Bike Check: Rab Wardell's Marathon World Championships Santa Cruz Blur
After setting a FKT (fastest known time) on the West Highland Way in 2020 Rab Wardell realised he still had plenty of potential to ride faster than ever before. in 2021 he returned to Elite level competition since retiring from World Cup racing in 2014 to take on the Marathon World Championships for the first time, in Elba, Italy. For this task and his recent 'Old Enough to Know Better' series Rab equipped himself with a rapid Santa Cruz Blur setup with lightweight RockShox suspension and carbon Reserve wheels with Cushcore inserts. Check out the details on Rab's World Championships ride.
Rab Wardell
Age: 36
Hometown: Glasgow
Height: 178cm / 5'10"
Weight: 64.8kg / 142 lb
Instagram: @rabwardell
Age: 36
Hometown: Glasgow
Height: 178cm / 5'10"
Weight: 64.8kg / 142 lb
Instagram: @rabwardell
 | "The bike really is a lot of fun. I've finished on the podium in a gravel race on it and set some quick times on downhill trails used in the Tweed Valley EWS. I've even flipped it! It's full of surprises and I can't wait to keep pushing the limits on it". |
Santa Cruz Blur Details
Frame: Santa Cruz Blur CC mk4 - Sockeye Sal and Blue colourway, size large
Head Unit: Wahoo Elemnt Roam
Wheels: Reserve 28 XC rims / DTSwiss 350 hubs
Fork: Rockshox Sid SL Ultimate, 100mm, 29"
Shock: RockShox SidLuxe Ultimate with Sram/Rockshox Twistlock
Tyres: Continental Race King 29" x 2.2 ProTection with 60ml Revo Sealant front and rear run @ 17psi front and 17psi rear with Cushcore XC tyre insert
Pedals: Crankbrothers Eggbeater 11
Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 Eagle AXS 12 speed, SRAM XX1 cranks, Quarq power meter, 34t chainring, 10-52 XO1 Eagle Cassette, GX AXS shifter
Brakes: SRAM Level TLM - 160mm rotors front and rear
Seatpost: Fox Transfer SL Performance Elite, 100mm, 31.6mm
Cockpit: Santa Cruz Bicycles Flat Bar cut to 700mm, Syntace Lightforce 70mm stem, Cane Creek 40 IS Integrated headset and Fizik Tempo Argo R1 saddle
Frame: Santa Cruz Blur CC mk4 - Sockeye Sal and Blue colourway, size large
Head Unit: Wahoo Elemnt Roam
Wheels: Reserve 28 XC rims / DTSwiss 350 hubs
Fork: Rockshox Sid SL Ultimate, 100mm, 29"
Shock: RockShox SidLuxe Ultimate with Sram/Rockshox Twistlock
Tyres: Continental Race King 29" x 2.2 ProTection with 60ml Revo Sealant front and rear run @ 17psi front and 17psi rear with Cushcore XC tyre insert
Pedals: Crankbrothers Eggbeater 11
Drivetrain: SRAM XO1 Eagle AXS 12 speed, SRAM XX1 cranks, Quarq power meter, 34t chainring, 10-52 XO1 Eagle Cassette, GX AXS shifter
Brakes: SRAM Level TLM - 160mm rotors front and rear
Seatpost: Fox Transfer SL Performance Elite, 100mm, 31.6mm
Cockpit: Santa Cruz Bicycles Flat Bar cut to 700mm, Syntace Lightforce 70mm stem, Cane Creek 40 IS Integrated headset and Fizik Tempo Argo R1 saddle
Rab is running a RockShox SidLuxe Ultimate rear shock with SRAM/RockShox's Twistlok lockout.
| "I'm a big fan of the twist lock. When I first saw it, it gave me flashbacks of gripshift in the late '90s, but I actually really like it. It works well and it keeps the handlebar clean and uncluttered. I use it all the time and love that it locks front and rear suspension at the same time" |
Kitted out with Continental's Race King 29" x 2.2 ProTection tires, Rab is also running a Cuscore XC insert. Pressures are set at 17psi front and rear with 60ml of Revo Sealant in each tire.
| "As a cross country rider, and one who started racing in the early 2000's it's hard to get my head around adding weight to my bike, especially to the wheels. Running a Cushcore is mint though, the bike feels better with it and I feel more confident on downhills and when cornering. It's slightly heavier but I'm faster with it". |
For his cockpit Rab has paired a 700mm Santa Cruz flat bar with a 70mm Syntace stem. A critical component for his training is his Wahoo Elemnt Roam.
For drivetrain duties Rab has a 34 tooth chainring with a Quark Powermeter and a 10-52 X01 Eagle Cassette.
105 Comments
whats that mean.?
I have weighed this bike in the past, but it wasn't weighed at the marathon world champs. The initial weight when I got the bike was around 22.8lb / 10.3kg, although I'm not 100% sure of the accuracy of the scale. By the time I raced marathon worlds I had added the rear Cushcore, topped up sealant, added another bottle-cage, added a dynaplug racer ultralite and taped a chainlink to my bar. So add 150g for the Cushcore, 38g for the bottle-cage, 14g for the dynaplug, I guess 20g sealant, and I also guess less than 5g for the chainlink? As I say I've not weighed the bike in that setup, but an estimate would be 10.5kg, 23.1lbs?
The reason I didn't share weight in this bike check is that I don't think there is any value to sharing a weight when it's not 100% accurate. Maybe there is something to take that I don't care what the weight is? Or maybe I'm missing something here. I'd rather put effort into optimising my body composition (ie lean muscle mass and low but healthy body fat) and increase my power output than waste time weighing my bike and looking for problems that aren't apparent. At the time of going to the marathon worlds, I was 64.8kg, 8% body fat and my threshold was around 381watts/5.8 w/kg and 5 min power 472watts/7.2 w/kg. Again you can question the accuracy of scale and power meter, but these were personal bests values for me.
I really do love this bike, it feels light and fast. If it didn't then maybe I'd be weighing it and looking for weight savings? Weight is of course a consideration for me, but I tend to choose components and build on how it feels. If I don't have a problem with the bike then I don't look for a solution. I also don't have the resources or time to be testing and changing every component. 15 years ago I was a lot more bothered about the weight of my bike, and I would obsess over what top riders bikes weighed, which in hindsight was a waste of time. I would usually ride a hardtail with lightweight tyres and innertubes etc, and I'd also puncture a lot, which was also a waste of time. I'd even take off the small ring from my chainset to save weight, which is quite frankly ridiculous, especially when you consider the gearing we ride now. I'd also under fuel and overtrain to try and lose weight, again maybe another lesson to be learned here?
These days the riders I know, including me, weigh up performance v weight. Some things are a given for weight saving, like foam grips, high-end components, carbon fibre bars, frame and rims. However, I'm not going to ride some obscure lightweight hubs that wear out after 5 rides in Scotland, or whacky brake rotors that don't stop you for shit. I've been given parts like this in the past and they aren't worth it. There's a reason that brands like Sram and DT have been around forever and are specced on most race-winning bikes. They're tried and tested and they work.
As has been mentioned in these comments, the availability of parts has decided some of the components on the bike, including hubs, shifter and stem. I get my bike from Santa Cruz UK/Jungle, and I have done for the last 7 years. I trust them when it comes to selecting the build of my bike versus cost. If I was in the position to pick and choose parts then I might tweak a couple of things, Chris King or Hope hubs and headset would be pretty fancy, but there's nothing on this bike that I feel I have to change. The DT350s are really good, I don't think I've ever really cared about my headset, and the GX shifter works really well. I actually have an XX1 shifter on another bike. If it was a problem I would change it, but it's not a problem.
As I said in the check the bike rips and I love riding it. I think that's what really matters when choosing your bike. I hope this helps.
Rab
*I'll buy a bike weight scale, and next time I do a check I'll make sure to have an accurate weight for you all. Sorry for not doing this time around.
**WRT to the front brake hose, these photos were taken two days after I pulled the bike out of the box and on the day of racing Glentress7 and it was a real rush to build it around work. I won the race btw, even though some riders may have had more appropriately lengthed brake hoses. I still haven't cut the brake hose.
***I'm not scared to wear lycra, but I didn't choose these photos either
I have the new Blur and absolutely love it. Thoughts on Continental Race Kings vs the Aspens that come stock? Do you lose much going down to 2.2 from the 2.4" Aspens? Seems like a grippier tread pattern than the Aspens and saves a bit on weight.
Thanks again!
Thanks very much for taking the time to reply here.
I've recently gotten a Blur like yours (C carbon, not CC), also a large, and it's the TR version so 120/115mm travel. I'm going to try your Race King/rear insert combo this Spring, as I love that tire for racing but I tend to destroy them on the rear (I'm around 155-160 lbs). Has this setup helped preserve the tire in rocky terrain? Last race I ran them, I killed the rear tire on literally the only rocky part of the lap...
Thinking of picking up the SID SL Ultimate and SIDLuxe combo from a friend's Blur XC to use for race season (I like the longer travel setup for marathon and general training).
It comes with the Twistloc, like your setup... which ESI foam grip diameter did you choose? It looks like a great match for the Twistloc diameter.
Also, what crankarm length do you run? I'm about 0.5-1" shorter than you, and LOVE my 170mm cranks now that I've acclimated. Just curious.
I actually had to go and check my bike for crank length. The cranks are 175mm. I ride different length cranks on different bikes and can't say I ever really notice a difference.
For reference, I lost around 60 seconds over 6 minutes to the front runners at the marathon world champs on the opening climb, which was crazy steep. I had a mechanical in the race, but think I'd have been about 40-45 minutes behind Andreas Seewald who won. In my defence, I was conservative on the opening climb because I didn't know how I'd hold up over 6+ hours. I'm also an amateur rider with a day job. Keegan Swensen deserves a shout out I think as the fastest up the climb that day, going from behind me on the start line to the top 10. Very, very impressive!
I used RaceKings on my old 26" hardtail, they were decent. Might give it a go once again on my 20er.
Good luck Rab in your future races
I believe 2.2 with insert at 17psi is appropriate for 142lbs rider.
I am 176lbs and run 22 at the front and 24 on the back for 29"x2,6 Super Gravity tires, no inserts. Heavy as fuq Enduro ofc...
Basically, he'll get a bit worse bottom end (32->34:52), for climbs, but a bit more top end speed.
My 130mm trail hardtail has 750mm bars. Perfect for me amongst the trees.
Give it time. You’ll be old enough before you know it.
please.
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