The frame has a 73mm English-threaded bottom bracket shell with ISCG tabs. We opted to go single-speed on this build. The Jackal comes with sliding rear dropouts with an integrated derailleur hanger, so you can easily run the bike with or without gears. The fork came with an extra set of stickers for the lowers, so we removed the traditional white, black, and red ones and replaced them with black-on-black to match the subdued color sceme of the rest of the bike. It’s got 35mm chassis for plenty of strength and support, a custom tuned Charger Damper to smooth out rough landings, and a solo airspring with built in bottom-out resistance to give the fork good, smooth progression while also keeping it from bottoming out after a big drop. In our opinion, this is the nicest 26″ dirt jump specific fork on the market. The highlight of the build is the Rockshox Pike DJ fork. Here is one we just built up for a customer: The Jackal is available as a frame-only from Santa Cruz for $745, and then you custom build the bike with your choice of parts from there. You would be hard pressed to find a better 26″ dirt jump bike than the Santa Cruz Jackal. You can also just ride around the city and find plenty of spots to session and mess around with like Brandon Semenuk did when he visited Chicago a few years ago. Wilson Skatepark and the Logan Square Skatepark in particular are fun places to get your transition on. There are also skateparks in the City of Chicago where you can get creative with your riding. Big Marsh is much newer than the Garden, but the first phase of the park has been completed and features some great jump lines, a street section, pump track, and short singletrack loops with progressive features to help you build up your skills. Also within the city limits, but further away from the shop on the South Side of the city is Big Marsh Bike Park. The Garden is in the heart of the city and has something for everyone with a pump track featuring table top jumps for beginners and small, medium, and large jump lines for everyone to hone their skills.
Just 1.5 miles from the front door of our shop, and soon to have an off-street bike path covering almost that entire distance along the river is The Garden- Chicago Dirt Jumps. Which is why a 26″ dirt jump bike makes a lot of sense if you live here and want to scratch your mountain bike itch more than once or twice per week. Sure, you have to get a little creative within the city limits, and need to drive a bit to get to sanctioned, maintained trails with singletrack. It gets a little frustrating because while all of those places offer amazing trails and riding, you shouldn’t just dismiss our city all together and give up on mountain biking here. We hear things like that all the time in the shop. Why would I get a pricey mountain bike if I live in this big city with no mountains?” “Who mountain bikes in Chicago?” “There are no mountains here.” “This isn’t Colorado, California, Arizona, or North Carolina.