After reading a lot about new bikes on the ‘Net, I kept reading about a bike from a fairly small manufacturer, Turner Bikes, called the 5-Spot. It’s a bit of a different bike than the Blur; the Blur is more cross-country (tight and light) and the 5-Spot has gobs of plush suspension for rocks and all-day rides.
There’s a bike shop in Santa Cruz that carries both, and Beau and I drove down on Sat. to check them out. Funny enough, they had a Blur very much like the one I ordered, sitting right on the floor. When I saw it (it was gorgeous), I figured I’d walk out with it, cancel my pending order at the other shop, and go riding. But I drove all the way down there to ride the 5-Spot.
Beau and I took the 5-Spot and the Blur out and pounded some curbs with them both, and I was amazed at how much better the 5-Spot felt than the Blur. I mean, I liked the Blur a lot, but the 5-Spot was just breathtaking. The Blur is a 4.5" bike (suspension travel) and the 5-Spot is a true 5" bike. The real difference is that the 5-Spot is an oil/coil suspension versus air. It feels like way more suspension. The main things the Blur had going for it was the weight (it was about 4 pounds lighter) and the looks (awesome).
So I did end up canceling the Blur order, but now I’ve got an order for a bright red, large Turner 5-Spot. :D I should be on it in 2 weeks. Of course, the bad part is that I’ve already been off the bike for 2 weeks waiting for the Blur. :( At least I’ve been doing a lot of rock climbing in the meantime. ;)
The components are pretty much the same as the Blur I ordered: SRAM X.0 (Grip Shift) shifters and rear, mostly XT everywhere else. The brakes will be either Hayes or Avid Juicys (both 6" disc brakes). Wheels are up in the air a bit. They’ll either be Mavic 3/717s or Bontrager substitutions. Onyx hubs. The tires will be huge Nokian 2.3s. I’ll know more about exactly what and when on Wednesday when the shop can get ahold of Santa Cruz (where they’re ordering the parts kit from) and check spec and availability.