World champion Jackson Goldstone’s Santa Cruz V10 has a notable omission for Red Bull Hardline Tasmania: a tuned mass damper.
Goldstone won the 2025 race by a mere 0.02 seconds from Asa Vermette, before being beaten to Hardline Wales victory by the young rider.
We expected to witness the World Series winner pulling out all the stops to defend his title, so seeing him arrive with such a talked-about piece of tech missing from the front of his bike was a surprise.
Here are the key tech talking points we spotted on Goldstone's bike for this weekend's action in Tasmania.
Tuned mass damper
Tuned mass dampers (TMDs) were among the most talked-about tech of 2025, and companies such as Rimpact have recently released their own production versions.
When we covered Goldstone’s bike at the Lenzerheide World Cup last year, it was clear to see what looked like a TMD poking out from behind the number board. However, examining shots of his Tasmania bike up close, we can't see the metal tube.
Goldstone could be looking to save weight on the front of the bike over the jumps, or may simply not feel the TMD will make a difference to his speed on a course as fast and flowing as the Tasmanian track.
Prototype Shimano Saint brakes
With XTR levers on his bar, but no matching calipers, it appears Goldstone is running prototype brakes on his V10 for Hardline Tasmania.
They look to be four-piston calipers, which could be pre-production versions of the next generation of Shimano Saint brakes.
Prototype Fox 40 fork
Last World Cup season, it was possible to see Goldstone running forks with Fox RAD stickers on. RAD is Fox’s skunkworks programme, where pre-production components are created and refined ahead of public release.
The fork on Goldstone's Hardline bike has different stickers near the top of the legs, saying 'Fox', but still has 'RAD' stickers further down. It still sports matt black dials and dust caps up top, as with last year's fork.
In terms of settings, Goldstone's mechanic, Woody, told us: "Honestly, we never deviate that much for Hardline as you still need the bike to work for tech, so going crazy firm isn't going to help too much. And, thankfully, our bike seems to handle the big hits.
"Generally, a few clicks firmer compression, the fork went up 5psi last year, and slightly slower rebound. Tyre pressures are up to 25/28psi, which is the highest he'll ever run."
Wheel weights
Wheel weights can be spotted on Goldstone’s Reserve carbon wheels, for the purpose of balancing them. This could be especially important on the Hardline course with its ultra-high speeds and huge airtime.
Having run nearly 2kg of ballast on the bottom of his World Cup race bike last year, Goldstone is no stranger to adding some heft to his bikes.
Ochain
Goldstone was running an Ochain device last year, so it was little surprise to see one fitted to his bike for Hardline Tasmania.
The device decouples the chainring from the crank with steel springs and elastomer wedges, offering damping from chain feedback, with the aim of improving rear-wheel traction and reducing rider fatigue.
Custom OneUp grips
If you’re the world champion, you can create some pretty cool pieces of kit. The bike features OneUp Goldstone grips, with anodised lockrings bearing his name.
Earned stripes
Goldstone’s well-worn white Santa Cruz V10 mullet frame is adorned with rainbow stripes denoting his World Championship victory in Champéry last year.
The high-rise OneUp handlebar has custom rainbow graphics to match.
