Santa Cruz Heckler SL Review - Pros and Cons of this light #emtb

#loamwolf #santacruzbicycles
Want to know how the Santa Cruz Heckler SL stacks up and if it's a bike we'd buy? Check out the review as we discuss and share our feedback from a couple months of hardcore testing aboard this Fazua-equipped lightweight, eMTB.

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00:00 Introduction
01:02 Climbing Impressions
02:40 Descending Impressions
07:52 Final Impressions

[AHappyZeebra]

Great review. I’ve had my Heckler SL for nearly 2 months now. I actually thought the shock was plush for me but had to fiddle more on the fork with some suspension guys here. This bike corners exceptionally well, super planted, and rides chunk (at least for me) like a beast. My first outing was a bike park and boy does this bike like to jump! You never feel going downhill this is an ebike short of feeling it rails corners better likely due to a little more weight. Motor has been solid for me. Love there is no drag on the motor when it’s off. I do feel the first OTB I will do will destroy the ring controller. Hoping FAZUA considers a metal ring component in the future. This bike is so fun!

[emtbwulf]

Nice to see you riding Spectrum, and Happy Endings! Definitely fun to session. Great review, too!

[mikes.]

It’s interesting to hear other people’s thoughts on the bike. I thought the heckler soaks up rocks beautifully in rocky ass Tahoe and the motor has been dead silent. I am running mine at 31% sag and one click of HSC though, and I still have not found bottom even on big hucks to flat to the point where it’s almost weird. For comparison on the Levo SL I had to run 24% sag and the big spacer in the rear shock just to not bottom out constantly.

I run my zeb around 10 psi over the high end of recommend for my weight (plus e-bikes), and it matches the VPP so well.

My cranks came loose once. I took out a bunch of grease as there was way too much, never happened again. Also my headset originally was super loud and crunchy. Re-greased and it’s been silent.

Comparing to non VPP bikes I have found the heckler unbelievably fast not getting hung up, even compared to the Transmission Relay. Perhaps the shock tune is magic for my 175lbs ?

I have generally not loved VPP but I thought the latest Bronson and this feel totally different than the previous examples. Even The mega tower felt kind of slow and choppy.

Not defending the heckler by any means, just how it rides for me. One of the best jumpers I have had E-bike or not.
It’s still a silly bike though. Can’t recommend it for people that want full power or massive range. Can’t recommend it for people that want a deal. It’s about 4 lbs heavier than the Levo SL despite the Levo having DH tires and the heckler having stock thin tires, although it has a bigger battery and a more Efficient motor. The app and screen are miles ahead on the Levo too.
It’s a very niche class of bike. But man I feel like I can take on whistlers chunkiest trails on this thing where the Levo SL I would be a lot more conservative for the same travel.

[theVlKlNGR]

When I see and read the reviews of Santa Cruz bikes here and on other channels, one point shines through to me more and more:
These bikes don't like air shocks! Even if they were designed with or for them.
I also went to coil on my Nomad and the bike feels so much better!
You should give it a try with coil!

[phx]

Damn it! I just bought the bike. How can you not love it? You don't know what your talking about. Every bike I have ever owned is the best bike on the market! All kidding asside. Great review and great thoughts. I may have to look at getting a coil. Keep up the great work. Thanks. Going to grab me some Loam Wolf gear.

[danielrobinson]

Have a Heckler sl on order for my wife. Sounds like a coil shock is the move!

[richardulrich]

I still love the old light blue Heckler with the yellow lettering. Such a great paint scheme.

[rezenclowd]

Glad you brought it back home to Thousand Oaks/Simi. Localish to that area (SB) and sometime would love a review on best bike for Tunnel trail, besides saying "steroids, balls, guts, glory". Thanks for the review, not in the market but many friends now are wanting e-bikes as groups disperse and finding shuttle buddies takes time.

[armyn]

my heckler SL with coil (EXT E-Storia) plows through rough stuff and traction for days! not as good as my 160e with E-Storia but close!! i think VPP like coil better than air.

[freezer]

I demo'd this bike at the SC factory and also in Marin. Agree that the frame/suspension is super poppy and fun on flowy stuff. It feels like a long travel trail bike; definitely not an enduro bike even though the suspension travel is in that range. The motor and interface feels like a beta release to me- a few glitches with the motor interface and the SC demo bike motor started to make a lot of noise at the top of long climbs. Power is very good for an SL bike and the battery life is great- extrapolating I could have gone 5500'+ vertical in River mode. Ultimately decided not get the bike, basically because I'm not convinced of the motor/interface quality and longevity.

[fredboudreaux]

Great review. Helped me decide on the Bullit coil build instead

[filipkryspin]

Regarding VPP on rough terrain, you are right. I ride v1 megatower. I wasnt impresed with the performance of the shock the frame came with. But When I've tried coil shock, or added Megneg do the super deluxe air, or riding FOX X2, the suspenssion works excelent in all conditions. Perhaps its worth mentioning what upgrades the bike would really benefit from.

[dadventuretv]

For $90 a MegNeg will soften the top of the stroke and give a little more progression at the end while keeping the nice middle to push into in corners and pop. SCs reward an active rider who unweights and pops a lot through gnar. They’re a bit more on the playful end than squishy point and shoot. That said, they’re still plenty plush- a lot of my riding is high speed gnar and my Bronnie eats it up.

[russgordon]

Would appreciate your review with a coil shock instead of current. Would that mitigate the overly firm suspension feel you mentioned. I appreciate the same feel you do and don’t really want a harsh ride.

[hobbanero]

I've had a couple of weeks on my SHLeckler, coming off a Kenevo SL (so a tough bar to beat on descending). I was not loving the feel initially....I just felt like I was too far back on the bike, with the front end feeling too light on steep climbs and not enough traction on descents. I slammed my stem (-2cm from how it was delivered) and that extra reach made all the difference--the balance now feels right. BB is a bit low for chunky terrain, but that has advantages when you are not pedaling. It feels tauter than the KSL, but faster and more fun except for chunky plunges, which makes sense given it is not a full on enduro rig. My ring controller is already broken (1st day). Fazua needs to fix that....hell, just open source the CAD and someone will 3D print a better option, freeing up Fazua's resources to get the range extender to market. And thanks for reminding me to tighten my cranks.

[KTrivers]

Peter Stormare rides Santa Cruz, very nice bike .

[MotorsportsX]

Im watching your bike and riding and I really think your criticality of the VPP is a result of the shock not being dialed. I had the same opions about my highttower that you have about this bike (in regards to lack of supplness) and now that is completely gone with a shock upgrade and serious tuning. My personal preference on VPP suspension settings is to set the rebound so the bike does pack down the shock "a little bit" I mean like right on the edge. the benefit is that you can run lower air pressure, and then as the bike compresses you get more and more suspension activity with the change of the leverage curve and increase in shock air pressure. It also gets you a little lower to the ground when youre going really fast. Your shock was also bottomed out on an HBO so if that is going to be a bigger problem with lower air pressure you have a couple options. negative volume spacers with the same air pressure, or a shock with a progressive air can and the appropriate volume spacers to match your preference. I really think you should give it another shot. Now the 27.5 hanging up is a different story

[jlhi]

Any rumblings of a bullit sl in the pipeline? Great vid

[MrDavecore]

This bike is great from Santa Cruz’s side i.e. the Bronson is great so long as you like VPP. My main issue is the reliability of the motor, when the v2 comes out I’m down

[justincisneros]

love that trail ! I ride it a few times a week