Focus VAM² SL 9.0 first ride review

Trail bikes with 130mm front and 125mm rear travel are most often aimed at riders wanting to pedal without assistance. However, the Focus VAM² SL 9.0 is a short-travel trail bike with a Fazua Ride 60 motor and 430Wh battery.

It’s designed to give trail blasters a faster, further and more fun trail-riding experience. While the opposing concepts of lightweight trail bike and electric bike motor might seem like a pineapple on pizza calamity, this is a mouth-wateringly fun bike to ride.

I was fortunate to ride the £9,699 / €10,999 / AU$15,999 FocusVAM² SL 9.0 at Bike Connection, in Italy, and was won over by this little trail rocket.

If dashing around the woods is your thing and you don’t want to hurl yourself down the steepest, roughest enduro trails, this 16.2kg lightweight electric mountain bike is well worth consideration.

Focus VAM² SL 9.0 frame, suspension and motor

The frame on the 9 Series VAM² SL is constructed from Focus’ MAX carbon fibre, its highest-grade carbon. The claimed frame weight for a medium size is 2.172kg with bolts and hardware, but without motor and battery. For the overall bike weight, Focus claims a medium model weighs a svelte 16.2kg.

Even for the low weight, the VAM² SL 9.0 meets Bike Classification 4 safety standards and can be fitted with a longer-travel 140mm fork for those looking for additional descending performance.

The VAM² SL 9.0 features Focus’ updated C.I.S. (Cockpit Integration Solution) 2.0 MTB stem. All cables now run directly into the frame below the stem, through splittable headset spacers. This means you don’t have to open brake lines or shifting cables when changing the stem height for a simpler setup and a cleaner aesthetic.

Focus has developed extensive frame protection for areas that are more exposed to external impacts, such as the down tube and chainstay. A customised mud flap on top of the chainstay yoke protects the area between the front and rear triangle from any dirt.

For riders looking to preserve their new carbon frame, Focus supplies a dedicated sticker set with the VAM² SL. This set includes protection for the chainstay, seatstay, seat tube and down tube.

A chain guide provides additional chain security for mastering rough trail sections.

Focus set out to keep the VAM² SL as light as possible. To achieve this, it used carbon fibre construction and a flex-stay design to dish out the bike's 125mm rear-wheel travel from its F.O.L.D Gen 3 (Focus Optimised Linkage Design) kinematics. That takes away the need for a chainstay/seatstay pivot, hardware and maintenance.

The flex occurs along the length of the seatstay, which has been flattened, giving it a suitable profile built using long lengths of fibres for optimum flexibility. You could liken this design to a single-pivot, linkage-driven shock platform.

Focus says the flex is minimal because the seatstays follow the arc of the rocker link without hindering or compromising suspension efficiency.

Focus doesn't provide suspension-kinematics data, but it says the rear suspension should be efficient and lively.

Motor and battery

Focus has integrated Fazua’s Ride 60 drive unit with an integrated 430Wh battery. The battery is non-removable to help save frame weight.

The motor punches out 60Nm of torque and delivers 250W continuous power, with 350W maximum power, plus a 450W boost function for up to 12 seconds.

Focus says there’s a 210Wh range extender on the way.

Focus VAM² SL 9.0 geometry details

With short-travel trail bikes becoming more aggressive, and brands learning all riders can take advantage of the confidence stable geometry brings, Focus has given the VAM² SL 9.0 contemporary trail-friendly figures.

My size-medium test bike features a sensible 450mm reach and well-balanced 440mm chainstay length. The frame features a low 602mm stack height that will give the bike a sporty feel.

The head tube angle is 65.5 degrees, but can be steepened to 66.5 degrees by rotating the headset cups 180 degrees. Focus says this is more suitable for those riders who prefer direct handling on flatter trails than those blasting around hills and mountains.

There’s a modest 75.5-degree effective seat tube angle, which combines the previous figures to give a sporty but not stretched 606mm effective top tube.

The bottom bracket drop is a low-slung 35mm, which should help give the bike an agile feel.

Focus VAM² SL 9.0 specification

The top-spec model is built up with plenty of top-of-the-line parts, as you’d hope for the £9,699 / €10,999 / AU$15,999 asking price. The suspension comprises a 130mm Fox 34 Factory fork with the more tuneable GRIP2 damper. The shock is a Fox Float Factory.

SRAM’s X0 Eagle Transmission drivetrain controls the gear changes and is paired with rotor cranks for the Fazua drive unit. SRAM provides its Level Ultimate Stealth brake, with 180mm rotors front and rear.

The VAM² SL 9.0 rolls on Mavic Crossmax XL R 29 carbon wheels shrouded in a 29x2.4in Schwalbe Nobby Nic SuperGround Addix at the front, and 29x2.4in Schwalbe Wicked Will SuperGround SpeedGrip at the rear.

It features Focus’ new MTB One Piece SL cockpit with integrated bar and stem. This features a 25mm handlebar rise, 800mm width and 50mm stem length.

To finish the build, there’s a Fox Transfer SL Factory dropper post and Prologo Proxim W850 Nack saddle.

Focus VAM² SL 9.0 ride impressions

I was able to ride a medium Focus VAM² SL 9.0 at Massa Marittima in Italy during a wet Bike Connection. Focus set me up with 30 per cent sag at the shock for my 75kg weight, which is more than I expected.

I set the fork pressure to balance the rear end in terms of support feel, ran the compression adjustments open and the rebound at my speed preference.

The trails were wet, but still had good grip in places and there was the odd wet rocks section to spice up the riding. I mixed smoother flowing trails with steeper, rougher tech and varied the climbs with smooth twisting singletrack, wide doubletrack and rough off-piste paths.

Focus VAM² SL 9.0 climbing impressions

Thanks to the 25mm riser handlebar and ample stem spacers, the VAM² SL 9.0’s handlebar height was tall given its low 602mm stack. In fact, I had to reduce the stem height to get the bar to a position where I felt comfortable.

Pedalling seated, the bike felt roomy but not stretched out, although I had a reasonable amount of weight over the front wheel to help tracking and accuracy on the climbs.

I found it easy to whip the bike around tight hairpins and didn’t understeer or veer off-line, even with the assistance of the motor helping me accelerate out of corners with more zest. The bike’s handling was precise and responsive, without ever feeling nervous.

The additional weight kept the bike calm and my body position was well positioned between the wheels to hunt traction and maintain control.

While the 75.5-degree effective seat tube angle may be considered slack compared to modern enduro bikes, I never found my pedal stroke hindered by my hips being too far behind the bottom bracket when seated.

The Fazua Ride 60 motor delivers decent punch for its size and weight, but I was most impressed with the VAM² SL 9.0’s efficiency. With more than 1,000m climbing and further than 25km ridden, I still had plenty of battery left after keeping the motor in its middle assistance level.

The fast-rolling Schwalbe tyres helped here, as did the bike's low weight.

I never needed to use the Fox Float Factory’s two-position climb switch because the rear end provides good support, while still offering plenty of traction on the trails. And with the assistance of the motor, I never felt I was wasting energy.

The VAM² SL 9.0 delivers a zippy feeling to climbing, but without taking away the ride feel as full-power eMTBs can. I was able to easily get my heart rate up and push myself, and I felt rewarded for my efforts with pace, making technical climbs fun and challenging.

Focus VAM² SL 9.0 descending impression

If the climbing felt good on the VAM² SL 9.0, the descending was great – for its genre. Let's not get too carried away.

Focus has managed to get plenty of performance from the 125mm of rear-wheel travel and this is one of the bike's highlights.

The initial stroke is supple, providing traction and ironing out the worst of the small bumps.

There’s a smooth progression and good support as the suspension moves through its travel, and it feels as if there’s more on tap than the 125mm. It can’t, and doesn't, take the sting out of bigger hits like a longer-travel trail bike, but it mutes the trail with surprising capability.

The additional weight from the battery and motor does a good job of composing the ride feel and giving the bike some additional stability.

That increased my confidence and enabled me to ride faster than the bike is perhaps intended to go.

The 130mm fork and speedy tyres can soon become overwhelmed by the capability of the frame on more demanding trails. But I say this as a compliment to the bike's suspension.

For ripping smoother singletrack, the Focus is brilliant. It has a playful enthusiasm that enjoys being threaded through turns with commitment and it’ll reward you with precise handling.

It covers ground quickly and does surprisingly well at hiding its weight. At just over 16kg, it's not exactly cumbersome. Plus, the well-balanced geometry plays its part in making the bike feel light on its wheels.

Focus VAM² SL 9.0 early verdict

On the right trails, the VAM SL 9.0 is a great piece of kit. The additional assistance gives you a wind-in-your-hair feeling on all but the steepest climbs, adding a level of riding entertainment to often tiring climbs or flat, twisting trails.

On the downs, the bike floats over its intended terrain and will punch above its short-travel intentions. This can lead to getting carried away where the fork, tyres and brakes might bite back.

Still, for riders looking to cover intermediate and mellower terrain fast, the Focus VAM² SL range is worth investigating.