JAMIS DAKAR EXPERT
OUT OF AFRICA WITH PANACHE

Keeping in step with its African nomenclature and 15-year stint as a proven trail workhorse, the Jamis Dakar Expert is more than ready to take America across the desert. At $1600, the double-0 Dakar brings Jamis' tradition of producing bargain-priced thoroughbreds into the new century. This great buy delivers four inches of travel, dual hydraulic disk brakes, utopian looks, third-millennium componentry and the promise of happy trails.

DAKAR FRAME HIGHLIGHTS
Direct thinking was used to design the almost lightweight, 6.25-pound Jamis frame and shock. The tubeset is shared with other premere Dakar models, and other than multi-brake system hardware like caliper, hydraulic hose guides and a disc brake mount, there is no unnecessary foof sabotaging the frame's lines (on the dual disc Dakar Expert you can discard the front and rear cantilever pivots for an even cleaner look).

Unique to the clean main frame is a large, triangulated down tube that better resists torsional twists as well as delivering stouter head tube and bottom bracket attachment. An offset, forged swingarm pivot yoke houses flex-fighting square chainstays.

Contradicting the brochure, the Dakar's geometry is better suited for high-speed bombing than trail plonking. Jamis says the Dakar Expert has 71/74 degree angles, 16.73-inch stays, 23.74-inch top tube, 42.93-inch wheelbase, 12.20-inch bottom bracket, and 31.22-inch standover. In other words, very aggressive XC race geometry specs. But this is not case.

While the stays factor at the claimed 16.73 inches, the rest of the geometry reads much slacker, longer and taller. We measured 69/72-degree angles, 24.1-inch top-tube, 43.75-inch wheelbase, 13-inch bottom bracket, and 32.3-inch standover. Four-inch travel forks weren't commercially available when the Dakar frame was originally conceived in 1994. Six years later, four inches is the norm, and the front of the Dakar has stretched out and slackened from the two-inch taller fork. If the rest of the package backed these numbers up, the Dakar would eat up rough terrain at kamikaze speeds.

JAMIS BOINGERS
The Dakar suspension is in sync with the rest of its straight-forward motif. Simple, triangulated gussets clamp the Fox Vanilla R coil-over shock's top mount midway under the top tube. Behind it, aswing link bridges the bottom shock mount to the upper swingarm pivot. Jamis achieves active suspension through the use of Horst-link dropout pivots. Rear wheel travel is 3.5 inches. For '00, the Air Vanilla shock has been swapped for the venerable Fox Vanilla R coil-over.

In the fork department, Jamis has stuck with what they know--a four inch travel Manitou XVert. Using a big, ten-inch long elastomer and coil spring stack, the single-crown fork allows for individual compression, rebound, and preload adjustments. The Vanilla R is equally as easy to tune with the frame, providing great clearance to fully grab the spring preload nut. Rebound is adjustable as well.

COMPONENTS AND HARDWARE
Fortunatly, the marketing men who spec'ed the brake system on the Expert also ignored the engineers' geometry claims. This bike was made for speed, and nothing short of Hayes hydraulic discs would haul this sucker down through the thick of off-road conditions. Knowing that the Dakar would be pedaled up hills, the suits gave the Expert a full trailbike transmission. The mostly Deore LX drivetrain is upgraded with an XT rear derailleur. With 44/32/22 chainwheels driving an 11-32 cogset, rest assured that the Jamis has the gearing to make it up any climb.

The Dakar wheelset is virtually bombproof, but not too heavy. It uses 32-hole Real Design hubs, 14-gauge rear spokes, double-butted 14/15 front spokes, Mavic 223 disc rims and two-inch, Hutchinson Alligator Gold tires. Without discs, quick-releases and tires, wheel weight is 850 grams front and 1255 grams rear. Front and rear knobs register 747 and 730 grams respectively.

RIDING THE JAMIS DAKAR EXPERT
Most number crunchers and cross-country racers will be turned off by the Dakar's 30.8-pound weight and seemingly slow geometry numbers. It is true, this isn't a lightweight cross-country racer, but we have found over the years is that the Dakar best illustrates what a dual-suspension, dual-disc, long-travel trail bike is all about. Dakar riders find that the chassis stays straight and true while handling the nastiest terrain--and surprisingly, it's not too heavy duty of a bomber to fall off the back climbs. Here is why.

CLIMBING -- If the rider stays seated and on the nose, the knobbies will dig in and sent the Expert up and over the top. A big advantage to streaching the pilot's compartment between four inches of travel is that the seated rider can't overly load the front or rear of the bike and cause one end or the other to bob. However, those who stand and lean over the front will find that the 130mm stem can't tame the 69-degree head angle. The wheel will flop and steering will wander off the intended line. Stay seated and stay happy.

DECENDING -- We were thankful that Jamis saw fit top spec the Dakar with a full swath of front and rear knobbies. At speed, the Dakar feels much lighter than 30-pounds, even to the point of maneuvering, like a quick-steering hardtail. Revel in the fact that with four inches of some of the best trailbike suspension in the buisness, you will be able to soak up any obsticle short of ones that would crunch the wheels.

TURNING -- Pay attention here, because this is the key to turning '00 trailbikes -- stay seated! If you stay seated and weight the outside pedal, the Dakar's suspension evenly collapses under G's and the edging knobs will hold a firm line even trough flat, slick bends. Standing and weighting the front makes the Expert under-steer and lose traction. Remember that with great suspension it's possible to sit much earlier over braking bumps when setting up for the turn.

SUSPENSION -- Sometimes the best indicator of how well a bike works is how many test riders can ride it without immediately twisting preload and damping knobs. The Dakar's matched, almost flawless, suspension action makes the bike ready to use as delivered with the standard, middle-of-the-road settings. But don't think you can't make the action better-matched to your style. There is a broad range of adjustment for both compression and rebound.

COMPLAINTS -- Most notable on thehate list was the Titec PG-Post. Instead of using a second bolt at the front of the fastback seat clamp, Titec uses a plastic knurled knob to drive the bolt. The knurled knob is hidden way up between the rails and is impossible to reach. After fussing with the arrangement for some time, each and every rider would give up and simply ride with the saddle in the wrong position and wait for it to eventually come come loose.

On the brake front, we used Hayes' name in vain. If Hayes won't give riders the option of brake lever play adjustment, they could at least give us a lever that doesn't feel like it's off a 1970 Puch moped. The Hayes brake only has reach adjustment. Modulation is very sensitive and reach is either close and bad or far and bad.

MBA RATES THE JAMIS DAKAR EXPERT
Like its predecessor, the '00 Dakar Expert is designed to be the ultimate, do-anything trailbike. Even if you pick this bike to simply cruise bike paths, you couldn't choose a better-looking mount.

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