Blur XC Blur LT

Santa Cruz's Blur has become deservedly popular over the few years it's been available, its VPP suspension design serving up 115mm of uniquely-flavoured travel that manages to be plush, big hitting and pedal-friendly all at once. It's such a capable bike that people have taken to putting bigger forks on it, but that tends to kick the whole thing back a bit and rather takes the edge off the pleasingly quick handling.

The launch of the Blur 4X signalled the start of the Blur becoming a range rather than just a bike. The 4X has the same 115mm of travel but with a beefed-up, lower-slung front end that'll take long forks and retain fast handling. And now (or rather, soon) we have two new flavours.

The Blur LT is probably the one that more people have been waiting for. It takes the original design and jacks it up a bit, upping the rear travel to 135mm (or 5.3in in old money) and raising and relaxing the front end to accept bigger forks (up to 160mm, or stick to 130-ish for faster handling). Frame weight is claimed to be about the same as the original Blur and all the other key dimensions (top tube length, chainstays) are the same. Early Blurs were a bit lacking in tyre clearance, an issue addressed on more recent editions, and the LT will take 2.35in treads with room to spare.

Having pumped the Blur up in one direction, Santa Cruz has also slimmed it down in the other with the Blur XC. The XC sticks with 115mm of travel but pulls the chainstays in, pushes the top tube out and shortens the head tube for a more aggressive, power-oriented race position. It's also had plenty of tube butting and machining, with new lighter linkages and other bits and bobs taking the weight down to a claimed 5lb including shock.

We had the opportunity to take the new bikes for a brief spin around Santa Cruz's UK base in Yorkshire. The LT engaged most of our attention, and our first impressions are that it's a winner. It may only have 20mm more travel than the original Blur but it feels like a lot more, without compromising on pedalling efficiency. Unlike some long-travel bikes, the LT lets you know what it's doing - there's just enough feedback to tell you what you're riding over but everything gets despatched with aplomb. We're looking forward to getting some more time on it - full test as soon as we can.

Both frames will be available in the usual generous selection of paint colours or anodised finishes, and prices will be pretty much the same as the current Blur (which goes for £1349 painted or £1499 anodised). Look out for them reaching the UK in late June - keep an eye on www.santacruzbikes.co.uk for details.