The new Santa Cruz Heckler CC, my first ebike review from the Lake Mountain Ride Day. I’ve ridden a few ebikes before, a Specialized Turbo Levo, Focus Jam2 and on this day the Giant Reign E, Norco Sight VLT and this Santa Cruz Heckler CC. Price points for each varies greatly and I’m sure the Heckler would fit in the upper ranges even for the base model. But boy, what a bike!
There was a lot of secrecy behind the launch of the Heckler and I have to say this ride didn’t disappoint. I’d already completed a lap on the Giant Reign E before switching to the Heckler. I found the Reign had a few problems, brakes were lacklustre and the motor wanted to engage with just a small amount of pressure on the peddles, shifting wasn’t smooth either. The Santa Cruz however felt natural and like it could handle anything. Santa Cruz frames tend to be a little on the smaller side and I found that to be the case with this large frame 27.5′ demo. I ride a large StumpJumper with 29′ wheels so this bike naturally felt smaller and a lot more agile. Not having ridden many carbon frames it may also be the extra rigidity the carbon frame offers that makes the bike feel more capable.
The honour of first ride on the Heckler went to my son Braydon who works at Cycle Works, Box Hill. They were one of the first shops to carry the Heckler but since its release no-one in the shop, including owner Vlad, had gotten to ride it yet. Braydon got first dibs on the day and became the envy of all his work mates. Only a pity he then had to go down to the Giant Reign E, LOL. If you’re in the market for any Santa Cruz get in touch with Vlad and tell him I sent you.
Specs for this model were for the entry price point which would still set you back AUD$13k, at the top end you won’t get much change for AUD$20k. Weight is just under 22kg with 160mm RockShox Yari on the front and 150mm RockShox Super Deluxe Select. Drive train was the lower spec SRAM NX Eagle 12 speed with a Shimano DU-E8000 motor and integrated 504Wh battery. I tried to video the Shimano E7000 display but the frame rate didn’t match up. I suspect the frame rate may be reduced to conserve battery life, not that that would matter too much I imagine. For full specs check out the Santa Cruz Website, link below.
https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-…
Shout out should also go to Yarra Valley Cycles who organised a huge collection of bikes to try out on the day. The registration process was a little slow but the guys were a great help and more than happy to get you on a ride.
Have you ridden the Heckler? What did you think of the review? Leave a comment below and don’t forget to like and subscribe to Sportilium. Thanks for watching.
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