£1,950
The Jamis Dakar has always been a strong contender in our entry-level full-suspension bike tests. But with the category shifting to embrace the improved rollover and stability that bigger 29in wheels bring to trail riding, it had to step aside and make way for the new Faultline A1. Boasting 120mm of suspension at the rear, the Faultline A1 29 doesn’t quite live up to its freeride-sounding name, as the travel puts it more at the XC end of the trail bike continuum.
The sleek, alloy frame has a lot in common with its smaller-wheeled sibling, where both use Jamis’s signature MP2 suspension; a single-pivot design that places the shock directly under the top tube. Internal cable routing gives the Faultline frame a smooth, clean appearance, but even when we
