Two New Santa Cruz Bikes...

... And neither one ticks any of my boxes. That's a good thing.

https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/blur

https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/highball-29

 

Not for me either, but it's cool to see the Blur name back in the lineup. In some ways, that was the bike that started it all. Started what, you ask? A serious rear suspension design alternative to the only other two styles that were functioning well at the time - single pivot and Horst Link. The Blur took the VPP technology started by Outland and put it into widespread production. From there, other mini-link designs were derived - DW Link and Maestro specifically.

At least, that's how I remember it. I could be wrong.

 

Ditto. Nice looking bikes though and it's cool to see the Blur back in their line-up.

 

Hmm, Blur XX1 Reserve..22lb. Yay! $9,000.. Waaahhh.

 

"The all new Highball is a half-pound lighter than before, yet manages to maintain all the rider favorites of threaded BB reliability, internally routed cables, and 3 water bottle mounts. "

I believe that brings it in at just under 2 lbs. Complete bike down to sub 20 lbs......stock.

TT length on the Large frame: 25.12" .50" longer than before.

Only downside is the 27.2 seatpost......limits droppers for those that want to run one.

I like it.



The




2060g frame ?

69* HA w/ 100mm fork.......says you can run 120mm. Sounds like it would make one hell of a rocket.

I like the internal routing for the Rear Shock Lockout.....but it looks like no internal routing for Dropper Post. With courses getting more and more technical these days....believe it or not, more and more WC racers have begun running droppers.

The rear shock changed a bit.....used to be 168x38 on old Tallboys.....now 170x35.

Looks fast.

I like it.


Fortunately, neither bike has a place in my garage.

 

YOU'LL BREAK IT!!!!

 

Life time warranty on both

 

Then you'll bankrupt them

 

And the biggest news: ESI Chunky grips are stock!

 

I like the new Blur. Seems like that could replace the hardtail pretty easily as a sub 22 pound full suspension bike. Even though it's under the down tube, I like the fact that it has a second bottle mount. My Ripley has the same. It does get dirty, but i just swap the lids when I empty the first bottle.

 

Even the gravel grinding crowd is starting to use them as the skinny wheels get more adventurous.

 

The head tube angle is somewhat conservative on both..... My guess is that SC is trying to keep the Tallboy relevant (reduce the overlap).

 

Actually you bump the fork up to 120 and it slacks it out to 68*.

They intend on the Bkut being the XC race machine. Slacking it out to much would make it more Trail than Race.

And honestly, at 68* it would still be a very capable rig.

The TB will stay relevant because of the 27.5+/29 options and the 130mm forks. Plus it is much more trail oriented.

 

A significant weight difference between the a TB and the Blur... where do they shave all the grams from? Fork, dropper, and???

 

Doubt the new frame is 6.5 lbs like the TB.

 

That Blur would sure look good in my garage next to the Hightower. I miss riding my old 100mm kona hei hei that I gave to my son. Don't always need a big bike for a lot of the riding I do. That 100mm squish was way more comfy than the hardtail. Hmmm a 2 bike quiver... if I sold a couple things off this could be realistic...

 

Oh yeah! A Blur with a 120 could probably get me off my hardtail(s) once in a while.
Already got a Highball, with a 120...nice!

 

I couldn't find a frame weight, but overall weight for the carbon R build is 25.63lbs, and a Tallboy is 28.99. So 3.3 lbs difference, without a dropper, and with a 32mm fork. Plus a lighter frame, I guess it adds up and isn't that much less weight if you add in those components. I think the Tallboy able to fit plus tires plus the dropper and longer travel fork standard is probably better for me. Hightower still seems like maybe too much bike. Tough call though, all three are just a step away from each other, and seem really well thought out and put together!

 

Guy is the guy that sold me on the Chameleon!!!

 

I look at it differently... The head tube angle is more upright, and the frame is a lot lighter. It's basically a Highball with a touch of rear suspension... And Santa Cruz pretty much says that the two new bikes are very similar in intended use. I'll take the heavy Chameleon over the Blur/Highball for the chunky stuff. I'm thinking of True Grit and Cannell, and honestly can't see myself on either one of those for that...

When the kids are out of college, I'll add one of those big bikes for short fun days. Maybe with a motor. Just kidding, just kidding...

 

They list the lighter cc frame with shock at 2060g (4.5lb) and the c is supposedly 220g heavier.

 

Just idle speculation on my part... I'm due for a new bike sometime toward the end of the next decade!!!

 

www.gifs.com/gif/vo7Q7m

 

Bike pron!!1!

 

Reminds me of the Specialized videos we saw up in Morgan Hill. The carbon Roubaix frame was flexing almost 2cm at the rear axle and the rest of the rear triangle was moving too.
My Al Highball is quite stiff and I doubt it moves too much at all back there. My new Chisel, Al with a carbon flex-post, is possibly the smoothest-riding hardtail I've ever ridden.
Santa Cruz leading the charge....

 

How about the new Intense Sniper? Comparable?
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https://intensecycles.com/collections/2018-bikes/products/sniper-xc-factory-build
.
.

 

I think a lot of people in Socal would be better off with a 100mm or 120mm bike if they would be honest with themselves about the riding they actually do.

These new ones from SC and Intense look incredibly fun.

 

I disagree. I want everyone on the board to buy the burliest 6+" travel bike they can. That way, the mountains will stay crowd free.