Topmounter said:
Was your first Blur an original or was it an LT? If it was an original, I'm wondering how different the original is from the LT. I rode a demo XC this winter and wasn't crazy about the handling compared to my original Blur.
My original was a 2003 Blur (i.e., the Blur 'Classic'). A small number of them had a flaw in the way the seat tube was butted and can fracture prematurely. Santa Cruz gives the owner a 2 year warranty out of the box for regular problems, but apparently this problem was not a typical abuse or singular mistake. Turned out that a range of serial numbers of the early 2003 Blur frame that were
only large size had this flaw and they were honoring the warranty beyond the original 2 years if the frames failed. I bought mine in March of 2003 and it was one with the flaw, so in late October of 2005 when it broke, Santa Cruz offered to repair my frame.
At that point the Blur line had split to the XC and LT. I opted to get the LT, which is really more appropriate for what I do with it (all mountain riding in the Rockies and around the west rather than a hardcore racer). The current XC is supposed to share the same geometry as the original Blur (i.e. Classic), just that SC lightened the XC up a bit as the target is primarily adventure and endurance racers. The LT shares a similar rear end with a change to the VPP linkages to increase the travel to 145mm. The front end is designed to safely accommodate up to a 150mm travel forks (I run 140mm Fox) with additional gusseting and a slightly steeper head angle than the XC. If you run a 100mm fork on the LT it will be slightly more twitchy than the XC with a 100mm fork.
It's been 3 years since I rode my Classic (or an XC), but I can tell you that the LT rides fantastic. I run a large frame with a 120mm Thomson stem and a laid back Thomson seat post. I'm 6 feet tall on the nose with a 33" inseam and the front end is just barely light on very steep climbs (just keeping my head down is all it takes to keep the wheel solidly down). I race it in 24 hour races and have done as far as 50 mile races on it. Sure I get outclimbed, but I honestly don't expect that short of a very high zoot 24 lbs Blur XC would I really shave much time. I just point down and go and make up some time there. I have pretty much no desire to really change to something else, well except the new Blur LT with the upgraded lower pivot. But I've never ridden the new one, so that's only marketing gibberish that makes me interested.
). I'm a little bit odd in that I like being stretched out on my Mtn bike with the seat back on the rails, longer stem and an almost straight bar. My crit bikes were 54cm back when I could still ride a crit and I would jack up the seat post. This might not fit conventional wisdom for fit and sizing but I liked it.