When we're racing, we want to be seen only as a blur. Kind of like the "Tasmanian Devil" of the old Looney Tunes cartoons. Tear past everyone in a cloud of whirring legs, and get to the finish line smiling, breathing hard, with our tongue hanging out. If there's truth in naming, then the Santa Cruz Blur XC will do that for us. It's a cross-country rig through and through. It's got a low bottom bracket, aggressive angles, a short head tube; perfect for the longer, lower position we like when alternating between tempo and anaerobic efforts. All that is good and well, but the big tell is the suspension. The frame is designed to work with forks with up to 105mm of travel. Forks with greater than105mm of travel will void the warranty. Hey, it's designed as an XC rocket! Get an LT if you want to go long. The Blur is a classic XC frame -- it's been around the block, been proven, praised, loved, and more. Complimenting its tight front end is the Virtual Pivot Point (VPP) rear linkage that provides 115mm of plush VPP travel. The VPP linkage allows the rear wheel to move up and back as you ride over a bump. It balances the downward force of your pedaling with the pulling force of the chain through its link configuration and axle path. The resulting movement makes it even easier to roll over a bump, or through a dip. The design also prevents pedal-induced compression and lock-out, and the suspension doesn’t change whether or not you’re in the saddle. Whether it is rolling through rock gardens, climbing water bars, descending stairs, or riding on lumpy fire roads, the suspension is active and responsive, even driving the rear wheel into the ground when pedaling furiously, enhancing the bike's traction and climbing characteristics. It set the bar by which other XC rigs are measured. The Blur XC comes stock with a lightweight Fox Float R, a lightweight, reliable shock that is easy to adjust and doesn't have too many confusing fine-tuning options. For a $92 upcharge, the more adjustable Fox Float RP23 with the ProPedal platform can come installed. The size of the shock depends on the size of the frame; 7.875" x 2" for the M and L frames and 6.5" x 1.5" for the XS and S frames. VPP is an evolution of a pioneering design by Outland Sports that both Intense and Santa Cruz now share the license. You’ll see that the Intense Spider FRO also has a VPP rear end. They're both great designs that climb well and have super traction thanks to the nature of the active VPP suspension. The Blur XC provides an additional 15mm travel and has no weight limit. The Blur XC utilizes custom-butted 6069 aluminum tubing. The tubes, owing to the cross-country purpose of the bike, are relatively slender for Santa Cruz bikes. This allows for a more forgiving ride while still hearty enough to go all day every day for years to come. The rear triangle is designed to accept tires up to 2.1" in diameter. Owing to the cross-country design, the frame has ISO brake mounts that can take up to 160mm rotors. On the front end, the cross-country influence extends to a head tube designed to accept 1 1/8" headsets. The Santa Cruz Blur XC is available in Black, Lime, Liquid Blue, Red, White, or Yellow powdercoats. Or, for an additional $200, it can be anodized Black or Silver. It requires a 30.9 seatpost and a 34.9mm dual pull front derailleur. The right dropout has a replaceable derailleur hanger. There are braze-ons for both a down tube water bottle cage and an under the down tube water bottle cage. The frame weight, with Float R shock, is, according to Santa Cruz, 5.2lbs (2.363kg). The frame has a two year warranty against manufacturing defects, while the bearings are guaranteed for life. US Santa Cruz dealers are prohibited from shipping Santa Cruz bicycles outside of the United States.
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