I don't know where to put this stuff but this is in response to @Norm's answer thread today and related to @qclabrat mention of FS at six mile:
I bought my 5010 in December of 2017 after riding a steel hardtail for 8 years. Previous to that, I have a cannondale rush (4" FS), the first gen giant trance (4" FS) and the giant trance x (5" fs).
At the time I had the bikes, 4" seemed about the maximum bike to ride at a place like 6 mile. The FS of the time just rode so damn tall. Riding my giant trance X there seemed very silly. For lack of a better term, you rode on top of these bikes. Ultimately I went back to HT because I was tired of dealing with suspension pivots, especially on the giants.
Maybe 2 years ago, I started to look into FS again and the changes in hub standards and tapered steerers and all that kept me from pulling the trigger, but I noticed how much FS bikes started to change. It became hard to find a 4" bike that wasn't a race bike and I knew I didn't need a 6"+ bike. I resisted @jdog's advances of riding a modern geo FS bike, as I am wise to the trick.
So then I rode the 5010 and a high tower around the parking lot at Halters and knew with in minutes that the 5010 was for me. One of the main differences is that you ride IN these bikes. They simply feel like an extension of your body. The lower BB, longer reaches / shorter stems / wider bars and other poop I don't understand all make it feel amazing compared to the FS bikes of yesteryear. I will be riding it at creek this year. I will be with my son, so wont be in the super gnar, but I have no doubt it can handle some of the drops there without issues.
So I have 140mm up front (5.5) and 130mm (5.1) out back and it feels way more nimble than the 120mm Trance X. Like there is no comparison.
Also, I think the Blur has to be an absolute ripper of a bike. I don't think it is a pure bred race bike, it sits some where in between a pure racer and a trail bike. Santa Cruz (and others) is blurring the f out of the lines.....
