Onza Jackpot review
A bike that's almost ready for high-stakes trail gambling
GBP £1,700.00 RRP Skip to view dealsPublished:
Let’s cut to the chase. If you’re wondering what the ‘almost’ part of our strapline refers to it’s primarily the very wooden, low grade ‘Sport’ tyres specced on Onza’s Jackpot hardtail.
They create a rattling, jarring, dynamically dead sufferfest. Switching rubber immediately released the Jackpot’s true ride quality – and we suggest you negotiate a similar change with the shop before you seal the deal.
Heart and soul
It’s definitely worth it too as the Jackpot frame is a real beauty. The gusset behind the tapered head tube is open to spread stress and the mid-sized 35mm top and down tubes use short butts to tune supple ride feel without losing too much traction feedback or precise wheel placement. The bottom bracket is a press-fit 30mm design, which is rare on steel frames and means any crank or a singlespeed-friendly eccentric BB will fit.

A hollow chainstay box leads into fat-tyre-friendly keyhole chainstays that flatten and round out before the 3D dropouts, with replaceable inserts for different axles. The curved inter-stay-reinforcing pipe matches the curve of the rear rotor, which is post-mounted for easy adjustment.
While the black finish on our frame didn’t show it off like the raw version of the frame-only option, the internal cable and dropper post insert ports, external brake guides and head badge are all brass-brazed in place to retain full strength of the steel tubes. You’re restricted to just 17 and 19in sizes though.
Not just a pretty frame
Presuming one of those fits, the trail is where the jackpot shows its real class. The stiff, big-axle Onza cranks lever all your power through the hollow box rear end and stout dropouts so it climbs and accelerates okay for a near-14kg bike.

The short but mid-sized tubes are stiff enough to really work the 150mm Revelation fork hard, but supple enough to skim the tops off rocks and roots to sustain speed and boost comfort in classic steel-frame fashion. While it’s not super-stretched, the handling is surefooted and well balanced for all-round aggro riding without wandering about on climbs.
The majority SLX stop/go equipment works fine but an externally routed dropper post on an internal routing-ready frame is disappointing and the Onza own brand bars are very heavy too.

Once we’d swapped out the wooden-feeling stock tyres, the Onza came to life
Onza’s Jackpot (and the 29er/27.5+ Payoff) are beautifully detailed, very versatile, steel frames that ride every bit as good as they look. But given the tyres need swapping immediately the complete bike price is expensive, which makes the frame-only options or Onza’s own reduced cost custom-build programme very tempting.
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Product Specifications
Product
Name | Jackpot |
Brand | Onza |
Available Sizes | 17in 19in |
Weight (kg) | 13.72 |
Rims | Anon 23mm |
Saddle | Fizik Gobi |
Seat Angle | 74 |
Seatpost | Rock Shox Reverb external dropper |
Shifters | Shimano SLX |
Stem | Onza 6061 alloy 60mm |
Wheelset | Weinmann XC180 Disc |
Rear Tyre | Kenda Nevegal X Sport 27.5 x 2.35 |
Bottom Bracket Height (in) | 11.81 |
Chainstays (in) | 16.73 |
Seat Tube (in) | 18.9 |
Standover Height (in) | 29.72 |
Top Tube (in) | 23.82 |
Wheelbase (in) | 44.69 |
Rear Wheel Weight | 2720 |
Rear Hub | Anon 100x15mm/142x12mm axles |
Bottom Bracket | PF30 |
Front Hub | Anon 100x15mm/142x12mm axles |
Brakes | Shimano Deore M447 - 180/160mm |
Cassette | Shimano HG50 11-36T |
Chain | Shimano SLX |
Cranks | Onza 1 x with buzz saw thick thin 32 T chain ring |
Fork | Rock Shox Revelation solo air 150mm with tapered alloy steerer |
Frame Material | Onza double butted flawless Cro-Mo 4130 27.5 Tapered headtube |
Front Tyre | Kenda Nevegal X Sport 27.5 x 2.35 |
Rear Derailleur | Shimano SLX Shadow (Clutch) |
Front Wheel Weight | 2100 |
Grips/Tape | Onza Ules lock on |
Handlebar | Onza 6061 alloy 760mm |
Head Angle | 67 |
Headset Type | FSA Internal tapered |
Pedals | Alloy platform |
Frame size tested | 19in |