Hei Hei
vsBlur
Two short-travel 29ers, two opposite agendas.
The Kona Hei Hei is a downcountry all-rounder built for all-day comfort. The Santa Cruz Blur is a marathon race weapon built to win on the climb.
Hei Hei
- Trail-grade suspension at this price — a RockShox Pike Ultimate fork and Deluxe Ultimate shock on a $6.3k bike is rare.
- Sensible all-mechanical spec — SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission shifts crisper than AXS, with no batteries to charge.
- Bikepacking-ready frame — nine bottle/accessory mounts and a stable, slack chassis built for long days.
- Heavy for its category at ~30.5 lb — a real disadvantage against true XC race bikes on smooth climbs.
- Only one carbon build offered ($6.3k); the cheaper $4k spec is alloy with a different frame entirely.
Blur
- Featherlight chassis — the CC frame hits 1,933 g; complete top-tier builds dip into the 22-25 lb range.
- Best-in-class technical climbing — low anti-squat keeps the rear wheel glued to roots and rock steps.
- Lifetime warranty on frame, bearings, and Reserve wheels — Santa Cruz's coverage is the segment benchmark.
- Active suspension can feel bob-prone on smooth surfaces unless you actually use the lockout.
- Premium price and 'cheeky' spec choices — testers flagged GX-tier shifters on builds badged a tier higher.
Editor’s analysis
Both run roughly 120 mm of squish out back, but they aim at completely different riders — one wants to keep going for hours, the other wants to drop you on the climb.
On paper these look like the same bike. Both are carbon 29ers with around 120 mm of rear travel, both run a 120-130 mm fork, both clear a 2.4" tire, both ride on Maxxis rubber. Spend a minute on the geometry chart and the philosophies separate immediately.
The Kona Hei Hei has slacker, taller, longer-wheelbase numbers — a 66 degree head angle, a 620 mm stack, a 1194 mm wheelbase in size M. Kona pulled the bike off its XC-race lineage on purpose: this is a downcountry tool with a 130 mm RockShox Pike Ultimate, the new linkage-driven Swinger suspension, nine bottle bosses, and a build sheet that prioritizes trail-grade suspension over grams. NSMB called it a real weapon on descents; Bikepacking called it the best long-haul rig in its class.
The Santa Cruz Blur picks a sharper line. A 67.1 degree head angle, a 597 mm stack, and a 'Superlight' flex-stay rear end with intentionally low anti-squat — Santa Cruz traded pedaling platform for traction, betting that the rear wheel sticking through technical climbs is faster than a firm, locked-out feel. Pinkbike called it the fastest singletrack climber they tested. The trade-off is a more active, sometimes 'soggy' feel on smooth fire roads, which the remote lockout is meant to handle.
Put another way: the Kona Hei Hei is the bike you buy when you want one mountain bike for everything from after-work laps to a multi-day bikepacking trip. The Santa Cruz Blur is the bike you buy when you have a number plate on the bars and you care about the clock.
Where the builds differ.
Comparing our editor's-pick builds side-by-side. Winners highlighted row-by-row — lower price and weight, and the better-spec component, each mark a point.
Build variants & pricing
The Kona offers exactly one carbon build and one alloy build. The Blur spans eight builds across two carbon grades and two travel configurations.
Prices are current US MSRP. Kona only offers a single carbon spec on the Hei Hei CR — there is no SRAM AXS or Shimano XT/XTR option from the factory. If you want electronic shifting or a flagship build, the Blur is your only path.
How they fit, how they steer.
Both compared at size M. The Hei Hei sits 23 mm taller in stack and 11 mm longer in reach with a 1.1 degree slacker head angle — a noticeably more upright, more stable trail-bike posture. The Blur's lower, steeper, shorter-wheelbase numbers are pure XC race.
Which size should I buy?
Recommendations come from stack, reach, and effective top tube. Both bikes run a four-size range (S-XL); the Hei Hei reaches a touch longer at the XL end.
→These are starting points. Flexibility, riding style, and preferred position all shift the answer — if you’re between sizes, a professional fit beats a chart.
What the magazines said.
Published reviews from trusted cycling outlets. Click through for the full write-up.
Which one should you buy?
If you want one mountain bike for everything from after-work loops to bikepacking trips, get the Hei Hei. If you race XC or marathon and the stopwatch matters, get the Blur.
Hei Hei
If you want one short-travel 29er that is comfortable on a 100-km backcountry day and still capable when the trail turns rowdy, this is the modern benchmark. The trail-grade suspension and bikepacking-ready frame do more than the spec sheet suggests, and the all-mechanical drivetrain means nothing to charge in the woods.
Blur
If most of your rides end with a result sheet, the Blur is the sharper tool. Class-leading frame weight, a suspension tune that climbs technical singletrack faster than the field, and a lifetime warranty across the whole platform. You'll pay for it, and you'll need to use the lockout, but on race day you'll be glad you did.
Questions buyers actually ask.
Short answers to the things we get emailed about most often.
01Which one climbs better?
It depends on the climb. On smooth fire roads the Blur is faster — it's lighter (sub-26 lb on most carbon builds vs. 30.5 lb on the Hei Hei CR) and it has a remote lockout to firm up the platform. On technical singletrack climbs the Blur is still faster, this time because Santa Cruz tuned the rear end with low anti-squat to keep the rear wheel glued to roots and rock steps — Pinkbike named it the fastest singletrack climber in their field test.
The Hei Hei isn't slow on the way up — reviewers consistently call it efficient for its weight — but if pure climbing speed is the priority, the Blur wins.
02Which one descends better?
The Hei Hei, fairly clearly. A slacker 66 degree head angle (vs. 67.1 on the Blur), 130 mm of fork travel (vs. 120 on the Blur), a longer wheelbase, and burlier Maxxis Dissector tires all push the Hei Hei toward trail-bike territory. NSMB and MBA both called it a 'weapon on descents.'
The Blur is competent — its 'Superlight' suspension is supple and the cornering is sharp — but reviewers consistently described it as 'flighty' or 'twitchy' at higher speeds compared to dedicated downcountry bikes. It rewards a precise pilot, not a passenger.
03How much travel does each one have?
Kona Hei Hei G10: 120 mm rear, 130 mm front (RockShox Pike Ultimate on the carbon CR build).
Santa Cruz Blur V4: the platform comes in two travel configurations sharing one frame. The XC builds run 100-107 mm rear with a 120 mm fork. The TR (Trail) builds run 115 mm rear with a 120 mm fork. Most of the Blur lineup — including our editor's pick — is the TR config.
04Why is the Kona only offered as one build?
Kona was reacquired by its founders in 2024 after a rough stretch under Kent Outdoors, and the new strategy is to ship one carefully chosen carbon build (the Hei Hei CR at $6,299) plus a separate aluminum-frame model (the Hei Hei G10 at $3,999) — and nothing in between. Reviewers like The Radavist and NSMB praised the focus, calling it a 'sensible all-mechanical spec' rather than a tier ladder. The trade-off: no electronic shifting option, no flagship build, no budget carbon. If you want any of those, you're looking at the Blur or another brand.
05Are the two bikes carbon-grade equivalent?
Roughly. The Hei Hei CR uses Kona's carbon layup (the brand doesn't publish a multi-tier carbon naming convention). The Blur is offered in C and CC carbon: same geometry and lifetime warranty, but the CC frame is ~250-350 g lighter. Our editor's pick on the Blur side is a Carbon C build, which keeps the price comparable to the Kona and represents the better value for non-professional racers — reviewers consistently flagged the CC as a luxury upgrade.
06Do both bikes have a dropper post and a lockout?
Both come with a dropper post stock — even the XC race builds of the Blur ship with one. The Blur is generally specced with a remote lockout (TwistLoc on the XC builds, sometimes a bar-mounted lever on TR builds), which Santa Cruz considers part of the platform — the suspension is intentionally tuned to expect it on smooth climbs.
The Hei Hei uses the RockShox Deluxe Ultimate's two-position lever on the shock body itself. Reviewers from Blister and The Radavist both said they often forgot to use it because the bike pedals well without it.
07Which one is better for bikepacking?
The Hei Hei, by a wide margin. The frame has nine bottle and accessory mounts in the front triangle (Bikepacking.com's review called this out specifically), the long stable wheelbase is reportedly excellent loaded with gear, and the burlier Maxxis Dissector tires give you more margin on chip-seal and gravel. Bikepacking.com wrote that it 'reduces rider fatigue' and 'felt great loaded up with gear' for multi-day rides.
The Blur has dual bottle mounts inside the front triangle and a third position, which is generous for an XC bike, but the platform isn't aimed at loaded riding.
08Which holds up better long-term?
Both come with lifetime frame warranties — Santa Cruz also covers pivot bearings and Reserve wheels for life, which is genuinely best-in-class. Long-term Blur testers have reported pivot creak (warranty-covered) and noted that the Fox Transfer SL dropper and stock E13 hub axle on certain older builds are weak points worth swapping or upgrading.
The Hei Hei is too new for true long-term data, but reviewers flagged the WTB KOM Team rims and the PF92 press-fit bottom bracket as the two most likely first upgrades. The trail-grade suspension and SRAM Motive 4-piston brakes are expected to last.
Similar bikes
If your priorities don’t map cleanly onto either of these, one of these adjacent bikes probably fits better.
Epic Evo
Specialized's downcountry play and the Blur's most direct competitor — short travel, low weight, and a more aggressive descending posture than a true XC race bike. Worth a look if the Blur feels too XC-pure.
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Tallboy
The Tallboy is the next step up the Santa Cruz ladder — 120/130 mm of travel, a slacker head angle, and real downhill capability without giving up much on the way up. Pick this if the Blur looks too racy and the Hei Hei looks too steady.
Compare →Spearfish
Salsa's downcountry-and-bikepacking specialist, often cross-shopped against the Hei Hei for the same reasons — long-distance comfort, all-day capability, room for cargo. A natural alternative if you like the Hei Hei's brief but want a different brand identity.
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