stream and a winding trail cross the high plateau. We turn the flip chip in the chainstays back to the original short position to tease more agility out of the FOCUS JAM² SL.
Katrin sprints off as if someone had just stolen her QOM on her home trail in Innsbruck. In two successive open gravel bends, she pushes the FOCUS Jam² SL into a lower lean angle than we manage in many well-built berms and disappears from our view.
Peter: Can we slow down a bit? We already did the high-speed test yesterday, and the motor doesn’t help you above 25 km/h either.
Katrin: -.-
We continue the ride at a relaxed pace, feeling a little guilty about having to hold Katrin back from what “having fun on the bike” means for her. Instead of speeding away from us, Katrin now uses the time on the bike to explore the landscape and route a little more closely. With her eyes fixed on the trail, she doesn’t miss a single roller or root over which she skilfully lifts the bike into the air. By the time we get back to St. Vigil, Katrin probably has as much airtime on the flat trail along the Vigilbach stream as she did on the jump line at the Kronplatz yesterday.
Peter: And what is your verdict after two days on the FOCUS Jam² SL? Did you experience a rider’s high?
Katrin: Respect! I really didn’t expect that an eMTB would be so much fun. Such a light eMTB is not comparable to a normal eMTB, like the ones I have tried before. That’s worlds apart! I’ll stay loyal to my mountain bike for the bike park or an easy tour. But I could well imagine switching to a light eMTB for bike trips with daily rides or a quick evening spin. Especially in winter, when the forest floor is somewhat soggy, pedalling can become a torture.
Peter: Speaking of torture, how are the legs now and how was it on the road?
Katrin: I definitely notice that I spent a lot of time in the saddle, but seriously, there was never a moment when I wanted to throw the bike into the bushes because it was too exhausting. Not even on the steep climbs. My lactate level was low, the endorphin level was high.Actually, we could do another round tomorrow!
Peter: Depends on how much Aperol we are going to drink tonight… 🙂
Thanks to their agile handling and natural, inobtrusive motor support, light eMTBs not only provide a short high, but also long-lasting fun on the trail. You will only know whether you are Team Mountain Bike or Team Light eMTB when you have tried both. And in the future, the difference between the two types will be even smaller. After two days, Katrin hasn’t done a 180° turnaround, but we wouldn’t be surprised to spot her on a light eMTB on her home trails in Innsbruck some time in the future.
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Words: Rudolf Fischer Photos: Peter Walker, Julian Lemme
