Firstly thanks to Santa Cruz Uk for the loan of the Blur.
It has been 6 months or so with the Blur. A lot of faffing with different set ups. The final version is here…
[stvideo src=”2010/10/Blur_Lt_Finale2.m4v”]
It was ridden quite a lot more than that in its “All Mountain” mode before I made my mind up. But at the end of that period, the impression I had was very similar to the one after the first few rides. The Blur LT, although capable in lots of different guises, for me at least felt a whole lot better with a lowish front end. Surprisingly, I felt like I could “push on” more with the shorter fork and the steeper head angle that went with it. I think the attendant lower BB was more important to the handling and me feeling more “inside” the bike than any headangle changes.
A couple of things that I hadn’t mentioned in previous reports are the pivots and the maintenance. Or lack of. Though the frame comes supplied with a grease gun (and grease) at no point during my time with the bike did I have any need to grease any pivots. They didn’t need it. And none of the pivots came loose either. It’s been an entirely maintainence free experience. Which, if you know me and my skills as a mechanic, is a very good thing!
If you do like your technical stuff there’s loads more info here on stripping and rebuilding the back ends of Blur LTs, Nomads etc.
One thing, if you are shopping for one try before you buy to make sure you get the right size for you. If you get that right you’ll be a happier bike owner.
Overall: For something designed in the USA the Santa Cruz Blur LT has a quintessential “UK all rounder” feel to it. UK trail centres, big days out, thrashing around in the woods – it’s as happy as Larry. It’s not the lightest thing in the world but it always felt plenty strong enough between my legs and coped with some biggish drop offs admirably.
Matt
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