Kona Dream Builds: Jerik’s DH Crushing Process 153 27.5

Jerik Gifford has been killing it on two wheels since he first rode without training wheels on his third birthday. The Bakersfield, Ca local is now 12 years old and has a whole bunch of BMX success behind him already, and he’s been racing mountain bikes for the past year. Grizzly Cycles owner Kevin Talley could see the talent a mile away and put the young ripper on the shop’s Adventure Team and, with the support of Jerik’s Mom and Dad then set about building a solid race bike.

“We tried to build a bike Jerik could ride anywhere but with a focus on DH. So far he has raced the last winter DH Southridge race in Fontana, CA and the Keyesville Classic Super D and brought home wins in both! We are now looking forward to DH bike park laps and the reinstatement of the racing season…” – Brian Gifford (Jerik’s Dad)

A 2020 Process 153 27.5 forms the base of Jeriks mini-DH sled, and while the stock SRAM NX Drivetrain remains mostly unchanged, Jerik has opted for a blue Burgtec 32t Chainring in place of the original 34t chainring (he has expressed his dislike for climbing in the past!).

Jerik loves the smooth suspension provided by the DVO Jade X coil out the back, the rear shock is specifically tuned for his 100lb weight and is running a lightweight spring to match.

The DVO theme continues upfront with a DVO Diamond D1 in Blue, custom-tuned again for Jerik’s 100 lb weight.

The bike is still rocking the stock WTB ST i29 wheelset but both hoops are sporting Mynesweepers tire inserts and Mucoff tubeless valves in blue. A big Aaron Gwin fan, Jerik opted for Onza Aquila 27.5x 2.4 tires for both the front and rear.

The build is rounded off with a set of his favorite grips, Sensus Swayze’s in black/blue and a set of Crank Brothers clipless pedals in blue to keep the theme going.

We picked the bike up from Kevin at Grizzly cycles and went straight to Fontana to race and the first thing Jerik said after his first practice run was, “I feel fast!”

If you missed us at the @keyesvilleclassic I’d like to take a second to officially introduce the @gc_adventureteam. From left to right we have Jenner Hutson, Jerik Gifford, Ezra Stevenson and Sam Welch. They will be racing everything from XC to Downhill. If you see them out there make sure to give them the biggest high five you can! So stoked to be working with the raddest sponsors to help these kids achieve their goals.