The Blur, and it's not particularly close. At comparable trim, the Blur X0 AXS Trail RSV is about 11.74 kg vs 13.87 kg for the 5010 X0 AXS RSV — roughly 2 kg, or about 3% of a 70 kg rider's system weight. On a 30-minute climb at threshold, that's worth somewhere around 30–40 seconds.

The Blur's Superlight flex-stay design also actively tracks roots and rocks in a way the 5010's VPP doesn't, which reviewers repeatedly called out as a 'technical climbing' advantage. The 5010's playful mullet geometry and heavier chassis are working against it on the way up.

The 5010, by a clear margin within its travel class. A 65.2° head angle, 622 mm stack (size M), and 130 mm of VPP rear travel put it in a fundamentally different descending zone than the Blur's 67.1° / 597 mm / 115 mm package.

Reviewers at BikeRadar and The Radavist described the 5010 as riding 'a tiny bit bigger than the numbers suggest' — able to handle enduro-level terrain as long as you don't need enduro-level speeds. The Blur descends well for an XC bike, but reviewers consistently called it 'flighty' when pushed at high speeds, where the 5010 stays composed.

Different goals. The Blur's 29-in rear maintains momentum over chatter and flattens rolling resistance — everything a marathon racer wants. The 5010's 27.5-in rear has lower rotational inertia and a shorter rear-center, which makes the bike flickable, easy to manual, and more eager to drift in corners — what a trail rider wants.

Santa Cruz used to sell the 5010 as a full 27.5. The V5 added the 29-in front in 2022 to improve front-wheel rollover without sacrificing the rear-end agility that's always defined the model.

5010: 63.5 mm (about 2.5 in) at both wheels. It ships with 2.4 in Maxxis Minion DHR II tires and has room to run wider if you stick to MX.

Blur: 61 mm (about 2.4 in) at both wheels. Stock builds run 2.4 in Maxxis Rekon Race (XC versions) or Maxxis Rekon (TR versions). That's the practical ceiling — the Blur is not designed around plus-size tire experiments.

Santa Cruz says no. Reviewers say kind of. The Blur TR runs 115 mm rear / 120 mm front and a 67.1° head angle, which puts it in the same numerical neighborhood as the Transition Spur and Specialized Epic Evo.

But the Blur's cockpit is shorter when you step up to the TR (the longer fork actually reduces reach by raising the front end), and the bars, saddle, and brakes are still XC-spec. It's a marathon-race bike with a bit of extra travel — not a trail bike that happens to be light. If you want a true short-travel trail bike from Santa Cruz, the 5010 or the Tallboy is the honest answer.

For long-distance XC or marathon events, the Blur wins comfortably — lighter weight, more efficient suspension on smooth terrain, and a flex-stay design that reviewers said 'took the edge off' over multi-hour efforts.

For long days with significant technical descents — think backcountry epics — the 5010 is the more capable tool even if you pay for it on the climbs. One tester with 3,000+ miles on the Blur called it 'a comfortable place to be' for endurance riding, which is the simpler summary.

5010 V5: yes — the 'Glovebox' down-tube storage arrived with this generation, and it ships with Santa Cruz's Tool Wallet and Tube Purse sleeves.

Blur V4: no down-tube storage, but three bottle positions inside the frame for hydration flexibility on long XC efforts. Reviewers at Bike Perfect flagged the three-bottle layout as a marathon-friendly touch.

Identical. Both frames come with Santa Cruz's lifetime frame warranty, lifetime pivot bearing replacement, and a lifetime wheel warranty on Reserve carbon rims (included on RSV-spec builds). That's part of why the premium price is palatable to long-term owners — the support keeps delivering years after purchase.