Santa Cruz has (re)introduced two new bikes this year, both of which have undergone significant changes. Now, the California brand makes it three bikes, giving us the fifth generation of its efficient XC machine — the Blur.
Stepping into what is now modern XC bike territory, Santa Cruz adds more travel and makes significant changes to the Blur’s geometry. Is it an XC bike or a trail bike? Is it somehow both?
New geometry
One of the more significant changes that Santa Cruz made to the new Blur is a change to the geometry — and the changes are pretty big. Like head tubes that are more than 2° slacker, sort of “big.” Compared to the 4th generation of the Blur, the new Blur is decidedly more “trail,” sitting with a 66° head tube angle compared to the steep 68.3° on the previous generation bike.
Well, 68.3° if you opted for the “XC” version of the Gen 4 Blur rather than the “TR,” or “Trail.” Regardless, the new Blur is still over 1° slacker than the previous Blur TR. While Santa Cruz will no longer offer “XC” and “TR” versions of the Gen 5 Blur, they will offer “Standard” and “Race” specs. Those bikes will share the same geometry; the differences will be in the build. More on that later.
Along with a slacker head tube, the Blur also gets a steeper seat tube angle and grows a bit — well, at least on the larger sizes. Now all Blur sizes will have a 75° seat tube angle, slightly steeper than the L and XL sizes of the Gen 4 Blur TR. Reach has also grown, especially when compared to the outgoing Blur TR. A size L Gen 5 Blur’s reach sits nearly 20mm longer than the Blur TR at 475mm.
Compared to the Gen 4 Blur XC, reach on a size L has grown by only 5mm, and sizes S and M haven’t grown at all. Staying in step with the Gen 4 Blur, Santa Cruz keeps four frame sizes: S-XL.
Other geometry changes are more minor. The stack height might have actually shrunk compared to the Gen 4 Blur, depending on XC or TR. The chainstays on the Gen 5 Blur remain size-specific and have grown by only about 1mm across all sizes, and the bottom bracket height has settled somewhere in the middle of the Gen 4 XC and TR at 334mm.
The frame is mostly the same
Santa Cruz completely reworked the Blur — at least its geometry — to create a bike that looks very much like its previous iteration. There are no major changes, such as going with a completely different suspension design, as we saw on the new Tallboy. While the updates may not be as visually apparent, the new Blur includes increased rear travel, bringing the Gen 5 bike to 120mm front and rear with a single-pivot flexstay design.
Along with the increase in travel, Santa Cruz also increased suspension progressivity to offer more support when pedaling. They also dialed up the Blur’s mid-stroke support.
As we saw with both the new Tallboy and Nomad, Santa Cruz is offering only its highest-grade CC carbon for the new Blur frames. Each frame size receives a specific carbon layup, reducing weight by using less material due to slightly smaller tubes and minimizing layer overlap.
Santa Cruz also ensured that the new Blur has full-length tube-in-tube routing for cable-actuated derailleurs.
The Gen 5 Blur features the Glovebox V2, space for two bottles in the front triangle, and an accessory mount on the underside of the top tube.
Two versions of the same bike
The Gen 4 Blur was arguably two different bikes; the Blur XC and Blur TR had distinctly different geometry and builds. Moving forward, “Standard” and “Race” will be two versions of the same Blur, with tweaks only in componentry.
Looking at the top-spec Blur and Blur Race offerings, there are a few major standouts that distinguish the bikes. The Blur Race gets a 60mm stem and flat bars, while the Blur has a 50mm stem and bars with a 20mm rise. They also receive different tires — Maxxis Recon Race or Aspen AT for the Race or Standard Blur, respectively. The suspension will also differ between the two offerings, with the Blur Race opting for RockShox suspension featuring remote lockouts.
For the Blur Standard, Santa Cruz is offering five builds with a solid mix of SRAM/RockShox and Fox components, priced from $4,899 to $10,299. Build weights steadily decrease from 29lbs to 25lbs as you step up to the XTR Di2 RSV build.
Moving to the Blur Race, Santa Cruz is only offering two builds, both of which heavily feature SRAM components. The $7,999 build features a RockShox Sid Select+ fork and Sid Luxe Select+ shock, both with lockouts. SRAM handles shifting and stopping with a GX AXS derailleur and Motive Bronze brakes. All of this creates a bike that weighs just over 26lbs.
Santa Cruz’s top-specced Blur features the Flight Attendant version of the Sid Ultimate fork and Ultimate Luxe shock. Along with the other components, the bike has the SRAM XX AXS SL drivetrain and Motive Ultimate brakes, all combining for a complete weight of just over 25lbs.
But, it isn’t cheap. The top-shelf Race build will set you back $13,399.
An XC bike for gnarlier XC tracks
XC bikes lately are getting a bit gnarlier, almost blurring (pun intended) the line between XC and trail. While the Gen 5 Blur still lands squarely in the “XC” category, reducing the head tube by 2° and adding travel doesn’t seem like the most efficient move.
But, as Santa Cruz pointed out in its press release for the Blur, “XC courses and XC riding are more aggressive today than in the past, and the Blur keeps pace with 120mm travel.”
“Aggressive” in the sense that XC courses now feature much longer and more technical descents than those of the past. Santa Cruz feels like both versions of the Gen 5 Blur will do well between the tape.
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