Jackson Goldstone. It goes without saying that those two words are packing a hefty punch in the world of mountain biking right now, and over the past two seasons Jackson has been dominating the junior field at almost every downhill World Cup. With a junior World Championship and two World Cups overall under his belt, plus times that have been good enough to beat the entire elite field on the day, it’s fair to say he’s already echoing legendary status at the ripe old age of 18.
As of this weekend, Jackson became the youngest ever winner of Red Bull Hardline and we got the chance to check out the custom-painted Santa Cruz V10 that took him to the top step.
The main frame
The Santa Cruz V10 itself needs no introduction and previous iterations of the bike have been ridden by a rake of MTB greats, but it’s the current version here that took both Jackson and Greg Minnaar to World Champs victory in 2021.
This is Jackson’s first ever custom-painted frame, and it’s one that pays homage to Canadian DH legend Stevie Smith through insane attention to detail. Jackson rides a size large frame with Chris King reach adjust headset cups in the backwards position to fine-tune the reach for his 5ft 7in height. It’s the mixed wheel specific frame too, which means it's designed to run a 29in wheel up front and a 27.5in wheel out back. The V10 has several geometry adjustments and Jackson appeared to be running the longest chain stay setting and a middle position shock chip.
The suspension
Fox Suspension is a major sponsor of the Santa Cruz Syndicate and here we have the Fox 40 fork and Fox DHX2 coil shock taking care of damping duties. By looking at how the suspension was reacting and absorbing hits during Jackson’s race run we suspect he’s running more pressure, compression, and rebound than normal to help control his bike on the hectic Hardline track.
The wheel department
Reserve carbon rims built around Chris King hubs keep the V10 rolling. The Maxxis Assegai/Minion DHR2 is one of the most common tyre combinations on the DH circuit; Jackson went with this combo here at Hardline but did mention he went up in pressure to help with the the high speeds and hefty compressions the event brings.
The drivetrain and brakes
The Santa Cruz Syndicate are long-term Shimano users and in Jackson’s case it's a 10-speed Saint drivetrain propelling his V10 forward, and Saint brakes wrapped around 203mm Ice-Tech rotors bringing things to a stop.
The cockpit and finishing kit
Burgtec keeps things in check in the driver's zone with its direct mount stem and carbon DH bar. The sleek looking seat and seat post is taken care of by Burgtec too. Lastly, attention to detail includes VHS tape to reduce chain audio, and there’s a host of titanium bolts keeping everything in place.
Moving on up
We’re excited to see what next year brings for Jackson as he makes the move up to the Elite category, but we have no doubts he’ll be in the podium mix throughout the whole of 2023.
Tech specs: Jackson Goldstone’s Santa Cruz V10
- Frame: Santa Cruz V10
- Fork: Fox 40
- Shock: Fox DHX2 Coil
- Handlebar: Burgtec Carbon DH
- Stem: Burgtec Direct Mount
- Drivetrain: Shimano Saint
- Brakes: Shimano Saint
- Pedals: Crank Brothers Mallet DH
- Rims: Reserve DH
- Hubs: Chris King
- Tires: Maxxis Assegai/DHR2
- Seat: Burgtec
- Seatpost: Burgtec
