MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Ok so I have just got back into the biking seriously for the past 6 months, been a member on here since it started but havent posted in some time. I have just recently bought a Stigmata and absoluely love it. I cant spend another £6k on another Santacruz MTB, also the one I have is a great bike but its 9 speed XTR and 26" wheels, none of this bothers me as its still a great bike, however I am looking at upgrade options, so what can you guys tell me about the possibility of wireless shifting, is there a an option with a 9-speed freehub body to do this?
I like the idea of the larger cassette and shorter cranks with a smaller chainring, what would be your opinions on this.
Cheers
so what can you guys tell me about the possibility of wireless shifting, is there a an option with a 9-speed freehub body to do this?
There’s a few 12 speed cassettes that fit on a 9 speed freehub (SRAM SX & NX, for example), then SRAM eagle (NOT Transmission) AXS will fit and work just fine. Then go to a single chainring on the front and away you go (best route would be a new BB, with cranks and a chainring that mounts directly to them)
That being said, I’d be buying a new modern MTB long before I upgraded an ancient one to wireless shifting. As great as you think it is, a modern one will be MILES better.
You won't have to buy a £6k Santa Cruz to get a better biking experience than a 26" Blur with wireless shifting.
Anything more technical than a fire road descent is so much more fun on a modern bike. I think those old Blurs had 71 degree head angles, any attempt to brake on a steep decent often resulted in being chucked over the bars.
which year blur is it? you could fit a 27.5 front end. some later ones take tapered forks, you could use an angled headset.
Whats wrong with 10speed 11-46?
I had a Blur. Superb bike. But even a very inexpensive modern MTB will be 100 times the bike that my Blur was (IMO obviously). I’d recommend a Bird - it always seems to be possible to pick up great deals, and they ride extremely well.
Anything more technical than a fire road descent is so much more fun on a modern bike. I think those old Blurs had 71 degree head angles, any attempt to brake on a steep decent often resulted in being chucked over the bars.
my Blur has a 65 degree head angle and has ridden every trail centre in the UK, the west highland way and the Torridon loop, because it’s old doesn’t make it a bad bike. It’s a Blur LT with 150mm Boss forks, I can’t see why 27.5 or 29” wheels makes that much difference
Your bike sounds fine. Bigger wheels will roll better over obstacles and be more stable at higher speeds but if you're still enjoying the bike there's no reason to change it.
A refresh of the gearing can be done on the cheap. 10 speed deore is surprisingly good quality..
For example;
Deore m5120 mech (can be had for as low as £20)
Any Shimano 10 speed shifter (plenty of 2nd hand ones around)
M400 cassette (30 ISH)
Non boost compatible cranks might be tricky to find in shorter lengths. A 12 speed narrow wide chain ring will work fine with a 10s chain. These would do it if 170mmi s short enough for you...
https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-m7100-crankset-with-chainring-12-speed-180723.html
(^ that's basically the setup on my HT)
(IME, sx and nx 12speed cassettes are made out of cheese and are best avoided)
Anything more technical than a fire road descent is so much more fun on a modern bike. I think those old Blurs had 71 degree head angles, any attempt to brake on a steep decent often resulted in being chucked over the bars.
my Blur has a 65 degree head angle and has ridden every trail centre in the UK, the west highland way and the Torridon loop, because it’s old doesn’t make it a bad bike. It’s a Blur LT with 150mm Boss forks, I can’t see why 27.5 or 29” wheels makes that much difference
The Santa Cruz website disagrees with you. Older (‘05–08) were 69.1 newer (08-13) were 68.1. Even overforking by 20mm to 150 would only knock off a degree or so, but would also raise the BB a load, which isn’t ideal.
Taking one measurement in isolation won’t help, a newer bike (starting from a grand, not six) will have:
Bigger wheels, slacker head angle, shorter stem, longer reach, thru axles, wider rims, lower stand over height, lower BB, steeper seat tube, longer chainstays and a higher stack, all together making a much nicer bike to ride, even if the bits don’t have XTR written on them. It will also be compatible with all the current standards, so you could upgrade as and when the mood takes.
I’m in a similar position with my large V1 5010, (that replaced the blur) it was perfect when I bought it back in 2014, and as much as I love riding it, it’s really too cramped for me (I’m 6’1”, the reach is the same as modern small frames) so I’m having a new frame built that’s bang up to date, geo wise, then transferring most of the parts over.
Not sure where you are getting your data from there, 69.5 for the LT1 and 68.1 for the LT1, but your point still stands. I had my LT1 overforked with a TALAS fork that topped out at 160mm from memory. The raised BB was good as it reduced pedal strikes but the relatively slack seat angle at 72.5 meant I was too far back on the bike, making it very wandery when climbing.
Back to the OP though. I wouldn't bother going for wireless shifting at all. A very cheap 2x10 would be perfect for that bike and would give you great gear range. See if you can get a cheap 2nd hand modern fork and mebbes go 27.5 out front. Would maybe be a decent start for not too much money. Way less than wireless gears or a new bike. Rear suspension hasn't come on that much in my view. Saying that, if you can get hold of a Cane Creek DBAir, do that. I had one on an old Bronson and a chum put one on his LT2 at the time. Unmatched even now. In fact, I think my chum still has his kicking about in his garage.
I cant spend another £6k on another Santacruz MTB
I know that it's not what you're asking, but Merlin have 50% off Blurs at the moment.
https://www.merlincycles.com/mountain-bikes-75266/?brand=santa-cruz-bicycles
I’m in the don’t spend hundreds on electric shifting camp. Arguably the best ever time to buy a second hand bike, so many bargains out there.
If you're generally happy with the bike you have then rather than spend a load on electric gears maybe upgrade the drivetrain to 1x10 or 1x11, get the suspension serviced or even upgraded and perhaps new brakes if the current ones are a few years old.
I had a 2003 short travel Blur which I thought was 71 deg with a 100mm fork, it was no where near as competent downhill as the Kona Caldera trailcentre bike it replaced. I tried a longer fork and an angleset but front end was then very flexy and wandery.
I'm a definite wireless shifting fan, but I'd also agree...that is a huge chunk of money on something that will look good, work brilliantly but not do much to the ride of your bike.
Stupidly sensible head, I'd suggest not going for wireless shifting.
Anything more technical than a fire road descent is so much more fun on a modern bike. I think those old Blurs had 71 degree head angles, any attempt to brake on a steep decent often resulted in being chucked over the bars
Yeah, that’s not really true.
Yes it’s easy to go fast on a modern long, low slack big wheeled bike.
Doesn’t mean a less up to date bike isn’t fun.
I regularly swap between 26, 27.5 and 29er. Small wheeled older geo bikes are great fun just not flat out monster truck fast.
Would I fit electronic gears, personally no but I’d have no qualms spending money on things like a good length dropper post or brakes.
One advantage of smaller wheels is you don’t need a dinner plate sized 500g cassette if its 1x.
Actually a 12 speed mech on a 26” wheel will hang pretty low.
My favourite setup on a 26er is a Shimano Zee rear mech with an 11-40 cassette. 32 tooth front chainring.
Thanks for all the inputs guys, decided to go 1 by, and run an 11 speed cassette. I may opt for the Hope 155mm cranks as well.
I have one of these fancy Cane Creek headsets on mine that drops the head angle by 1.5 degrees so it’s maybe around 66 not 65 that I posted earlier.
I’ll keep you posted on how I get on, maybe put some pics up as well
Thanks to all
I'd rather have a Calibre Bossnut than any old 26" Santa Cruz.
I'd rather have a Calibre Bossnut than any old 26" Santa Cruz.
don’t know what that is but for me I’ll only ever ride SC bikes as that’s what I like
each to their own I guess
I’ll only ever ride SC bikes
This is absolutely cuckoo bananas to me but as you say, each to their own.
I can assure you, the zenith of MTB design is not a 13-18 year old Santa Cruz.
Get on some demo days, try other people’s (more current) bikes, they’ll blow your mind.
I've never had more fun on a bike than riding down steep rocky descents on my Mk1 Soul. It meant that something that you bounce down without noticing on a modern bike would give you 5 minutes of intense concentration and a fantastic sense of achievement, coupled with hand cramps and legs pain at the bottom.
Yes, I've had as much fun on modern bikes (but not more) and now my riding style has adapted so there's absolutely no way I could contemplate going back. So as long as the OP resists the temptation to throw a leg over the saddle of something newer there is no reason to change.
I bought a 1*12 non boost Sram NX kit for the Soul and it works a treat. Probably riding it to the pub tonight with Mrs BigJohn on her Diamondback (as I wouldn't leave any of our, ahem, decent bikes locked up outside).
Once you try slack you can't go back, as I think I heard someone once say.
I've never had more fun than on an Orange Patriot 7+ from about 2004.
Nothing to do with the bike. Everything to do with being young, free, single and spending 6 weeks in Whistler. Riding the best trails on Earth every day then hitting the town every night.
I could go back there now on my vastly superior bicycle but it wouldn't be as fun.
I can’t see why 27.5 or 29” wheels makes that much difference
Can I suggest you try it? I used to think similar - one of the last 26" Fives with BOS forks, slackset and offset bushings. Was a superb bike - did everything I wanted it to. Then I changed it for a 27.5 Alpine 160 which had more travel and weighed a fair bit more but was faster all over even on the ups. Then rode 27.5 up until a few weeks ago when I built a new bike with a mullet setup and the 29" front wheel absolutely ploughs through stuff the 27.5 got sucked into without really realising it.
Shoving electric gears on an old Blur (albeit great bikes at the time - had a Blur 4X and still miss it) isn't going to make your riding experience any different at all. Bikes have come on a LOT in the last 5/6 years especially and wheel size is just one of the contributing factors.