Santa Cruz Blur

Justin Ryan
Reviewed: 24 October 2004

BEST IN ITS CLASS BY FAR

Strength
Weight
VPP works a treat
Beautiful
A cut ahead of the rest

Rear wheel quite difficult to remove due to limited tyre clearance

The Blur is a very impressive bike, initially I only wanted to have a test ride but I was so impressed I ended up buying one. It is only a tiny bit heavier than the Superlight but that extra weight is very well spent on the new Santa Cruz made VPP technology. Not only does it work wonders at eliminating bob but it adds lateral rigidity to the frame making it feel alot stronger than the Superlight. The VPP design is fantastic. However, it cannot take all the credit for the no bob system, my Blur has a 5th element shock and when set up right, the bike will not bob in the slightest, but if the IFP chamber ( the platform damping control on the 5th element) is set too low, the bike will bob a little. Additionally this does not mean that the 5th element shock is solely responsible for the blurs no bob features as a 5th element shock on a Superlight will cause bob regardless of how finely tuned it is. It is the combination of the 5th element shock and the VPP design that makes the blur not bob. For this reason, I cannot coment on how a blurs anti-bob features will work with the fox shock, but id imagine it will still bob. Anyway, on another note, the blur is a beautiful frame, its the sort of thing you only see in a glass cabinet of better bike shops,a little to pricely to have around built up on display for most shops. The only downsides I have found is that the rear wheel is quite difficult to remove, you have to pull the rear mech back to get the wheel off, otherwise the tyre gets caught on the back of the lower pivot. Also, the bottom bracket is placed quite low so you may scuff your pedals on the ground at first, but you soon get use to this. Besides the low bottom bracket makes the bike more stable. The blur is an expensive bit of kit reserved for the minority, definately grabs attention from fellow (envious) cyclists, definately the Aston martin of the bike world.

fat bloke on a bike
Reviewed: 01 March 2004

NOTHING’S PERFECT BUT I'VE NEVER RIDDEN BETTER

Looks great, climbs like a mountain goat.

The paint work is poor, some marks in the paint when new.
Hose for rear disk has warn the paint badly on the swing arm and on the top pivot point. Top tube is dull plus other areas are dulling from where its rubbed.

Also the ride height is quite low, frequently ground out the peddles especially when trying to peddle in narrow, deep rutted tracks.

Ok so its not the gleaming beauty I wheeled out of the shop 9 months ago but then if it was then I would not have ridden it hard enough. Although the ride height means you sometimes have to pick you lines more carefully and the odd peddle strike can be a bit hairy the bike performs like a dream and that’s what its all about. Well worth the money

Neil Forster
Reviewed: 04 December 2003

YOU PAY A PREMIUM FOR AN EXCELLENT BIKE

Extremely active and smooth suspension action. Tracks like a hartail. No bobbing. Brilliant climber. Loads of scope for personalisation - colours, spec etc

Price. Odd 'ghost' gear change. Cantilever 'v' brake bosses. Everyone points and stares and expects you to ride loke a pro! No dealer does any deals.

Saved up for 6 months, put the order into Bike Treks at Ambleside and had to wait another 2 months.

When it arrived, i wasn't dissapointed. I specced Translucent Blue Frame, Fox 100 RLT, XT Running Gear, Hope H/S and Hubs, Mavic 219, Deore Disks, Easton bits. Came to £2800.

This is the first full suspension bike i have owned and i am not disspointed at all. You read all the reviews about bobbing, soggy handling etc etc But this rides like a hartail when out of the saddle and when you are sat down, everything goes on under you without you really knowing - it is a mountain bike arm chair!

Had a rebound and anodising failure on the Fox 100 RLT on 3rd ride, it was changed no problem. Bike Treks fitted a normal front derailure whose cable rubbed the paint off the rear swing arm - now replaced with a top pull - awaiting touch up paint.

Apart from that - i've never done so much night time riding!

lucki nutter
Reviewed: 22 September 2003

SMOOTH AS SILK, LOVES GOING AWESOMELY FAST.

Suspension is dreamy smooth, makes the terrain feel positively flat. Handles everything from fast twisty singletrack to high speed power hit decents. Rear end is as solid as you get with FullSus.. oh yeah, and it looks stunning.... love it!

Random annoying creaks from lower pivot areas, drop out worked loose (once), bushings on top end of Fox AVA wore and started rattling at 400 miles.

I'm only talking about the bike as a whole here, this Blur is a dream build and each component's worth a separate review. Maybe should mention that there is a fox float RLC up front.
Fabulous machine, it really does track the ground superbly. I noticed a immediate difference jumping on it from my single pivot of 5 yrs. And jumping back onto single pivot now & again makes you really appreciate what a great bit of sus tech the VPP is. It really is smooth as silk and I love it. Stutter bumps disolve, and bit hits feel controlled and hugely smiley ;-). The whole package, and especially the rear end is the stiffest I've come across in the FullSus world. This leads to precise handling; the bike goes where you point it when you want it to.
Negatives are far outweighed by performance and overall satisfaction but are worth a mention so expectations can be managed....
The pivots do/will creak from time to time.. experiment with cleaning/light greasing when servicing and the the creaks go. The replaceable drop out is worth a tighten as mine came loose causing manic creaking for a week or two till I found the source. Where cables tounch the anodising stick some glueless patches to prevent wear. Stick an old inner tube round the drive side chain stay to prevent chain slap damage. The Fox float bushings wear quickly. Use a bit of plastic bag to wrap round the aluminium bits prior to pluggin them back into the shock and they'll last a few more miles after initial wear. Thats it...go shopping! Oh and dont get a Steel blue one coz everyone thats seen mine got one. Ride HARD!

tyrone braithwaite
Reviewed: 15 September 2003

So Much better than the superlight

Feels like power goes straight to the wheels, you sit right in the middle of the bike - geometary spot on for me. Technical up-hills feel planted. Plus suspension that hardly has any bob.

Anodizing not perfect, some odd swirls.

I went from a superlight to this, and whereas the SL felt like a compromise on the suspension front this felt stiffer and plusher at the same time and takes small hits along with big thuds in its stride. I always felt like the SL was a big hitter or a small hitter but never both. The Blur just felt so good straight away.