"Dave Stocker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:"Jon Bond" <[email hidden]> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:XG9Ca.789504$OV.722251@rwcrnsc54...
Quoted message said:
Pssst - *cough*Blur!*cough*
I would wait on a Blur. Aside from the fact that it is overhyped, it is a new model and has not
yet proven itself. If everyone STILL thinks it is
the
Quoted message said:greatest thing in the world in two years, then consider it.
Who gives a damn about hype? Ride the sucker, then decide. I can claim that full suspension is
overhyped - and you know what, it is. Hell, so are suspension forks. And singlespeeds. Hype is part
of the business, and smart marketing. There's a reason why you're still hearing the same thing about
the blur over 6 months after its release. (They had working models in 2001 by the way, so there's
your 2 years if you want to do it that way)
If I waited two years every time a new technology came out, I'd still be shying away from 100mm
forks, adjustable travel, fox forks (which I don't use, but if I wasn't sponsored by Marzocchi I'd
seriously consider), any of the stable platform technologies (IE Epic, 5th element, manitou SPV)...
why wait? BTW, VPP is not new technology - search for Outland bicycles. They supposedly rode really
nice until they broke - fault of the engineering of the bike itself, not the suspension system.
Santa Cruz actually wanted to release teh blur earlier, but decided to iron out as many bugs as they
could find before they put it out to market - not many companies will do that.
Quoted message said:I was recently bike shopping and I very nearly ordered a Blur before I
came
Quoted message said:to my senses.
4 things:
Quoted message said:1- BOB is a rider problem, not a design failure. It is only a problem if you can't pedal in a
circle. If you pedal sloppy enough, you can make
even
Quoted message said:a URT bike bob. If you have a bob problem, practice pedaling your bike
with
Quoted message said:one leg. Ride for a while, switch legs, repeat. It is a stupid boring drill, but it works.
There's a reason you don't see many URT bikes anymore - they actually bob quite a lot, besides being
nasty. Also, don't try to say that bob is totally a rider problem. There's rotational acceleration,
torque, and all sorts of factors that determine which way the rear wheel moves under power. Yes, if
you've got a bad enough spin, any bike will bob, but there's a reason some bikes bob a hell of a lot
more in some gears than others.
Quoted message said:2- I got a little concerned watching SC's VPP marketing video. When the
guy
Quoted message said:says something about chain tension keeping the back wheel in place, I started thinking: "Hmm my
cranks are fixed to the chainring and my feet
are
Quoted message said:fixed to the pedal. Can you say Kickback?"
yes, I can - "kickback does not affect the blur". The suspension moves the rear wheel in a very
slightly s-curved path. When there is tension on the chain in the sag position, it tends to move the
rear wheel down the slope - in other words, into the middle of the small curve at the bottom. This
keeps the bike from bobbing (much) from the sag position. The relatively slow speed compression will
not push the bike far enough past this point to go into the main stroke of the shock. Higher speed
compressions from terrain push the bike out of this range enough to get into the main part of the
stroke, which is very similar in geometry to many four bar systems, and actually fairly conventional
if taken alone. The difference between teh two types of compressions is also what allows shocks like
the 5th element to work.
Quoted message said:3- On a $1300 frame that is just going into production, let somebody else find the problems. Buy
version 1.1.
As a relatively small company, Santa Cruz constantly upgrades parts. There aren't specific model
years, persay, unless they're planning a major redesign. Therefore, the current version is probably
1.2, or 1.3. A bunch of other "boutique" brands do the same.
Quoted message said:4- SC has a 1 year warranty. This is a $1300 frame with a one-year warranty! Specialized, Trek,
Kestrel, etc, have lifetime warranty on the frames. Christ, even my old Haro has a lifetime
warranty on the frame.
SC
Quoted message said:is essentially saying, "We will sell you an expensive frame, but do not
ask
Quoted message said:us to stand behind our work".
Not all their bikes have it, for one thing. Second, SC provides pretty cheap replacement parts
should you happen to get a non-warantee problem, such as a dent, from a crash, etc. Yes, its
something to think about, and a good point.
Quoted message said:-Dave
And yes, I'm extremely biased, having one sitting in my room (but still not built up, argh!). I said
consider it, and then gave examples of other bikes to try. The Blur is definitely not the
be-all-end-all of mountain bikes - what fun would that be? However, its a new design, in his price
range, that many many many people, including myself, find very attractive. Don't buy ANY bike
without a test ride though - one man's heaven is another man's hell.
Jon Bond
