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…

Juliana Wilder CC XC

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

Santa Cruz Blur CC XC

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

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Review Info

Brand:	Juliana / Santa Cruz
Product:	Wilder / Blur
From:	sanatacruzbicycles.com
Price:	£8,299 / £8.099
Tested:	by Amanda & Rhys for 6 months

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.