Even the most hardened mountain bikers get a dose of reality at the Cape Epic. The eight-day mountain bike stage race is classed as hors catégorie by the UCI and attracts a wide variety of pros wanting to test their spring fitness. htSQD racer Keegan Swenson is one of those riders who made the trip to South Africa for the Cape Epic and we managed to snag his Santa Cruz Blur before the event for this exclusive bike check.
Keegan is riding the new Blur TR matte silver colorway in size medium with 28|XC wheels. The AXS Reverb is set to 100mm travel and the RockShox SID Ultimate fork is at 120mm travel with lockout, just not with handlebar remote.
Some nice matchy match happening with the Chris King headset and red Blur graphics. Keegan runs a 50mm length stem.
Lockouts are needed for Cape Epic and Keegan is running a handlebar remote on his SID Deluxe Ultimate. He is also running the 45mm stroke shock netting him 115mm of rear travel. 
This picture is in here only to show some of the nice finish details on the Blur. Close up, it looks just as nice as from a distance.
Only introduced last month, Keegan ran SRAM's new T-Type AXS Eagle transmission with 10-52 cassette (on XX SL the three small cogs are machined aluminum) and 170mm Power Meter cranks with 36 tooth front chainring. The lower pulley that's available on the XX and XX SL derailleurs – a two-part design where the outside teeth can still keep spinning in case an object becomes lodged in its inner spokes – adds another failsafe to not damaging components out on the trail.
Here is a closer look at the what UDH has become: the derailleur mounts directly to the frame. While a derailleur hanger was initially designed to bend in order to take the loads of a crash, the new interface is directly connected to a bike's thru-axle, which makes it very robust against side and frontal impacts and prevents it from transferring most of the crash energy directly into a frame.
Frame: Santa Cruz Blur TR
Size: Medium
Color: Matte Silver
Shock: @rockshox SidLuxe Ultimate, 115mm travel w/remote
Fork: @rockshox Sid SL Ultimate, 120mm travel
- Drivetrain: @srammtb XX SL Eagle AXS T-Type
Shifter: @srammtb AXS Pod Ultimate Bridge
Cranks: 170mm, 36t with powermeter
Cassette: @srammtb T-Type 10-52t
Chainguide: @oneupcomponents
Brakes: @srammtb Level Ultimate Stealth
Rotors: @srammtb CLX, Centerlock, F.180mm R.160mm
Headset: @chriskingbuzz Dropset 3
Hubs: @dtswiss 180 EXP, 24h
Rims: @reservewheels 28|XC 29”
Tires: @maxxisbike Aspen 2.4”
Saddle: @wildernesstrailbikes Silverado Ti
Seatpost: @srammtb AXS Reverb, 100mm
Bar: Santa Cruz Carbon Flat Bar, 760mm
Grips: @srammtb