Juliana Wilder & Santa Cruz Blur review: XC race bikes fit for trails too

The Santa Cruz Blur and Juliana Wilder are XC race bikes fit for a bit of technical trail riding, endurance, and almost anything else you ask of them. If you enter a race, just make sure you’ve got your podium outfit ironed…

Three things Amanda liked about the Juliana Wilder

• AXS is responsive, reliable and great when you’re getting tired
• Reserve rims are bombproof (or in my case, 3in nail proof)
• As with every other Juliana I’ve ridden, the paint job is excellent. I have no doubt it’ll look good as new in years to come

Three things Amanda would change about the Juliana Wilder

• The tyres didn’t fill me with confidence in the rain, though they were ideal in the dry
• I would like Juliana to make a ‘cooler’ headbadge
• Ideally, the option to build a spec closer to your budget

Three things Rhys liked about the Santa Cruz Blur

• ‘Superlight’ suspension is supple and active for smoothing out the chop in all situations.
• Great XC-plus (nudging towards trail bike) geometry and sizing made for a great all round bike.
• The SRAM AXS drivetrain was so good I’d say it was a performance advantage when racing.

Three things Rhys would change about the Santa Cruz Blur

• The Fox Transfer SL seatpost was terrible in every way. A bike like this needs a proper length fit for purpose dropper. An AXS Reverb would do just nicely at this price point.
• I’d ditch the twist grip lockout for fork and shock based firm/trail/open switches. Firm for never, trail for smooth XC races and tarmac, open for everything else!
• Some more appropriate tyres for bikes sold in the UK. The Maxxis Forekaster is billed as a wet XC tyre and would go down pretty well in most of the UK.

Rhys and Amanda entered the same races and do most of their trail riding together, so this review looks at both the XC build of the Santa Cruz Blur, and the all-rounder build of the Juliana Wilder TR.

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Juliana Wilder Carbon CC X01 AXS TR Reserve Kit Specification

• Fork // FOX 34 Step Cast Factory, 120mm
• Shock // FOX Float Factory DPS
• Rear Derailleur // SRAM X01 Eagle AXS, 12spd
• Shifter // SRAM GX AXS Shifter
• Crankset // SRAM X1 Eagle Carbon 148 DUB 34t
• Cassette // SRAM XG1295 Eagle, 12spd, 10-50t
• Chain // SRAM X01 Eagle, 12spd
• Brakes // SRAM Level TLM
• Rotors // SRAM CLX Centerlock Rotors, 180mm
• Handlebars // Santa Cruz Bicycles Carbon Flat Bar
• Stem // Syntace LiteForce
• Grips // ESI Chunky Grips
• Headset // Cane Creek 40 IS Integrated Headset
• Seatpost // RockShox Reverb Stealth, 31.6
• Saddle // Juliana Segundo Saddle
• Tyres // Maxxis Rekon Race, 29″x2.4WT, 3C, EXO Front & Rear
• Front Hub // DT Swiss
• Rear Hub // DT Swiss
• Rims // Santa Cruz Reserve 28 XC 29″ Carbon Rims
• Price as built // £8,299.00 from stifmtb.com

Santa Cruz Blur Carbon CC – XO1 AXS Reserve Kit Specification

• Fork // RockShox Sid SL Ultimate, 100mm, 29″ w/Remote
• Shock // RockShox SidLuxe Ultimate
• Rear Derailleur // SRAM X01 Eagle AXS, 12spd
• Shifter // SRAM GX AXS Shifter
• Crankset // SRAM X1 Eagle Carbon 148 DUB 34t
• Cassette // SRAM XG1295 Eagle, 12spd, 10-50t
• Chain // SRAM X01 Eagle, 12spd
• Brakes // SRAM Level TLM
• Rotors // SRAM CLX Centerlock Rotors, 160mm
• Handlebars // Santa Cruz Bicycles Carbon Flat Bar
• Stem // Syntace LiteForce
• Grips // SRAM Twistlock
• Headset // Cane Creek 40 IS Integrated Headset
• Seatpost // FOX Transfer SL Performance Elite, 100mm, 31.6
• Saddle // WTB Silverado Medium Ti Fusion Saddle or WTB Volt
• Tyres // Maxxis Aspen, 29″ x 2.4WT, 3C, EXO, TR Front & Rear
• Front Hub // DT Swiss 350
• Rear Hub // DT Swiss 350
• Rims // Santa Cruz Reserve 28 XC 29″ Carbon Rims
• Spokes // Sapim D-Light
• As built // £8,099.00 from stifmtb.com

While you’re here…

Review Info

Amanda Wishart

Art Director

Amanda is our resident pedaller, who loves the climbs as much as the descents. No genre of biking is turned down, though she is happiest when at the top of a mountain with a wild descent ahead of her. If you ever want a chat about concussion recovery, dealing with a Womb of Doom or how best to fuel an endurance XC race, she's the one to email.

More posts from Amanda