We thought it would be fun to give you a glimpse into the bikes that we (the guys who work at Joyride Cycles) build and ride ourselves. Like you, all of us have different riding styles, and we like to build bikes that fit our specific needs.
The first bike up is the newest addition - it is Santa Cruz Blur TRc built by Jesse Taylor. Jesse is a wrench at Joyride who has been training for the upcoming Super D race season. His stable includes a Nomad Carbon, some type of single speed 29", and a commuter bike or two. But he wanted a bike built for Super D/Enduro style riding, and this bike is what he came up with. Jesse has been giddy to ride this sweet machine and you can bet he's going ride the pedal off this green machine on his first ride.
The Blur TRc is Santa Cruz's carbon fiber offering in the trail bike category. Among other things, you get 125mm of patented VPP suspension travel, a 68 degree head angle, modestly short (for a trail bike) 16.9" chainstays, and two water bottle cage mounts. At about 6 pounds, this is among the best trail frames available today.
You can see from this somewhat blury image, Jesse went with the 2012 Rock Shox Revelation WC Carbon fork. He wanted the stiffness the carbon crown and tapered steerer-tube provide. He reduced the fork travel to 140mm to avoiding voiding the frame warranty. We mainly lean toward Rock Shox for our suspension needs, because we feel they are very comparable to Fox in terms of performance and durability, but the service we get from SRAM when something does go wrong is invaluable. You can't see it in the image but Jesse also replaced the DU bushing on the Fox RP23 with a needle bearing. It's a small detail that provides an incredible increase in sensitivity to the rear suspension.
Jesse mainly rides flat pedals and chooses Straitline. This bike got the new Straitline AMP pedal, which is great looking, reasonably light, and very durable. They just happened to match, but that can't be why he chose the black LTD color, could it???
The above shot details the burly bottom bracket/down tube/seat tube junction and the lower water bottle cage mount. You can also see the MRP 2x guide, X.0 crank, X.0 front/rear derailleurs, and the DT Swiss Tricon rear wheel. The Tricon wheels weigh around 1550 grams, making them good for most trail/all mountain riding. They use a propriety straight-pull DT Arrow Light bladed spokes that run a high tension to make them very strong and stiff. The downside is that you have to buy crazy expensive tools to true them yourself, or you have to send them back to DT. Very limiting. He'd be better off building the same wheel with 240 hubs, Arrow Light spokes, and Stan's Crest rims. They be lighter and he could true them himself. I'm not sure what DT was thinking.
The X.0 components are all business. They function perfect, have a reasonable weight, and look good. Not much needs to be said. Same for the MRP guide. It was made for the SRAM double crank, is quiet, and seems to do it's job.
The brake duties are handled by the new Shimano XT stoppers. You've probably ready great reviews of these brakes and we can attest that it is all true. They are easy to set up, bleed, and they have gobs of stopping power. Go XTR if you want to save some weight and spend more money, or just buy these. You can see the new Rock Shox Reverb left-hand remote in the picture. The Reverb is our favorite post. Jesse has owned Kind Shock, Gravity Dropper and Rock Shox. This is now his second Reverb if that means anything. That is a green ESI silicone grip in chunky. ESI makes a great grip. I just converted myself and are very happy so far. You can't see the branding on the handlebar, but it is an Easton Havoc Carbon DH bar. 30 inches wide and very light. If you've been a wide-bar holdout, do yourself a favor and give one a chance. It will change your life. It will.
You're looking at a Shimano XT caliper with heat sinks mounted to the freaking brake pads. That's high-tech. And it probably does something good. I don't have them and have never had a brake fire. But it could happen I suppose, what do I know? You can also see that Santa Cruz avoided using a post style brake mount and stuck with the traditional IS style. It's a smart move that can save you a headache if don't have the proper adapter. IS adapters are still much easier to find for rear brakes. The rotor is a Center-Lock ICE-TECH unit from Shimano. It's supposed to keep things cooler. The QR lever is a DT RWS thru-axle style unit.
Headtube badge and cables. Two good things.
It's only right to have shades that match the frame. The John Deer inspired Oakley Jawbones are the epitome of function and fashion.
Look at that happy Bastard! You'd be smiling too if your bike matched your shades.
That concludes this segment. Thanks for putting up with the fuzzy photos, bad grammar, and poor product descriptions. Maybe Jesse will chime in with a review once he's had to time to put some miles in...but don't cross your fingers.
