It may look like a diet e-bike from certain angles but rest assured the new Focus Jam Carbon 8.9 is very much a pilot powered pedal-bike.
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By ben_haworth
Get the full story here:
https://singletrackworld.com/2022/02/2022-focus-jam-carbon-8-9-filthy-first-ride-review/
I enjoyed that write up and shall also be doing my damndest to get "creaking like a haunted barn door" into common parlance! 😀
The Focus bikes . com link takes you to POC consort MTB Dungarees, not to focus bikes.
Bike wise, glad someone agrees with me on internally mounted cables. Prefer everything as much as poss to be easier to get at.
The whole idea of that stem really annoys me, not being able to change stem or spacers or headset without disconnecting all the cables and brakes is a total dealbreaker - was bad enough on their e-bikes, but now they've decided to blight their whole range with it
That stem and the idea behind it needs to be shot into space/thrown into the neartest large body of water.
That stem and the idea behind it needs to be shot into space/thrown into the neartest large body of water.
+1
The sooner mtbs come out of this blasted " internal cable routing" phase the better.
I'm really struggling to understand which oaf at Focus asked himself how he could make his bikes better and came up with that shit.
Probably the same imbecile that invented the swat holder tbf 🙄
Ooh yes, please. Id like a stupid little fiddly compartment that doesn't come close to holding all my riding kit and makes the bike itself heavier and/ or weaker.
Great
The whole idea of that stem really annoys me, not being able to change stem or spacers or headset without disconnecting all the cables and brakes is a total dealbreaker – was bad enough on their e-bikes, but now they’ve decided to blight their whole range with it
If my ebike is anything to go on, they will throw on the cheapest headset possible on everything but the top of the range bike so it'll need hanging after 2 wet rides.
The whole idea of that stem really annoys me, not being able to change stem or spacers or headset without disconnecting all the cables and brakes is a total dealbreaker – was bad enough on their e-bikes, but now they’ve decided to blight their whole range with it
They're normally split spacers on integrated stem bikes so you can add/remove them very easily.
On my orbea, with integrated cables, the cables route behind a bolt on plate under the stem which means you can change the stem without disconnecting cables, but they've not done that on this bike - which seems shame as it makes it more complex to work on.
That stem's an odd one isn't it?
I can imagine it being a deal-breaking detail for a lot of people, especially if those people do most of their own maintenance work. And yet it seems a relatively minor aesthetic improvement on the side-view (front is weird-looking, there's no escaping it) compared to the more usual "feed the cables into holes in the frame" sort of arrangement.
They've also managed to make their top end carbon trailbike weigh 35lbs, and stuck a Pressfit BB on it too, but the stem is so bad tha tpeople have barely noticed those things
If I was paying nearly five grand for a bike, I certainly wouldn't want one with a cupboard in it!
Mind you, it's a problem I'm unlikely to have!
Small mercies and all that, eh? 😂