Santa Cruz released a pile of new bikes this year. The all new Driver 8 is coming soon. The redesigned Jackal and Blur XC are shipping now. And to top it all off the carbon version of the Blur LT2 is going to arrive shortly.
If you have been looking at a Santa Cruz, this is the year. The refined, generation 2 VPP suspension is more sensitive and more durable. They are easier to service, stiffer, and lighter. Not to mention, carbon is here. Not just any carbon, but carbon tested stronger than the Nomad.
We have the Blur XC Carbon, Nomad 2, and LT2 in stock.
Here are some pictures and the rundown courtesy of Santa Cruz.
Blur XC Carbon
Meet the new carbon fiber Blur XC. It features 105mm of next generation VPP travel (including grease ports in the lower links, angular contact bearings, large diameter pivot axles and enhanced shock rates) tailored specifically to address the hard pedaling dynamics of XC racing while maintaining superb bump absorption. And it’s made out of carbon fiber. The result? Our lightest ever bike (a full pound lighter frame weight than the old model), with blazing fast acceleration and incredible climbing performance, built into a chassis that is also one of our stiffest, most flex-resistant frames, period. Those traits, coupled with stable, surefooted geometry, shatter some of the old preconceptions about cross country compromise, and spell the same thing in whatever language they are spelled out:
Big Can Of Whoop Ass.
Blur LT Carbon
Take our beloved all-duty trailbike, the Blur LT, complete with 140mm of plush, sophisticated, no maintenance VPP suspension. Now, make the frame a pound lighter, make it several orders of magnitude stronger and stiffer, make it out of carbon fiber. Don’t candy-ass out and make just a carbon front triangle, make the whole bike out of the stuff, and use a proprietary one piece molding process that ensures maximum strength and minimal weight.
The result? The strongest bike we have ever built, bar none. It’s a nimble, fast climbing, flex-free, confidence inspiring, trail bombing demon of a bike. Build it up however you want – there are no weight restrictions or fork travel limits to worry about – then ride it hard as you dare. Try to refrain from cackling like a madman in the process.
Driver 8
Give us this day our daily… driver. Driver 8 in this case. Named after the much missed former head dog of Santa Cruz, the Driver 8 is a tough beast to categorize. Combining 8 inches of next generation VPP travel with a solidly built chassis that allows 7 inches of up and down seat adjustment – and well thought out details like a super burly pair of long life, low maintenance pivots, a 1.5″ headtube, an 83mm bottom bracket with ISCG05 mounts, and a 150mm spacing rear end with a Maxle thru-axle – the Driver 8 is a versatile, tough, fun loving, gravity fed wrecking ball.
Daily duty DH racer? Park bike? Freeride bike? Heavy duty hucker? Backcountry bomber? Yep. All of the above…