Santa Cruz's XC race machine gets an update for 2021
With the new Santa Cruz Blur and Juliana's Wilder, the brand has tapped into years of extensive full-suspension bike design experience to create the lightest Blur (and Wilder) ever made. There are two Blur kits available, one XC monster and one that's more, dare I say it, down-country. Here's everything you need to know.
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Let's start off with the Blur. Against the previous iteration, it's said that this new model sheds 289g. The brand has gone so far as to say that the Dark Matter paint finish saves 48g over the Salmon colour in the M/L size. Also, it may go without saying but the Blur is a 29er.
Santa Cruz has achieved this by making use of flex stays, making the most of carbon's natural flex. Taking this route has meant that the brand has been able to ditch a handful of pivots and extra hardware. The brand calls this 'Superlight Suspension Tech'.
Something that will please marathon racers, there's space for two bottle cages inside of the frame.
As touched upon, the Blur comes in two kits, the XC and the TR. The former gets 100mm of squish at both the front and rear, light Maxxis Aspen tyres, a remote suspension lockout and a RockShox SidLuxe paired with a Sid SL. The latter gets a boost in travel to 120mm up front and 115 at the rear, beefier Maxxis Rekon tyres, a full-height dropper post, bigger brake rotors and a Fox 34 Stepcast fork.
With the Blur, Santa Cruz has scaled its geometry from size to size, meaning that every rider will get the same balanced geometry and bike fit, says the brand. Each size gets its own chainstay length and seat tube angles in the pursuit of a uniform fit and ride. The bike also gets a shorter stem (60mm) in favour of a longer reach.
The XC kit is sorted with a 470mm reach, a 68.3° head tube angle and a 75.8° seat tube angle, with a 435mm chainstay on a large frame. A small frame (for example) gets a 76.5° seat tube angle and a 430mm chainstay.
Now, onto the Wilder. It also rolls on 29" wheels and just like the Blur, it gets that fancy Superlight suspension tech but setting itself apart from its Santa Cruz sibling, it only comes with 120mm of travel up front, and 115mm at the rear.
Its suspension is also specially tuned towards lighter riders and it comes in three sizes, from S to L.
Just like the Blur, the Wilder's chainstay and seat angle is scaled from size to size. A large gets a 458mm reach, a 67.1° head tube angle with a 74.9° seat tube angle and a 436mm chainstay.
A small, on the other hand, comes with a 412mm reach, a 75.1° seat tube angle and a 431mm chainstay.
With the two models, the Blur comes in a whopping 14 build options with prices starting at £4,500 for the Blur C R TR which gets a RockShox Sid RL fork, Fox Float Performance DPS shock and SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain. There's also a frame only build which is priced at £3,300.
At the top end, there's the Blur CC XX1 AXS TR RSV which will set you back £10,100. This bike is kitted with Santa Cruz's CC carbon frame, a Fox 34 Stepcast Factory fork with a Fox Float Factory DPS shock and SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS drivetrain, and Reserve wheels.
As for the Juliana Wilder, there are fewer models available with prices starting at £4,500 for the Wilder C R TR. That comes with the same spec as the Blur C R TR. Just like the Blur, there's a frame only build for the same asking price.
Then there's the Wilder XX X01 AXS TR RSV. That one gets a CC carbon frame, a Fox 34 Factory Stepcast with a Fox Float Factory DPS and SRAM X01 Eagle AXS drivetrain, and of course, Reserve wheels.