After riding for other bike companies his whole life, Aaron Gwin has decided to become one of the owners of Crestline Bikes.
Gwin has had one of the most remarkable racing careers in history. Growing up in Southern California, he learned to ride at 3, started racing BMX at 4, got his first sponsor at 6, and then traveled the U.S. as a sponsored BMX racer until he got burned out on the sport at the age of 9 and decided to do something else.
He took up baseball and football. He was gifted in those sports, too. He pitched a perfect game in baseball, and quarterbacked his football team to an undefeated season.
Gwin took up racing motocross at the age of 12 and switched to that. His parents told him that he had to keep his grades above a C or they wouldn’t let him ride, so he became a straight-A student while becoming one of the top riders in the country for his age.
A series of injuries ended Gwin’s dreams of racing motocross professionally, so he went back to riding bikes for fun with a kid named Cody Warren.
Cody had won the U.S. Pro Downhill title in 2005. He was so impressed with Aaron’s riding that Cody loaned him a downhill bike and talked Aaron into going to Fontana, California, on November 20, 2007. “What class should I enter?” Gwin asked. “Just go pro,” Cody told him.
Gwin signed up for his very first mountain bike race in the Pro Men’s Downhill class. Cody won, Waylon Smith took second, and Gwin placed third. Aaron lost to Cody Warren by 1.53 seconds and finished only 0.06 seconds behind Waylon Smith.
Gwin started racing every chance he could, and quickly impressed people so much that he got sponsored by Yeti only a few weeks after his debut. That summer, with less than a year of mountain bike racing behind him, Gwin entered his first World Cup race at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, and placed 10th. At the final World Cup downhill event of 2008, at Schladming, Austria, Gwin placed eighth.
In 2009, Gwin made the top five at three World Cup races. In 2010, he did even better. The next year, he started breaking World Cup records. In 2011, Gwin won five World Cup downhill events and the overall title. By the end of 2018, Gwin had won a record five World Cup Downhill titles, with a total of 20 race wins. Only Greg Minnaar, who has 22 World Cup downhill wins (and three series titles), has won more men’s World Cup downhill races than Gwin.
Injuries, however, have plagued Gwin over the last few years. They may have kept him from adding to his World Cup win record, but they have also given him more time to plan for his future after his pro racing days are over.
He got married in 2020, and he bought Windrock Bike Park in Tennessee in 2023. A few months ago, he made a deal that made him a co-owner of the Crestline bike company so he could work at turning their already-impressive downhill bikes into even better ones.
AARON GWIN’S CRESTLINE RS 205 VHP
Frame: Crestline RS 205 VHP, carbon fiber
Fork: Fox 40 Factory series
Tires: E*thirteen All-Terrain 27.5×2.4″ rear, e*thirteen Grappler 29×2.5″ front
Tubeless sealant: E*thirteen Tire Plasma
Tire inserts: None
Rims: E*thirteen Grappler Flux DH Carbon
Spokes: Sapim Race
Front hub: E*thirteen Sidekick 32H
Rear axle width: 148mm
Brakes: TRP DH-R EVO, 220mm rotors
Handlebars: Renthal Fatbar, aluminum, 20mm rise, 790mm width
Grips: ODI AG-2
Bottom bracket and bearings: Kogel Ceramic
Pedals: HT X3
Cranks: TRP EVO 7 DH, 165mm
Chainring: TRP EVO 7, 34T
Shifter: TRP EVO 7 DH
Derailleur: TRP EVO 7 DH
Cassette: TRP EVO, 7 11-24T
Saddle: Smanie
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Headset: Works Components -10mm offset
Shock: Fox DHX2
Stem: Renthal Integra, 50mm/0 rise
Carbon or titanium bolts: None
Chain-retention device: E*thirteen LG1 Race
Head angle: 63 degrees
Weight of complete bike: 38.5 pounds
Retail price: $3,649 (frame only)
Extras: “We had space in the frame to add water bottle mounts, as well as mounts for tool storage. Yes, we know this is a DH bike, but we promise this will prove handy on those long days in the bike park, long shuttle days with the crew, or if you decide to repurpose your bike for some burly enduro rides.”
