[MTB_Rob_NC]

Well the holidays and year end bonus were not bad to me, so I figured what better gift to give then a refurbishing of the Heckler?

Here is the bike on day 1, almost 2 years ago..

There were some immediate issues with the 5th Element air and that was replaced with the coil.

Now new from the Holiday season 04/05. First came the Wheel Upgrade

Then that wasn't quite enough, the old LX crank and Splined BB were making noise and the XT derailur was on its last leg. So what better time to upgrade to HollowTech XT and SRAM X.9
is it bad to over your own bike? I can't wait to ride this weekend.

and lets not forget the mojo

 

[chicodude]

That bike with those wheels is to the fullest extent.....

 

[lovebunny]

that is the hottest heckler ive seen

 

[caputo1989]

I have those wheels on my Stumpy. Weighs in at 22.27 lbs.

 

[Sherpa]

I have those wheels on my Stumpy. Weighs in at 22.27 lbs.

And to think you could drop a FULL pound in wheels.

I :heart: :heart: :heart: thats Heckler.

 

[jdcamb]

Cool color. After I make my next bike transaction. I may consider a blue Heckler Nice bike......jdcamb

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

I have those wheels on my Stumpy. Weighs in at 22.27 lbs.

Not that I mind the weight, but my Large Heckler weighs in right at 30lbs even.

Really the only thing left to upgrade is the bars, which are Richey, and the brakes which are Hayes HFx9's. Neither of which give me any problems, so who knows. Maybe with another big month at work I might go for a pair of 7" Magura Louise's.

But it is great getting on it every time realizing I already have my dream bike.

 

[mobius]

Nice looking heckler mines weighing in at like 35lbs but i got some single ply high rollers, the clipless pedals, and selle flite saddle going on. She's going on a diet soon wanna lose like 2 lbs off her.

 

[Banga]

Those are by far the worst wheels Ive ever ridden... ever.

mavic mtb wheels are over hyped, you can build a better wheelset for less cash
well you can at least down here.

 

[manziman]

That is one super purty bike. Rock it, and when you're done..use the bottle opener for some frosty brews.

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

Those are by far the worst wheels Ive ever ridden... ever.

mavic mtb wheels are over hyped, you can build a better wheelset for less cash
well you can at least down here.

I had my doubts, but they have lived up to the hype, that upgrade alone dropped 1lb from my bike. The are noticeably stiffer. I gots me a decent hookup so they were less then a set of CK similarly built up and the 2 year warranty that was available is what sealed the deal.

Is it sad that I searched for this thread just so I could look at my own bike this AM? I may have to leave work early and ride.

 

[TreeSaw]

I really like the heckler!!!! SC bikes are beautiful!

 

[JRB]

Nice bike, holmes. Blow off the peeps that hate on your wheels. Lots of folks ride them with plently of luck. Enjoy.

 

[Echo]

That bike looks sweet! Good thing this thread got bumped... I missed it before

 

[biggins]

so it came with an air shock to start with?just curious why you switched out to the coil?

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

so it came with an air shock to start with?just curious why you switched out to the coil?

Yep it originally came with the air. With the air it rode great as well. Unfortunately I got a very early version of the Heckler and the 5th air. No matter what we (myself and my LBS) did after just a few rides the rubber or plastic spacers that surrounded the heim joint on the 5th would push out, giving me a ton of play in the shock eyelet. After replacing those bushings, including the heim bearing itself with the "improved" version from Progressive, a number of times I had enough. Progressive and my LBS were very good to me and upgraded to the coil for free. The coil blew out once with the stock 300lb spring. When I had it warrantied I upgrade to 450lb spring and the bike has performed even better since then.

 

[jacksonpt]

did you get enough ride time in with the air to give is a quick comparison between the two? I've always wondered if there was a "feel by the seat of my pants" type difference between a good air shock and a good coil shock on a trail bike.

 

[MTB_Rob_NC]

did you get enough ride time in with the air to give is a quick comparison between the two? I've always wondered if there was a "feel by the seat of my pants" type difference between a good air shock and a good coil shock on a trail bike.

Yes I rode the air for over a month (that probably ~ 350 miles of trail riding for me). IMHO they are both great shocks, and performed as you would expect. The air is lighter and was more responsive to the small and medium size hits. I never bottomed it but the bigger hits were certainly not as smooth. The coil is less responsive on smaller stuff (I use tire pressure to tune for those now), but the coil feels more bottomless (if that makes sense) on medium to bigger stuff. The SPV in the coil also seems to be more stable, but then again I have much more time riding and tuning the coil to my liking. One of my XC buddies on his Titus Switchblade commented on how little movement he noticed while heading up some steep climbs behind me last weekend.

 

[biggins]

either way this guy can climb forever being a flatlander and all.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

thats funny i just built that exact bike for my dad components and color...everything except his is a blur, the thing looks sick hecklers rock out