A just-finished Santa Cruz Blur CC in the XO Trail build. It’s a stock bike, not a custom — but worth a walkthrough, because if you look at the specs on Santa Cruz’s website right now, they’re not showing the latest fork or brakes that are actually coming on it.
A Stock Build — But Not What the Website Shows
This isn’t a custom bike — it’s the stock XO Trail build. That said, most of these Santa Cruz bikes are close to what the shop would build anyway, since every one of them gets built up here. This one is very similar to the teal Blur the shop built a month or two back (there’s a video on that one too), just with different handlebars and the stock stem.
The thing worth knowing before you order: Santa Cruz’s website specs are behind on two components — the fork and the brakes. Both arrived newer than the site shows.
The Frame
It’s the large Blur CC — the lightweight carbon frame — in matte black, set up in the trail configuration: 115mm of rear travel with no lockout (the 115 is the open-frame version, not the 107 lockout setup). The dropper housing runs through the frame on a guide tube, with the shift cable and brake line run internally on the other side. When the shop runs those lines they add a housing damper inside the frame so nothing rattles.
The fork — this is the interesting one: Santa Cruz’s site still shows the old step-cast fork. This bike actually has the new Fox 34 SL Factory with the Kashima coating. Steve was even a little reluctant to order, thinking they might be running through old stock — but these are new builds with the new 34 SL.
The Brakes
Same story as the fork. The website shows the previous-gen Level brakes, but this bike has the new SRAM Motive Silvers with mineral oil. The Silvers have a little cartridge bearing in the lever, which makes for nicer lever flow and throw.
Drivetrain
Straight SRAM XO Transmission — XO crank with a 34T chainring, XO cassette, and the direct-mount XO Transmission derailleur with wireless AXS shifting. No power meter on this one. Steve’s a big fan of the direct-mount Transmission setup and the shop has been migrating to it; his first Transmission drivetrain was on a Cervélo ZFS-5 120. XTR Trail pedals are mounted to the XO cranks.
Wheels & Tires
Reserve 28 XC carbon wheels with Maxxis Rekon tires. These aren’t the lightest or fastest-rolling tires, but for an XC / all-arounder tire where you want some grip, the Rekon grips well. One of Steve’s sons races a Rekon on the front specifically for the grip — you can push corners hard with it — even though it gives up a little speed. As always, you get used to your own tire and what you want for grip.
A clean stock build — just confirm the spec
A cut-and-dry factory XO Trail build, built up and chain-waxed in the shop. The takeaway: it came with the latest Fox 34 SL fork and the new Motive Silver brakes, even though the website still shows the older parts. If you’re looking at one of these, reach out to your shop and confirm the one you’re getting has the latest stuff on it.
Interested in a Santa Cruz Blur?
We carry Santa Cruz at Maklin Bike Shop. Reach out to talk through configurations and availability.