Santa Cruz has been rampant recently with its product releases, adding the Highball 29er carbon hardtail, aluminium Tallboy and the Blur TRc in recent months. The updated Blur XC on the other hand almost slipped by unnoticed, such was the lack of fanfare surrounding its arrival.
But we’ve got our noses glued to the ground to bring you the latest news however. Aside from the fresh paintjob, all looks very familiar with the new Blur XC but look a little harder and you’ll notice a tapered head tube so that the frame can make use of the latest crop of suspension forks with tapered steerer tubes.
Since the larger head tube means a bigger diameter down tube can potentially be used, Santa Cruz have done exactly that and whacked on a fatter downtube and top tube combination, which should go someway to stiffening up the front half of the frame. The seat tube additionally is flared to create a larger junction with the bottom bracket, which remains a standard, non-BB30 type.
As well as updating the tube profiles, Santa Cruz also optimised the layup of the carbon fibres and used a higher modulus fibre which has allowed the Blur XC to weigh in less than the previous iteration. The company quote a weight of a little of 4lbs (1.81kg) for a medium frame and air shock.
If you’re reading this and wondering why, along with joining the trend for tapered head tubes SC didn’t also add a press-fit bottom bracket to the new frame, the company has this to say on the decision:
“We didn’t use a press-fit bottom bracket. Could’ve saved a few more grams if we had ditched the trusty old thread-in standard BB, but we still cling to the outdated notion that bikes should enjoy a long life, be easily serviceable throughout that life, and be able to be serviced by people with regular tools found in most bike shops. That may have cost us a few grams, but we are okay with it.”
“We [also] didn’t go to a 142x12mm rear thru-axle. We’re still using good old fashioned 135mm q.r dropouts. Since we have a suspension design that features a very solid one-piece rear triangle, there isn’t any measurable benefit to be gained (for us) from going to thru-axles.
“We’ve tested the heck out of them, with and without, and the difference in strength and flex is negligible (for us). Thru-axle wheels also tend to weigh more than q.r wheels, so while it may be a good call on bikes that have several individual pieces of frame that are all bolted together at or near the rear axle, it doesn’t make that much sense to us yet. Also, in XC race thinking, we feel the ability to swap out training wheels for race wheels, or fix a flat lightning fast, or slap a spare wheel in from another bike in a pinch, is still something worth holding onto.”
No word on pricing or availability yet but we’ll keep you posted.
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