Bike Check: Janey's Santa Cruz Heckler SL

A long term Enduro racer and endurance mountain bike rider, Janey was initially a reluctant convert to E-Bikes, forced onto them after months of illness; eventually being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue back in 2022. Her first E-Bike was her now beloved Santa Cruz Heckler 9 which she has ridden as her main mountain bike for the last couple of years. Being a lighter rider at just ~60kg, the Heckler did take her a while to adapt to initially, as despite it being one of the lightest full power bikes out there at the time, at 23kg it still takes a bit of muscling around in technical terrain for a smaller person.

Janey riding her old Heckler 9 on the Wardell Way, Innerleithen

Once she got used to the bike however, she really came to appreciate the range, grip and composure on offer riding it fast and in a huge variety of terrain, doing everything from steep Golfie trails to long cross country days out. The Heckler 9 has been a genuinely life changing bike for her, keeping her out riding throughout her ongoing recovery and helping her work back towards riding and fitness.

Oddly, the biggest issue she’s had is that being both small and keen to pedal, the bike has simply had more power and range than she actually needs. Boost mode was rarely used as health improved, and with her longest day out being 90km and 1800mm climbing still with 30% battery left at the end it became obvious she could lose a little torque and capacity with no compromise to her rides. 

Bedding in the new Heckler SL in Catalunya

Ever since the Heckler SL launched, she’s had one eye on the lighter bike, thinking that it will still give all the range and power she needs, while dropping a chunk of weight and giving back some of the fast mountain bike handling she loved so much in her regular mountain bikes. A chance to ride a demo Heckler SL late last year was the clincher, with her immediately at home on the bike, charging it down the Innerleithen downhill tracks, gapping and pumping trail sections and feeling like her old self. 

A bike was ordered within weeks and she’s now a month into riding her new machine. So far she’s loving every ride as much as she did on that initial demo and descending as fast as any of us have ever seen her go on any bike. She couldn’t really be happier with it, and has commented a number of times now that it doesn’t feel like an E-Bike (in a good way) descending, it’s just her old Bronson but faster and more stable. As much as just 3kg less than the Heckler 9 might not seem a huge difference, the change it has made to the handling and the bikes centre of gravity couldn't be clearer when you watch her ride it. Active on the bike and pushing for speed, she's been immediately at home on it on everything from flat out open trails to steep and technical sections. 

Her initial suspicions around range and power are also playing out well, with her yet to use a full charge on the bike, and getting somewhere around 400m+ of climbing per bar of battery in the middle power mode. One of the higher torque SL motors the Fazua Ride 60 is also providing plenty of grunt with her mainly riding in River (trail), dipping into Rocket (boost) only later on in rides or when blasting up an E-Bike specific climb.

Janey's Heckler SL

At 5,2’, Janey rides the size Small in the Heckler SL. A 42.5mm Burgtec Enduro Stem keeps reach and handling balanced, and her Burgtec Carbon Enduro Bars are trimmed to 740mm. A set of their Josh Bryceland signature grips in super soft provide the contact points with her really liking the new pattern and the extra cushion it provides. 

Her wheels are Reserve Carbon, custom built onto the legendary Hope Pro 5 hubs in house by our head mechanic and excellent wheel builder, Mat. A lighter SL 30 29’ rim sits out front to save a little weight and add some compliance to the front wheel, while an HD 30 rim on the rear should provide a bulletproof rear wheel for her direct riding style (Janey is famously merciless to her bike through the rough sections). 

Those wheels are shod in her favourite Maxxis tires. An Assegai 2.5 MaxxGrip Exo+ gives the most grip possible without excessive weight, while out back the super classic DHR II in 2.4 and tougher Double Down casing both slows the bike down and takes the hits she dishes out (Janey has tried Exo+ rear tires, but needs the DD to avoid punctures in rocky terrain). Pressures are 18psi front and 21psi rear. A Mudhugger Shorty Evo keeps mud, stones and dust out of glasses and fork seals alike. 

A long term Hope fan, Janey has had several sets of their brakes and this bike keeps her on her favourite platform with a set of Tech 4 E4 brakes, matched to a 200mm rotors front and rear. That combination gives her more than enough power and cooling while still preserving modulation and control. With smaller hands, she also makes use of the massive adjustment possible on the Tech 4 to run the levers close to the bars with minimal throw.

A new Hope part for her are their trail pedals. A long term Shimano SPD rider, the switch to Hope pedals across her bikes has been a recent one, promoted by the absurd durability she experienced in a set of F20 flats she previously owned. Hope clipless pedals now sit on her Wilder, Bronson and this new Heckler SL and she’s finding them to be a solid and easy to use system, providing an easy to find clip and stable platform. She’s running the lower float 4’ cleat, preferring the more secure feel and quick exit it offers compared to the higher float 5’ version. Finally their excellent dropper lever also activates her One Up post (150mm). 

160mm Praxis cranks drive the bike (at least until Hope makes an E-Bike crank for the Fazua motor). The drivetrain itself is full SRAM GX transmission which is new to her and as you would hope, has been faultless so far. 

Finally, suspension is RockShox front and rear with a Select+ Lyrik at 160mm and Super Deluxe shock doing the business. Settings are:

Lyrik: 64 psi, Rebound 11 clicks from closed, 2 clicks LSC

Super Deluxe: 150psi, Rebound 9 Clicks from closed

Needless to say, she’ll be putting a ton of miles into the bike as the year goes on, so we’ll check in and see how things have developed later in the summer, but so far, the Heckler SL has been pretty much the dream bike for her giving a near perfect balance of range, power and handling. 

Full Bike Spec

Frameset: Santa Cruz Heckler SL C, Size Small, Super Deluxe Select + Air Shock

Fork: Rock Shox Lyrik Select+ 29’ 160mm

Rims: Reserve SL 30 front. Reserve HD 30 rear

Hubs: Hope Pro 5

Front Tire: Maxxis Assegai 2.5 MaxxGrip Exo+ 

Rear Tire: Maxxis DHR II 2.4 MaxxTerra DD

Brakes: Hope Tech 4 E4, Silver / Purple

Rotors: Hope Floating, 200mm / 200mm Purple

Stem: Burgtec Enduro 42.5mm, Rhodium Silver

Handlebar: Burgtec Carbon Enduro, cut to 740mm

Grips: Burgtec Josh Bryceland Signature, Super Soft

Dropper: One Up V3, 150mm drop

Dropper Lever: Hope

Pedals: Hope trail

Cranks: Praxis alloy 160mm

Cassette: SRAM GX T-type

Chain: SRAM GX T-type

Derailleur: SRAM GX T-type

Shifter : SRAM AXS Pod

Fender: Mudhugger Shorty Evo

Bike weight: 19.8kg including pedals, Mudhugger Evo and bottle cage.