Bike Check: Keegan Swenson's Downieville-Winning Santa Cruz Blur TR

Jul 17, 2023 at 11:47
by Dario DiGiulio  

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BIKE CHECK
Keegan Swenson's
Santa Cruz Blur TR
Photography and Words by Dario DiGiulio

Keegan Swenson has been on an absolute tear recently, with an impressive run of gravel and endurance event wins racked up over this season. While definitely not a drop bar race, the Downieville Classic seemed right up his alley, so the Utah native made his way to the Sierra to try his hand at the All-Mountain World Championships. For those uninitiated, Downieville's unique format forces riders to race both the XC and the DH on the exact same bike setup for a combined all-mountain title, which makes for some equally unique builds.

Turns out his momentum was plenty strong coming into the weekend; Keegan took 1st in the Cross Country and 3rd in the Downhill for a 1st place overall All-Mountain finish. With a seriously competitive field this year, that's a very impressive performance for someone who hasn't recently been focused on mountain bike racing.

The self-proclaimed Gravel Goblin's background in drop-bar and endurance racing comes through in his Santa Cruz Blur build - this bike is anything but a stock setup.
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Keegan Swenson // Santa Cruz htSQD
Age: 29
Hometown: Park City, UT
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 145 lbs.
Instagram: @keegels99

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110 out, 690 wide.
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Slammed.

The cockpit on this bike immediately stands out, as it looks like it's suited more to a 90s XC rig than a modern-day race machine. Keegan is running a 110mm stem with -17° rise, with a 690mm flat carbon handlebar. He said this setup is meant to get the bike fit to feel as similar to his gravel setup as possible, hence the long, low, and narrow front end. While I'm pretty sure I'd die on the first corner with this cockpit, it seemed to suit him quite well.

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Rekon Race rear.
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Rekon front.

Tire choice was similarly racy, with the Maxxis Rekon/Rekon Race combo keeping rolling resistance to a minimum. Some folks went as extreme as to run Aspens front and rear, but to me the Rekon combo is about as slick as one would want while still retaining some grip.

Keegan is running the EXO-casing tires with Tannus inserts front and rear, which allows him to run some seriously low pressures. 18psi front and 19psi rear, to be precise.

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Brake lever = second hand position.
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HS2 rotors are heavier, but definitely improve performance.

On the rare occasion he decides to slow down, the SRAM Level Ultimates are there to scrub some speed. A 160mm rear rotor and 180mm front are just enough for Downieville's sustained descents.

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RockShox Blackbox suspension front and rear.
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Remote lockout for the smooth sprints.

Swenson is SRAM/RockShox athlete, so fittingly he's on some under-wraps XC suspension that we don't yet know too much about. Safe to say it's SID setup of some sort, and clearly has a twist-grip lockout for the front and rear. He was able to divulge his settings, but don't go blindly copying them and thinking they'll work for your setup.

In the 120mm fork he's running 78psi with 2 volume tokens, and the shock is pumped up to 160psi, giving him about 35-40% sag when the lockout is open.

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SRAM's XX SL Transmission, slightly modified.
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AXS Blips for shifting in the tuck position.

The SRAM Transmission drivetrain is a standard XX SL affair, save for one detail. Keegan and his mechanic opted to swap out the carbon derailleur cage for the XX variant's aluminum one, hoping to increase durability should one of Downieville's many rocks smack the mech in the right spot.

In addition to dual AXS Pods, Keegan is running SRAM's little Blip shifters, which add additional shift positions that accompany his aero-tuck hand placement.

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Downieville's no-modification rule makes getting bike weights nice and easy.
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This dog was a fan of the build.

Keegan's Blur TR proved to be quite the unique beast, from the wild cockpit setup to the finer details like the ready-to-rip tire plugs. It doesn't just look fast, as he managed to put down some seriously insane times out on the very hot course this weekend. Keep an eye out for this speedy little bike at some events later this summer.

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126 Comments
  • 147 3
 Just changed my fork pressure to 78psi and my shock to 160 psi. My bike is 160mm/137mm front/rear and I am running Fox suspension but if he won Downieville with those settings I think it will work perfectly for me.
  • 21 1
 That makes sense, this should work great for you!
  • 12 0
 You will need a nice long, negative rise stem to get the most out of that set up.
  • 4 0
 Running the same settings on my crit bike for next week's race.
  • 47 0
 @dariodigiulio Congrats on your 3rd place finish in the Under 30 Expert class.
  • 3 1
 team Pizzarrhea lookin good
  • 8 0
 Happy to perform well for Team Pizzarrhea

thanks @Three6ty !
  • 41 3
 That's an awful lot of sag for a small travel bike.
  • 4 2
 I was going to say the same thing
  • 19 0
 @agnostic:

That lockout is putting in work.

The shock also must be really progressive, otherwise I'd think he'd be bottoming out all over the place.
  • 53 0
 Unpopular opinion; with shorter travel bikes using air sprung suspension, you can either tune small chatter (maximize grip), medium sized chunk (track through rocks/roots/etc) or big hits (slopestyle/slalom/etc). Trying to get suspension do all three well when you have ~110mm leaves for a lot of compromise. Tune for grip, comfort and efficiency. Let the body take the odd big hit here and there like the inner BMX beast we all wish we were.
  • 15 0
 35%+ sag on the SID shock is the way to go because when it gets hot, which it easily does, the air expands and you find yourself closer to 28-30% sag.
  • 5 0
 @JeffreyJim: I don’t think that’s an unpopular opinion at all!
  • 4 0
 @bigbrett: apparently not! It seems the XC purists I know go as firm as they can stand on their suspension for "efficiency".

Once we figured out how antisquat effected pedaling performance & included fairly seamless bar mounted lockouts this always felt like an unnecessary carry over from yesteryear.
  • 2 0
 @JeffreyJim: Shhhh! Don't take away their beloved suffering.
  • 1 1
 @JeffreyJim: This guy hucks!
  • 27 0
 The DH place is especially impressive given that crazy stem and sketch front tire!! Just scary to look at.
  • 21 0
 I raced on a trail bike. It’s more of a Super D, but pretty rowdy in sections. Would have been scared shitless on this setup. And to be so close to Blevins, who is among the best pro XC descenders. All the more impressive.
  • 11 3
 @norcalbike: I think people forget how good Keegan is on a mountain bike with how dominant he’s been in gravel lately. Dude could outside any DH or enduro dude on PB.
  • 36 13
 @briceps: people like to bag on XC racers, roadies, especially MVDP after his Olympics crash. These dudes would smoke any pinkbiker and a large portion of an EWS or World Cup DH field if they decided to go that way. I’d love to see Blevins on a big bike someday.
  • 14 0
 Major props to anyone who raced this weekend on a tire set up like his. D'ville is notorious for chewing up tires.
  • 2 1
 @Skippy24: I raced an orbea oiz tr with a vittoria mezcal with an insert in the rear and a vittoria syerra in the front, which is simillar to the tire setup keegan raced. Tho that cockpit is crazy. I had a 60mm stem with 20mm rise bars cut down to 720.
  • 18 0
 Wouldn't exactly classify the front Rekon as "sketch", it's a pretty standard light trail tire
  • 19 3
 @norcalbike: The top XC guys have better bike skills than they get credit for but c'mon dude MVDP or the like would not smoke a large portion of the EWS and DH field if they raced it. No chance theyd even qualify for a World Cup and theyd tell you that.
  • 10 0
 Would the setup rules allow the stem to be flipped the other way up for the DH? It's still all the same components, after all
  • 6 0
 @norcalbike: We're getting way ahead of ourselves here. XC pros have underrated descending skills absolutely, XC pros beating most of the WCDH field in a proper DH race absolutely not
  • 7 0
 Would they beat pros? Probably. Would they top the leaderboard? Unlikely.

A lot of XC racers train on a specific setup to get comfortable on that setup. They don't bounce around between bikes. Swenson even admits this with his trying to replicate his gravel setup. It's just where he's comfortable. If he swapped to another, more traditional setup of wide bars and short stem, he might have actually been slower because it wasn't where he was comfortable.

It would likely take a Pro XC rider a few EWS or DH races just to get comfortable with the bikes, with the strategy, with the risk, etc. So far at least, we haven't really seen a top rider from XC/Gravel transition over to EWS or DH. Ravanell might be one of the few who did it successfully. I think Clementz also came from an XC background, but neither was immediately at the top of the leaderboard.

Pidcock on the other hand is a real threat in XC, but I think that's because WCXC isn't all the different from Cyclocross and the fitness necessary for road. Would he dominate in EWS? Doubtful. Would he raise some eyebrows? Probably.
  • 1 0
 @PHeller: I personally think they'd do great at EWS events since fitness is so key and the riding is soooort of similar, but WC DH is a whole different beast.
  • 3 1
 @briceps: It's worth noting that Jared Grave has raced XC and road events and usually placed pretty well. In 2021 he raced Australian XCO Nats and placed 2nd in Elite. So it's not like the EWS guys aren't training at a level similar to XC riders.
  • 1 0
 @PHeller: I think he's won the national title in XC? Maybe it was only short track and he podiumed in XCO but yup Graves is an absolute beast, as are a huge portion of EWS guys. From what I've seen out of pro EWS guys training though, their volume is pretty similar to top EWS guys but the amount of structure is definitely less (although still plenty) but it's hard to compare since training varies so much between the top guys. It was wild to see how well Remi did at BC bike race, especially considering how much heavier he is.
  • 3 0
 @PHeller: exactly. I’m not saying these guys are going to be a threat to Goldstone or Bruni, but Blevins could absolutely be mid pack or higher in a pro enduro or DH field
  • 1 0
 @norcalbike: if they get used to the bikes then yes. Cuz riding an enduro or dh bike is sooo different than and xc bike. Turning is different, balance, and just getting rid of the fear of letting the brakes go and letting the bikes eat it up.
  • 2 0
 @Arierep: I know, right? Where I live it's pedal all the time, no gravity-fed speed available. I don't like feeling the resistance a beefy tire delivers, so it's fast rolling trial tires FTW.
  • 16 0
 SRAM if you are reading this my AXS dropper has the same amount of below-collar post exposed as Keegan's except I ride enduro. It would be nice to have some more travel, like 200+mm. Thx.
  • 3 1
 I have a 170mm post on an xl element. On my friends medium with a 125mm dropper we have the same collar position. I need a 220mm min. Caught my back pocket with my seat in vernon and ripped my shorts. Luckily had some chamois under but i ended up wearing my shorta backwards the rest of the ride haha.
  • 5 1
 I read somewhere that the reason for no 170mm + reverb axs dropper (atleast this generation) is that the battery pod and such is just too big and the post needs to have a minimum insertion or else it rubs on tires, on full compressions. It would not work well with a big travel dropper that's slammed in the frame...
  • 2 0
 Is your seat tube the same length? Because that could also be related. Thx
  • 1 0
 @tgr9: have a friend that has knocked his battery out several times because of the tire buzz. Has to tape the battery on now.
  • 1 0
 @solarplex: I’m 5’7 and can run a 210mm oneup dropper with plenty of room to spare in a Norco Optic. It bottoms out in the frame about 25mm below my pedaling height. Pretty nice to have the saddle that far out of the way!
  • 1 0
 @tgr9: is it a dumb idea for them to put the battery on the front of the post? Seems like the aesthetics of it looking like a scrotum are the only reason not to...
  • 1 0
 @ohio:

Seth had to do just that just so he could use his AXS dropper post:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2o4vd9RFf4
  • 13 0
 Love the duel wielding tire jabs with bacon strips
  • 10 0
 Downieville has been won on XC and enduro rigs. Tire choice has ultimately been the most important factor. Shout out to Mark Weir and Jason Moeschler for elevating this race to a scientific discipline.
  • 12 0
 Shoutout to Old Man Kabush with a 4th place overall! He's got 20 years on Blevins!
  • 11 0
 KS is an Impressive force, that's for sure
  • 11 1
 Nobody batting an eye at 35-40% sag. Really?
  • 2 0
 I am. Whoa.
  • 7 1
 Personally been bummed Keegan is pretty much only doing gravel races now. I get it, that’s where the money is but it’s so much more fun to follow him racing something like the Breck Epic.
  • 15 0
 To be fair, he did Cape epic this year, Whiskey Off Road, Sea Otter, and his local UCI XCO event, now Downieville. More gravel than before to be sure but MTB still pretty prevalent. I can't tell whether I'm disappointed he's not going up against better competition more or whether it's a good thing in the long run that he's raising the profile of US off road racing.
  • 5 0
 @Mannra: Yes, I'm the same. However, he's a professional and does what pays the most - so can't really blame him. Why do the World Cups to start miles back and get little money for it?
  • 2 0
 I wish he was in the Tour!
  • 2 0
 He has said in interviews that endurance races suit him more. So, perhaps it pays better to race a discipline you win.
  • 1 0
 @Slope-Style - Is gravel really where the money is or is he just early to the new "thing"? It seems road biking brings in more money than mtb, so is gravel getting money from from the roadies?
  • 2 0
 I think it highlights the divide between UCI and other race series. If you are competitive in UCI XCC and XCO, it's hard to also be at the pointy end of 6 hour backcountry races. Keegan seems to like the latter, and clearly has the fitness profile for it!
  • 1 0
 @motts: As gravel events attract pro roadies, it opens the doors to non-roadies, like Marathon and Endurance event racers to compete in events with Pro Tour level of exposure and prizes, without traveling to Europe.
  • 3 0
 @motts: he could likely earn himself a spot on a world tour team making 100k or so, but I think that is even a bit high for the average domestique. There is little to no money in US Continental pro road racing. He's on track to win the lifetime grand prix which will net him 25k, and I would guess he's making an extra 100k at least with personal sponsorships. Outside of a few select riders (Pidcock, WVA) I think personal sponsorships are much harder to come by in the World Tour. The industry is investing hard in gravel and everyone would want a piece of him right now.
  • 2 0
 @motts: LifeTime Grand Prix has a total prize purse of $250,000. Keegan will win the overall again this year. That’s a decent bonus on top of his salary from Santa Cruz, Rapha, SRAM, etc. But he also gets to do what he wants, set his own schedule, live at home etc. I suspect he had offers to join a World Tour team, but being a domestique means being on the road constantly and working for your GC contender. I’m sure the pay is decent, but it looks like a tough life. Keegan gets to make a good living doing what he wants to.
  • 3 0
 Was talking to a race promotor the other day and he said gravel is the only game in town if you want to make money as a race promoter. Event attendance is dropping for both mtb and road in the US.
  • 3 0
 @Austin014: I don't remember where I heard this (probably the old cyclingtips podcast but idk), but it was mentioned that Keegan would be taking a big pay cut if he went to the World Tour (at least initially). He practically has the Lifetime prize purse on lock, and has loads of individual sponsorship deals he'd have to give up if he went to a road team. Can't get that Santa Cruz/Rapha/Blenders/Neversecond/Monster/etc money if your world tour team already has sponsors for bikes, apparel, nutrition, etc.

But he definitely has the numbers to go to the world tour. He got invited to road worlds last year.
  • 1 0
 @bkm303: exactly. Without a team managing all those deals for themselves he is free to coordinate his own package for the season, and can command a pretty high price.
  • 4 0
 Them: "The race format combines XC and DH segments to make for an all-mountain style format, with bike setups following suit."

Me: Sweet, my kind of bike race! I bet the bikes look normal!

Swenson: "I'm running 100mm stem and 690mm bars."

Me: Nvm.
  • 4 0
 I'm really here for all this non-XC world cup race coverage. I think the courses and formats put on by a lot of these non-world cup big XC races are a lot more interesting than a lot of WC venues (e.g., notable exception to MSA XC).
  • 7 0
 Love the ready to serve bacon!
  • 8 1
 @dariodigiulio frame size M or L?
  • 3 0
 is the shifter 'pod' that is mounted on the left hand side of the bars for the dropper? Hard to see - but I think I did still see the conventional axs dropper switch mounted as well
  • 3 1
 Seems to be the thing they are doing. Ninos is one as well but he has a black box flight attendant that im wondering if the pod controls the dropper and the suspension
  • 1 0
 I heard from other pros using both buttons for the dropper for now. Kinda sus move from Sram to not have a new dedicated "Dropper Pod", so I think we will see it being used for suspension, or maybe to scroll through pages on your hammerhead...? ‍
  • 1 0
 @shreditlikeitshot: Curious, is the consensus that the new 'pod' shape works/fits better vs the old axs shifter pod. I have the old one with the updated rocker button. This new one looks very different
  • 1 0
 @Mermar: if anything consensus seems to be that the old pods work better? Or at least every transmission review seems to say something along the lines "we'll see if I can get used to the pods, not sure about them yet"
  • 5 0
 I want my all mountain bike fit and feel as similar to my gravel bike as possible. Never heard that one before.
  • 7 0
 Think John Tomac, circa 1991.
  • 5 0
 Great stuff. Thanks PB. Hoping for even more bike checks from Downieville.
  • 5 0
 Who's the pro, him or us?
  • 5 0
 Him.
  • 6 1
 @VtVolk: exactly. And a damn good pro, brother. Funny to watch ppl rip on his rig.
  • 5 5
 My last bike was a 2015 SC Tallboy- 100/120mm travel. This thing looks like a rebranded version of it!
I ran a lot of sag at both ends, but my volume spacer count was kinda high. 6 spacers in the fork, then I epoxied the last one to the brim.. With a hole in the center to move air.
That kinda made low travel feel like more, and gave good weight transfer to the front wheel.
  • 9 2
 No. Blur is single pivot w/ flexstays, not a VPP bike. New shocks & forks do not require nearly as many spacers as before either. I've ridden both bikes and only thing they have in common is 29" wheels.
  • 6 0
 @powturn:
..sorry
  • 1 0
 Tech question: can you only run wireless blips on new transmission? I have a AXS reverb I would love to use a blip for to remove another large lever from the bar. Also why is his left Axs reverb a two button design?
  • 5 0
 Any axs controller can be used for any axs dropper/derr. So pods work with the old stuff and the old dropper lever and shifters work with the new stuff
  • 1 0
 For people surprised by the weight, it's probably 12.36kg as raced. So pedals, cages, and anything else on the bike like tools or water bottles. IDK how else you get a CC Blur to 12 kilos...
  • 3 0
 They picked him to win and he did just that.
  • 3 0
 Very similar to Tobin's set up.
  • 4 1
 Message: Photo is private... WHAT??
  • 1 1
 right-click...."open in new tab"....get big pic.
  • 4 1
 The bike needs more cables, not impressed
  • 3 0
 690 bars 110 stem. gee. how did he ever descend without combusting. /s
  • 1 1
 I was there..the yuba was fine for the river jump..they blew it..gota play safe.. safeguard.safety .. meanwhile this guy is hurtling himself down butcher with 90 geo..yeah baby
  • 2 1
 No debating that the guy is super fast. But isn't 27.22 lbs pretty heavy for a 115mm/120mm travel rig?
  • 1 0
 Dude that's in lbs... (jk)
  • 9 2
 That’s the actual weight of everything, including pedals, water bottle, tire inserts, etc. everything you see on the bike is weighed. Bike reviews never include pedals or accessories.
  • 2 0
 @Saidrick: Yeah, I guess with the tire inserts because they need to avoid any flats on the long downhills at Downieville. I have ridden Downieville a few times and I have gotten a few rear flats there.
  • 2 0
 also seems high to me ... I don't get it.

FYI - 'official' bike weight should be with pedals, bottle holders, etc. = as ridden ... at least per the UCI for their 6.8kg limit.
  • 2 0
 @Saidrick: it didn't include water bottles. Or at least they took mine off when weighing my bike. Everything else? Yes. (Tools, pedals...)
  • 2 0
 Large dropper, Transmission w/ powermeter, inserts, and trail tires.
  • 5 0
 The scale at the Saturday weigh in was reading heavy. I knew exactly what my bike weighed before it went on the scale and I knew I instantly their number was off but figured it didn't matter as long as the tech folks were consistent with the scales. On the Sunday weigh in everyone's bike lost about .3kg- but that seemed to be across the board and what they are really trying to prevent is bikes getting heavier after the xc race. So really his bike was 26 and change. Still 2 lbs heavier than my bike, which had a pump, multi tool and CushCore xc inserts front and rear. Its possible he also weighed it with a full bottle, I saw several people weigh with water bottles and gels taped to their top tubes. Doesn't matter, as long as its the same both days. But honestly the tech inspection was loosey goosey, fortunately I think most competitors were honest and honoring the rules.
  • 2 0
 @jfog52: Interesting insider information. What are the regulations on bike weight?
  • 1 0
 @tacklingdummy: it just has to be the same both days (can't race day 1 on xc tires and then have beefy tires (or a totally different bike) for the DH)
  • 1 0
 @sdurant12: But can you change the bike configuration if it weighs the exact same? So, swap xc tires for enduro tires another day if you take off weight somewhere else and the bike weighs the exact same?
  • 1 0
 Took me a moment and a close look to realise that the doggo is licking its nose!
  • 2 1
 Proof that a bike doesn’t have to look nice to be a ripper with the right racer on it.
  • 2 0
 New bike segment: downgravel
  • 2 2
 What is meant by the 'no modification rule' is that after rider check-in the night before?
  • 2 0
 Traditionally they weigh your bike at the beginning of each stage. The weight has to match.
  • 2 0
 super cool!
  • 2 2
 A bike check and you don't even tell us what size chain ring he's running? Lame. Blevins was using a 38t for reference
  • 1 0
 Jeeebus! Check out his legs in that last pic...."yeah, he must workout"
  • 1 0
 12.36 kg? looking at the setup it looks lighter than that...
  • 1 0
 Is that a size large or medium frame?
  • 1 0
 looks medium to me (I have a medium)
  • 1 0
 Blurring the lines between XC and Gravel
  • 1 0
 5'10 140 aye carumba.... my taco and pizza habits are too strong
  • 1 2
 What are the blue things on the cables? Are they saying those are shifters?!
  • 5 0
 They're tire plugs held on w/ what looks like painter's tape (to make 'em easy to tear off). The blips are on the bottom of the bars under the handlebar tape close the stem.
  • 4 0
 @dolface: ohhh now I see it all clearly. Thank you for helping me. I was going crazy for a second
  • 1 0
 Looks Epic
  • 6 0
 no, it's actually a Blur \s
  • 1 2
 That's one seriously cool lookin rig.
  • 6 8
 That King headset bothers me!
  • 6 2
 Right! straighten that shit out
  • 2 4
 When OCDistanians get triggered (butthurt)...
  • 4 0
 @AppleJack76: The best part is how easily the offended are offended at the offensive, lmao.. OCD rules of engagement Wink
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