2019 jamis dakar a2

First look | Jamis Dakar A2 £1100 full-suspension looks like a budget Santa Cruz 5010

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U.S brand Jamis wants a piece of the Calibre Bossnut market share so has launched the Jamis Dakar A2, an £1100 full-suspension bike that looks like a 5010.

UPDATE: since originally writing this article Evans has reduced the price of the Jamis Dakar A2 to just £880!

Budget mountain bikes aren’t what they once were. They used to be heavy, basic and tended to be out of date, but today’s affordable mountain bikes are so good they actually raise the question “Why would you spend any more?”.

Jamis Dakar A2 first look
Looking for a budget Santa Cruz 5010?

The current king of the budget full-suspension bike market is undoubtedly the Calibre Bossnut, but U.S bike maker Jamis hopes to knock the Calibre off top spot with the Dakar range of bikes.

We’ve been sent the Jamis Dakar A2, an alloy full suspension bike that costs £1100 as a complete bike, but looks a lot like a Santa Cruz 5010, a premium trail bike that would cost more than double for the frame alone. The 6061 tubeset on the Dakar A2 is triple butted, and the MP2 linkage system offers 120mm of travel via a RockShox Monarch R air shock, impressive details on such an affordable model.

Jamis Dakar A2 first look
RockShox at this price!

SR Suntour’s Raidon fork gives the A2 front end bounce using an air spring and offering the rider lockout and rebound controls. The Raidon also used Suntour’s own thru axle design but is spaced for a non-Boost 27.5in wheel.

Jamis Dakar A2 first look
Suntour chainset and external BB are great items at this price.

Shimano’s Deore Shadow Plus rear mech with a clutch is a nice touch as is the 1×10 drivetrain, SR Suntour chainset with external bottom bracket, and Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc brakes.

Jamis Dakar A2 first look
Deore offers quality 1 x 10 shifting at a great price.

Despite the low-price, Jamis has found room in the budget to build up the Dakar A2 with an oversized 35mm RaceFace handlebar, Raceface stem, and seat post. There are even WTB rims, Formula hubs, a WTB Volt saddle, and Vittoria tyres. Not bad at all for £1100.

Jamis Dakar A2 first look
Raceface bar and stem are a surprise for the money.

The Jamis has already been swiped from the office by Antony de Heveningham who has had a lot of experience with budget full-sussers so watch out for his review coming into a screen near you soon.

Jamis Dakar A2 first look
Not bad looking at all.

Jamis Dakar A2 Specification

  • Frame // Triple-butted 6061 alloy, 120mm travel MP2 Suspension system.
  • Rear Shock // RockShox Monarch R air shock.
  • Fork //SR Suntour Raidon LOR 27.5in
  • Rear Mech //Shimano Deore Shadow Plus, 10 speed.
  • Shifter // Shimano Deore, 10 speed.
  • Chainset // SR Suntour Zeron, 32T
  • Bottom Bracket // SR Suntour External.
  • Cassette // Shimano HG500, 10 speed.
  • Chain // KMC X10, 10 speed.
  • Brakes // Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc 180mm front, 160mm rear.
  • Handlebars // RaceFace Ride 35 x 760mm.
  • Stem // RaceFace Ride. 50mm.
  • Headset // FSA Orbit 1.5 Zero-stack.
  • Grips // Jamis Lock-on
  • Rims // WTB STX i25 TCS 27.5in.
  • Hubs // Formula 15×100 front, 12x142mm rear.
  • Tyres // Vittoria Barzo, 27.5 x 2.35in, tubeless ready.
  • Saddle // WTB Volt
  • Seatpost // RaceFace Ride 31.6 x 400mm.
  • Confirmed weight // 31.46lbs
  • Price // £1100

Andi is a gadget guru and mountain biker who has lived and ridden bikes in China and Spain before settling down in the Peak District to become Singletrack's social media expert. He is definitely more big travel fun than XC sufferer but his bike collection does include some rare hardtails - He's a collector and curator as well as a rider. Theory and practice in perfect balance with his inner chi, or something. As well as living life based on what he last read in a fortune cookie Andi likes nothing better than riding big travel bikes.

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Comments (7)

    Looks a tiny bit like a 5010, but clickbait as the suspension design is completely different.

    I’m slightly sold on this tbh

    It looks ‘like a 5010’ in the same way that a body-kitted Toyota MR2 looks identical to a Ferrari if you squint quite hard. Is this some sort of stealth campaign for Spec Savers?

    Erm looks like a 5010 if you close your eyes and look the other way…..

    Still, looks a decent spec and for £880 not to be sniffed at.

    This has been out for months now, not sure why the article is only just being published.

    I owned the previous incarnation of this the 2018 version, it was £100 cheaper, had RockShox Recon forks instead of Suntour. It did well in all the budget roundups and only lost out to the Bossnut, for good reason. This line of bikes is not new or really newsworthy as they haven’t advanced the design at all. All parts are of pretty much equal standard between the 2018-2019 versions.

    Still it’s a good starter and I loved it as a first full sus.

    Worth noting the tyres nearly killed me on more than one occasion, first upgrade right there.

    £1500 buys this frame with Eagle, Recons and a budget dropper

    The A1 also gets an Monach RL shock with an DebonorAir upgrade.
    Very happy with mine especially as i got it for £975.

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