For the last year or so I’ve been contemplating moving to full suspension. Don’t get me wrong, I love my hardtail, but it takes it’s toll on the body in the longer races especially as I get older.
My search began with riding a couple of Rocky Mountain bikes at a demo day. While I thought it was cool they didn’t really excite me. A buddy lent me his Kona Hei-Hei to give it a whirl and that felt more like what I was looking for. It rode like a race bike, felt predictable and didn’t feel like I was bouncing as I pedalled. I thought I had my mind made up until one morning in March. As I opened Facebook the first thing I saw was an ad for Sant Cruz shouting that they were bringing an xc race bike back into their lineup.
Fast forward a couple months and I’m the proud owner of my first full squish race rig.
An XL Santa Cruz Blur! It’s outfitted with Sram GX Eagle drivetrain and XT brakes. Waiting for adapters to put my carbon race wheels on and it should settle in at ~23#.
I’ve only had a chance to put about 16 miles on it so far, but I think once i figure out how to ride it it will be super fast. To my surprise, it climbs almost as well as the Highball, but wow, does it change the descending game! The slacker head tube and suspension inspire so much more confidence and keeps me in contact with the ground so much better it feels like i’m flying. I’m anxious to get used to things and see just how fast i can make it go.
Mike's Outdoor Blog 