You've been spending some time riding offroad and found that XC racing is your jam. Races are now on your calendar and you're training in earnest looking to take it a little more seriously this season and you'll need an agile and quick singletrack slayer to tame the long climbs, rough rock gardens, and rooty drops. You also want a bike that's a bit of fun when you aren't lined up to go anaerobic for an hour and a half and that's where the Blur Carbon CC X01 Eagle Reserve Complete Mountain Bike shines. Missing from action for a bit from Santa Cruz's lineup, the Tallboy is all grown up and it allowed Santa Cruz the chance for a reboot to create an XC race ready rig with no compromises. Slightly steeper angles than your typical trail bike, but totally capable for cross-country, and an impressive build spec allow the new Blur to dominate the modern XC landscape with its 4-inches of VPP suspension that efficiently scoots up the climbs and pedally bits while allowing you to blast down descents and stay fresher throughout the race. Lightweight race whippet and burley might seem mutually exclusive, but that's exactly what you get with the Blur. It's one-piece carbon VPP rear triangle mirrors that of Santa Cruz's burly V10 and Nomad. The twin-spar upright architecture received inspiration from the bigger bikes, providing a ride that's both laterally and torsionally stiff, without excessive bulk to haul up the climbs. Santa Cruz's trademark one-piece carbon front triangle further bolsters stiffness and tracks with authority adding confidence through blown out, braking bump switchbacks and chunky trail features. The VPP suspension on the new Blur is much like the latest VPP you'll find in newer Santa Cruz bikes, which is undoubtedly an upgrade from the previous generations. Smoother ramping during the mid-stroke assists to provide efficient pedaling and climbing before ramping up near the end for that coveted bottomless feel as you near the end of the stroke. The ultra-smoo...