{"id":2076486,"date":"2026-08-04T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2076486"},"modified":"2026-08-04T07:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:01:00","slug":"the-5th-generation-santa-cruz-blur-sees-a-complete-redesign-with-more-travel-and-aggressive-geometry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2076486","title":{"rendered":"The 5th-generation Santa Cruz Blur sees a complete redesign with more travel and aggressive geometry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"A<\/a>
Photos: Santa Cruz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 \u2014 the Blur.<\/p>\n

Stepping into what is now modern XC bike territory, Santa Cruz adds more travel and makes significant changes to the Blur\u2019s geometry. Is it an XC bike or a trail bike? Is it somehow both?<\/p>\n

\"Close-up<\/a><\/figure>\n

New geometry<\/h2>\n

One of the more significant changes that Santa Cruz made to the new Blur is a change to the geometry \u2014 and the changes are pretty big. Like head tubes that are more than 2\u00b0 slacker, sort of \u201cbig.\u201d Compared to the 4th generation of the Blur, the new Blur is decidedly more \u201ctrail,\u201d sitting with a 66\u00b0 head tube angle compared to the steep 68.3\u00b0 on the previous generation bike.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Well, 68.3\u00b0 if you opted for the \u201cXC\u201d version of the Gen 4 Blur rather than the \u201cTR,\u201d or \u201cTrail.\u201d Regardless, the new Blur is still over 1\u00b0 slacker than the previous Blur TR. While Santa Cruz will no longer offer \u201cXC\u201d and \u201cTR\u201d versions of the Gen 5 Blur, they will offer \u201cStandard\u201d and \u201cRace\u201d specs. Those bikes will share the same geometry; the differences will be in the build. More on that later.<\/p>\n

Along with a slacker head tube, the Blur also gets a steeper seat tube angle and grows a bit \u2014 well, at least on the larger sizes. Now all Blur sizes will have a 75\u00b0 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\u2019s reach sits nearly 20mm longer than the Blur TR at 475mm.<\/p>\n

\"Gen<\/a><\/figure>\n

Compared to the Gen 4 Blur XC, reach on a size L has grown by only 5mm, and sizes S and M haven\u2019t grown at all. Staying in step with the Gen 4 Blur, Santa Cruz keeps four frame sizes: S-XL.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Close-up<\/a><\/figure>\n

The frame is mostly the same<\/h2>\n

Santa Cruz completely reworked the Blur \u2014 at least its geometry \u2014 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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Along with the increase in travel, Santa Cruz also increased suspension progressivity to offer more support when pedaling. They also dialed up the Blur\u2019s mid-stroke support.<\/p>\n

\"Gen<\/a><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Santa Cruz also ensured that the new Blur has full-length tube-in-tube routing for cable-actuated derailleurs.<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"Close-up<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Two versions of the same bike<\/h2>\n

The Gen 4 Blur was arguably two different bikes; the Blur XC and Blur TR had distinctly different geometry and builds. Moving forward, \u201cStandard\u201d and \u201cRace\u201d will be two versions of the same Blur, with tweaks only in componentry.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>
\u201cStandard\u201d (left) and \u201cRace\u201d (right) Blur offerings. Also, obviously, two different frame color options<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Gen<\/a><\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Santa Cruz\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"Gen<\/a><\/figure>\n

But, it isn\u2019t cheap. The top-shelf Race build will set you back $13,399.<\/p>\n

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\"Alt<\/a><\/figure>\n
\"Close-up<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

An XC bike for gnarlier XC tracks<\/h2>\n

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 \u201cXC\u201d category, reducing the head tube by 2\u00b0 and adding travel doesn\u2019t seem like the most efficient move.<\/p>\n

But, as Santa Cruz pointed out in its press release for the Blur, \u201cXC courses and XC riding are more aggressive today than in the past, and the Blur keeps pace with 120mm travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAggressive\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!–<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–><\/p>\n

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Photos: Santa Cruz 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 \u2014 the Blur. Stepping into what is now modern XC bike territory, Santa Cruz adds more travel and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,274],"class_list":["post-2076486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-singletracks-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2076486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2076486\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2076486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2076486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2076486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}