2008 release messing with success since its introduction in 2005 the blur lt has gone on to become our best selling bike it s a long-legged lightweight but surprisingly durable workhorse that defies being lumped into any one category and is at home everywhere from mellow x-c terrain to the steepest and rockiest slices of the back of beyond why then if something is so popular so tough and so capable would we go and scrap it for something new much as we love the old lt not long after it hit the trails we began to pick it apart to try and find ways of making it better now after an exhaustive two years of intensive design and prototyping we re ready to unveil the next generation of blur lt here are the cliff notes to the evolution ˇ no other design can be manipulated to allow the degree of change in shock rates hat vpp suspension can with regard to the new lt the shock rates have actually been mellowed out somewhat for a more active early suspension feel and a more linear action toward bot
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2008 release feature breakdown carbon fiber upper link multiple cable routing options ample mud clearance replaceable derailer hanger/bottle opener grease ports
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2008 release geometry based on 515mm a-c fork geo-chart size small medium large x-large toptube 21.5 22.5 23.5 24.5 seattube 15.7 17.0 19.0 20.5 headtube 3.9 4.3 4.7 5.5 headtube° 69.0° 69.0° 69.0° 69.0° seattube° 72.5° 72.5° 72.5° 72.5° bb height 13.5 13.5 13.5 13.5 wheelbase 41.7 42.7 43.8 44.8 chainstay 17.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 standover 27.8 28.0 28.6 29.3
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2008 release comparison chart the old blur lt the new blur lt 135mm 7.875x2.25 -27 35 24mm 501mm 773mm m aluminum 4 radial contact cartridge bearings titanium plate 12mm aluminum lower axles steel bolts replaceable dropout rear travel shock shock rate csl growth fork a-c standover lower link upper link link hardware der hanger 140mm 8.5x2.5 -15 18 17mm 515mm 712mm m aluminum 4 angular contact cartridge bearings 4 lip seals 2 grease ports molded carbon fiber 15mm 7075 aluminum axles lower m6 ti bolts and captured washers replaceable hanger
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2008 release how it all started by joe graney in late 2004 we started work on new suspension systems a couple people working full-time a fat budget and carte blanche to come up with something that was better this was about the same time the nomad had just come on the market we came up with some weird shit and some total crap there were a lot of whiteboards filled with crazy ideas that were hashed out often completely discarded there were a bunch of frankenstein suspension bikes that were made during this exploratory process of picking through the variables we had we kept making test rigs to isolate one parameter so we could evaluate the ride on that parameter alone it s easy to look back and think we sure were dumb to even go down some of the routes we did but we took a long time and really proved to ourselves what mattered a seven pivot single pivot bike is probably not a good idea i ll never forget the afternoon we put a titanium spring on the dyno just in case so then in mid-2006
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2008 release mule variations first mule the first suspension mule was the blt2b well we did build the blt2a but it sucked so we re not counting it i always said that it was about finding the outer limit so we could come back toward what we knew most people think i m making that up but we did find the limit gary loves making mules that have a special touch a unique approach to each this one was no exception the blt2b was a great riding bike 145mm travel plush incredible pedaling behavior it was almost too good in the squish department though maybe too close to nomad territory and too far from xc i loved that mule second mule blt2c shortened travel up to 135mm the shock rate curve got a little tighter which makes for livelier but less plush feel and we went for a teeny bit more anti-squat under big ring power while seated really bearing down in the big ring it squatted less than the blt2b the bravery and fearlessness that the 2b brought into play were not in the 2c though solid bike but
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2008 release sweating the details during the weeks and months in the shop while gary and heyliger were fabricating each mule from spare parts and each with some different methodology we also started thinking about pivots and trying to make a bike that was better for everyone from the welders and straighteners qc inspectors and production engineers painters and frame assemblers mechanics and riders pivots were first just about everyone had a beef with those a tighter fit less flex and no creaking angular contact bearings are housed within the lower link a collet axle threads into one side and is snugged to take all the pre-load out of the bearings one of the things that can makes suspension bikes flexier is radial clearance on installed bearings 6 7902 bearings 2 7900 bearings per frame the tapered washer is threaded into the collet axle expanding it into the bore on the frame this ceases relative motion between both sides of the axle which keeps the low axial force that keeps bearing
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2008 release sweating the details continued oh yeah and we re going to give you a grease gun something we learned after a lot of research which now seems obvious grease doesn t stay in bearings no matter what you do the balls roll clearing the path the grease leaks out of the bearing seals and there s airspace between the balls now just humidity in the air which is in the bearing is enough to cause corrosion even if the bike just sits that ends up decreasing the smooth life of bearings so we went the automotive way put a grease gun a real grease gun on the lower link fittings every year or so pump until the grease exiting appears clean ride bike done the grease lubricates and provide a small internal reservoir and together with the seal keeps moist air from entering even if you neglect your bike you are covered 2 ball-check grease ports on lower link disassemble and reassemble with a multi-tool the two bottom pivots come out from the left side so you can remove the lower link withou
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