Custom Build: Santa Cruz Blur LT

When it comes to building your dream machine, sometimes the off-the-shelf option just isn't quite what you're after. Sure it's probably a good buy and it's ready to ride out of the shop, but if you're going to be forking over your hard-earned bills for a new smile-making machine that you're planning on riding for the next 4-5 years, you are going to want it to be perfect.

And that's exactly what one of our customers, Matt, decided to do with his brand new Santa Cruz Blur LT. If you've ever thought about custom building up your very own mountain bike, this post will give you a little insight into how we do it.

Starting out with a new 140mm travel Blur LT frame, Matt went for a bit of a hybrid build that took some of the parts from his previous Giant Trance that he had upgraded over the years, as well as some nice shiny new parts to match the gorgeous Blur frame.

Matt also picked up the 150mm travel Fox Float RLC fork to mount up front, which matches perfectly to the Fox Float RP23 Boost Valve rear shock. On any dual suspension bike, the quality of the fork and rear shock as well as how they are setup will have a huge effect on how it performs out on the trail.

Changing from his old Trance to the Blur LT presented a few opportunities for Matt with bike setup as he was looking for more stability and control out of the new bike.

By default, the Blur LT uses slacker geometry and a slightly more upright riding position than the Giant, which was quite racey and unstable in comparison. One of the areas that Matt was keen to change was the cockpit, and so he went with a nice 'n' wide Deity Dirty 30 handlebar that would provide him with more stability and confidence to lean the bike over through the corners.

Those lovely golden legs on the Float 150 are the heralded "Kashima Coat" that is used to provide a smoother surface on the stanchions than traditional anodizing. This helps make the fork smoother and more supple so it absorbs small trail chatter better. The new Fox stuff just gets better and better and once you've had the chance to try out the new Kashima FIT forks, you'll find it very hard to go back to anything else!
The lowers use the bolt-thru QR15 system, which adds stiffness and rigidity to the fork/hub interface. With the addition of the QR15 fork, Matt went with a brand new set of Shimano XT Wheels with a QR15 front hub to match.

A high-end bike is nothing without quality small parts, such as gear cabling. You can have XTR this and XX that, but if you put it together haphazardly with cheap cables and low-end fittings, it's not going to mean much out on the trail.

We fitted the SRAM Flak Jacket Gear Cable Set to the Blur LT to provide slick and positive shifting, with a fully lined casing system that is designed to keep the water and dirt out of the cables.

Having said that, I'm not sure how keen Matt will be to ride his new bike in anything but perfect conditions!






The other must-have for a custom build; the Thomson Stem. With Matt going to a wider handlebar, we recommended he use a slightly shorter stem than what he had prior, in order to maintain a comfortable reach while improving high-speed stability. The 80mm Thomson X4 Stem keeps the handling tight, without making climbs a chore - an all round riding position that matches the all round capability of the Blur LT.

And as we think you'll agree, the finished product looks pretty damn fine! Not too much white and not too much red, the bike came out better than any of us had expected.
We'll be looking forward to hearing more riding stories from Matt, but so far it sounds like he is one happy camper!

If you like the look of the frame, you can check out the Santa Cruz Blur LT here.
We also have Blur LT complete options starting from just under $3500, and you can check out our entire range of Santa Cruz Bikes here.

Otherwise, drop into the shop to check out some of our instore demo bikes and frames we have available or to have a chat about doing a custom build for yourself.