The Santa Cruz Blur XC Carbon

The Santa Cruz Blur XC Carbon was the first carbon-fiver-framed bicycle to emerge from Santa Cruz, and it replaced the old aluminum-framed Blur XC that has been totally eliminated from the line. The Santa Cruz Blur XC Carbon new offering has the potential to reset the handling standard by which the dual-suspension, cross-country race genre will be measured for years to come.

The Santa Cruz Blur XC Carbon is intended for cross-country racers, but that is selling it short. The Santa Cruz Blur XC's solid handling makes it attractive to trail riders who want to keep weight to a minimum without sacrificing comfort or control.

Santa Cruz chose a carbon component maker to build the Blur XC frame because they had extensive experience learned from building intricate parts like handlebars, cranksets and stems. This experience directly addressed the problem areas of mountain bike frames like shock mounts and linkage pivot locations. The Santa Cruz Blur XC's swingarm and frame are molded unidirectional carbon fiber.

Construction is stunning, and Santa Cruz says the inside of the molded frame is almost as beautiful. We were surprised to see molded-in depressions for the chain stay protector, chain-suck pate and cable guides – intelligent treatments that are mysteriously missing from longtime players in the carbon game. The swingarm is triangulated by a single strut as with the old aluminum Santa Cruz Blurs. There is plenty of room in there for big, 5cm knobbies 0 and the chainstays are short at 42,15cm.

The dual-link rear end has just over ten centimeters of wheel travel. The upper link is carbon fiber and the lower is forged aluminum. Pivot shafts are oversized for stiffness and run on angular contact bearings that are specifically designed to handle lateral stress. Grease fittings on the lower link are featured to make the Blur XC user serviceable, and the bearings can be tuned to eliminate future side play to bearing wear.

Shimano XTR speaks for itself, as do the Easton EA90 alloy stem and carbon fiber MonkeyLite SL handlebar. DT Swiss wheels and Kenda Small Block Eight tires are as lightweight as they are reliable. Santa Cruz takes pride in the fact that its carbon fiber chassis does not have a rider-weight limit, and its component selection underscores their commitment to reality-based engineering.