Santa Cruz's New Blur XC Bike - Review

Construction and Features

Let's talk about the previous Blur platforms before we get to the new one, just for a bit of perspective. The first time Santa Cruz used the Blur name was on a 115mm-travel, aluminum model that debuted in 2002 and lived until 2005. Back then, this was a sort of cross-country / trail bike machine that still had V-brake mounts, a max fork travel of 100mm, and a 70.5 to 71.5-degree head angle. Reach? Who knows - that wasn't a thing back then, but I bet it was short.

We'd probably think it was scary if we rode it now but, as I said above, we all had lower expectations for this genre back in the early 2000s. The LT1, with 135mm, was next and it was around from 2005 to 2007, and we can't forget the spunky Blur 4X that was one of their earliest off-the-shelf short-travel hoonigan rigs. That thing is legendary.




The next version saw some updates, but it wasn't until 2008 that Santa Cruz completely re-worked the Blur from a cross-country bike to a 140mm-travel, burlier trail machine. The Blur LT2 was still aluminum, but a carbon version, the LT2C, was debuted in 2009 that stuck around until 2013. There was also the racy Blur XC2, with 105mm, which lived from 2009 to 2013.

The 29'' wheeled and 27.5+ compatible Tallboy of today, with 110mm of travel, also plays a part in the story, but that machine is more of a quick trail bike than a cross-country weapon.




Santa Cruz needed a bike for those FTP-knowing, suffer-seeking cross-country types, and that brings us to the all-new Blur.

The carbon CC-level frame, which is said to weigh 2,060 grams with all its ancillary bits, looks every bit the Santa Cruz that it is, with a rear triangle attached to the front via its two short VPP links, and the shock mounted to the underside of the top tube. But while the old Blurs (and the current Tallboy) forgo a vertical carbon element on the drive-side of their rear triangles, the lighter weight Blur sees that treatment on both sides, presumably to increase rigidity.




It's also not compatible with front derailleurs which, at the risk of pissing off those clinging to the past, makes a ton of sense for a bike of the Blur's intentions. If you need two chainrings, this ain't the type of bike for you. There are two bottle cage mounts, with enough room inside the front triangle for the largest of large bottles, and the second being on the underside of the downtube.

Cables and hoses go inside the frame, including the one for a dropper post if you're not a crazy person and choose to install one, and in typical Santa Cruz-ness, the bottom bracket shell has threads in it. What else... Boost spacing out back, and there's a bolt-on downtube guard to keep rocks from making speed holes in your expensive frame.





You can get the new Blur in small, medium, large (tested), and extra-large sizes, and Santa Cruz says that the fancypants XX1 Reserve version comes in at a more than reasonable 21.9lb. My test bike, which came with the slightly wider Reserve 27 wheels and X01 Eagle running gear, weighed 22.4lb on my scale, which is also damn reasonable. That's with the stock and very light Syntace straight post and Santa Cruz handlebar, and sans pedals, but still, I'm impressed.

The other number that you'll want to know is the price: This Blur 3 CC X01 Reserve test bike goes for a not paltry $7,599 USD. That's with the high-end carbon frame, Santa Cruz's own carbon wheels, and all the things, don't forget. There are six complete bikes to choose from, with the $8,999 USD XX1 Reserve version sitting at the top of the list, but you can also get on a base-level Blur for $3,699 USD. That sum gets you the slightly heavier C frame and the R build kit, or you can pick up a Blur 3 CC frame (with a Fox Float Factory shock) for $2,999 USD.

Geometry and Sizing

The way to make a new-school cross-country bike fun isn't exactly a secret: a big part of it is to simply choose numbers that don't include a 2000s era 90-degree head angle and a tight reach or wheelbase. Santa Cruz's 27.5+ compatible Tallboy sports just 10mm more travel out back (and 120 or 130mm in stock form up front, but people often waaaaay over-fork that bike) and also rolls on 29'' wheels, so let's compare their more trail-oriented 29er to the new Blur.


The Blur, on the other hand, is simply not that type of rig; it's a cross-country bike that, as you'll read about below, feels stout and ready for some relative rowdiness, but it doesn't possess the Tallboy's versatility. Hey, you need to specialize in your trade if you want to be good at it, right?

Suspension Design


The lower link is captured within the front triangle and swingarm, and the shock is driven off up the upper link rather than the swingarm itself. The whole thing delivers a very cross-country focused 100mm of travel.

Test Bike Setup

The bike was still very much a cross-country whippet after those changes, but it better suited my style of riding that's equal parts FTP and FUN. It also went up from the 22.4lb of the stock build to 24.4lb.

Climbing

I'm not sure if I'm going to tell you anything about how the Blur climbs that you probably don't expect to know already, but let's go through the motions anyway. Is it efficient? It's a 100mm-travel race bike, so yeah, it's really freakin' efficient. So much so, in fact, that the Fox shock's remote lockout was kinda useless to me, even in a race setting with a ton of gravel roads. Pushing the go-button on the remote does drastically firm the Blur's rear end up when you're giving the bike the ol' stationary squish test, but the short-travel VPP system essentially doesn't activate under pedaling loads anyway.

So push the button if you want, maybe during your finish line sprint for 17th place in the local expert class, but I pretty much forgot it was even there.

The Blur's geometry really worked well for me during long days in the saddle and during climbs that felt like they lasted the whole damn day, too. The large's 460mm reach is roomy but not overboard, and it paired well with the shorter-than-stock stem that I installed. It used to be that putting a stubby stem on a bike would pretty much wreck its serious climbing abilities, but that's no longer the case. Nowadays, you can pop a shorty on a bike like the Blur and it doesn't turn into a wheelie machine that requires you to put your face onto the handlebar to get up and around something tricky.

Technical climbing on the bike was a joy... Er, as much of a ''joy'' as that task can sometimes be, but it certainly wasn't a handful, even relative to other cross-country bikes that I've spent loads of time on. The 69-degree front end (slacker with the 120mm fork) can be easily guided up and around the tightest of switchbacks at any speed, but I did have to pay a bit more attention than I did when on the Scalpel or Element. It's not lazy - not even close - just a bit less pointy in the ultra-jank that I've been told no one really likes to ride anyway. That said, I'm a chronic jank-er, and I gelled with the Blur's handling just fine.

Descending

So, does having excellent climbing manners have to equal sketchy descending manners? It used to, but bikes like the Blur are challenging that notion. Sure, it's every bit a cross-country bike, but there were many times when I'd get to the bottom of a fast, fun descent and think: ''Huh, I didn't once feel like I was about to die, and I enjoyed that more than I would have on a long-travel bike.'' You can certainly get reminded of the type of machine you're on, but that can happen when you're on any bike that's not in its ideal setting.

A big part of the Blur's relatively strong descending abilities is how solid it comes across; there's no strange chattering of the back end when you're cornering over rough ground, and the bike doesn't feel like it's 'winding up' when you slam it into a berm or get it in an awkward situation. If I'm honest, I've never been one to get too excited about rigidity - just as long as the back end stays behind me - but there's something to be said for a lightweight package that doesn't make you think of toilet paper rolls held together with not enough LePage glue.

The bike's solid feeling ride really lets you get into a good descent, and while 69-degrees might sound steep AF to the enduro crew, I'd describe the handling as being more responsive than nervous. With the stock 100mm-travel Fox fork, you definitely need to keep from getting too cocky and up over the bike's front end or it can quickly go from carving to wanting to knife, but it's surprising how hard you can push until it finally gets to that point. There's a sense of stability to it that not many quick handling, short-travel bikes can brag about.




And it's the Blur's relative surefootedness that impressed me most. All cross-country bikes have a snappy, fun personality that's really just a byproduct of their sharp geometry and low weight, but point them down some nastiness and even me, a big proponent of little bikes, can admit that they can feel nervous and loose. The Blur, however, felt more planted, more composed in those settings. Of course, it's still a sharp steering machine, so you can get a good scare if you're in over your head, but there were times when the bike was less of a cross-country whippet than you might expect.

The un-cross-country-like traction and solidness will really let you be a goon on this thing; you know, if you're into that sort of stuff. Unlike some race bikes that seem to scream "JUST PEDAL, YOU TOOL" while you want to have fun, the Blur says to you, ''Hey, you want to pop over that lil' bump and slash the next corner? Me too, hombre, me too.'' So that's what you do because that's what you should do, regardless of if you're smashed from your silly intervals or not.


All those kind words don't mean that Santa Cruz has struck some sort of mythical do-it-all-ness with the Blur. It's a light, efficient package that you can ride the socks off of, but the 100mm-travel Step-Cast fork will remind you that there's a difference between a trail bike and a cross-country bike, as will the quick handling. That brings me to my only real issue with the Blur: It's such a fun-loving little bike that I often found myself a little too sideways, or going a little too fast, for what I was riding. As you might expect, that can end badly, but I'd call that rider error before actually laying the blame on the bike.

Technical Report

Reserve 27 Wheels: These are Santa Cruz's middle of the road wheels as far as width goes, with a 27mm internal width that's 2mm wider than their lighter weight option (can you guess what those are called?). The rims weigh a claimed 455-grams, and the set, with DT Swiss' DT350 Boost hubs, is 1,755-grams. Not exactly super racy, but not hefty, either. More importantly, they didn't crack despite me being an absolute idiot while using them. It turns out that Israeli desert singletrack can be full of all sorts of rocks and square edges, and jumping blindly into washes isn't the best idea. I did get a flat and knocked the rear wheel out of true a touch, and a giant pointy rock went through a spoke (can't blame the spoke) when I cut off the trail to pass a rolling roadblock of cross-country racers on a rowdy descent, but the rims themselves are scar-free.

SRAM Level TLM Brakes: I'm a fan of how controllable SRAM brakes are, and the Level TLMs performed flawlessly during my time on the Blur. More than enough power despite the small rotors, a ton of modulation, and they didn't make a peep of noise, either.




Eagle X01 Drivetrain: I don't think anyone needs 12-speeds, and most riders that I know don't need a cog the size of a pie plate, but I can't argue that this stuff works really, really well. Shifting was bang-on without any tinkering required, and I didn't drop a chain once. I only used the 50-tooth cog when the bike was on the work stand while I was building it, but hey, it's there if you feel you need it.

Is this the bike for you?

The Blur is interesting because while it's made to be a lightweight cross-country race bike, it's more capable and fun than you might think. That doesn't make it a trail bike, however - the Tallboy fills that role - but it does mean that it might be an option for you if you race on the weekends but ride some proper trails when the clock isn't ticking. It'll do just fine if you're an old-school racer who just wants his stem to be as long as his fork travel, but there are other bikes out there if you're that kinda cat.

Pinkbike's Take

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Reviews and Tech Reviews XC Bikes Santa Cruz Bicycles Santa Cruz Blur