[mtbikermark]

I'm thinking of building up a Santa Cruz Heckler for all around riding. I own a hardtail for dirt jumping and 4X and I ride an RM7 for DH and northshore kind of stuff.

I need something I don't mind pedalling the longer distance but is up for the occasional drop, jump, freeride session. Can a Heckler handle this?

Those who have owned one...

what are it's strengths and limitations with this type of riding in mind?

 

[MikeD]

Hecklers are pretty stout bikes. Sounds perfect for what you're looking for...I don't have one myself, but a buddy has one with a singlecrown Fox and a burly build, and it pedals very nicely and wouldn't cause me to hesitate over the average and occasional 5-6' drop, although it wouldn't be my choice for hitting stuff like this *all the time*. I wouldn't hesitate to ride it on an all-day epic, either...it's just not going to be the fastest bike in the pack heading uphill. Angles are still good for all-round riding...moderate and slightly slack trailbike-ish feel. If you have the RM7 for the really abusive stuff, the Heckler would make a nice complement.

Then again, I find that having 3 bikes leaves me with a lot of maintenance, and I'm thinking about getting back down to 2, myself...just the F/S and a hardtail I can ride everywhere. But the grass is always greener, you know?

MD

 

[OGRipper]

Good choice. For a while a rode a heckler with a 6" boxxer, shorty stem, and a dh wheelset as my play bike. I'm 6' 200 lbs and like to jump all over the place. I'm not the smoothest guy around and my heckler took it all with no complaints. It survived ten days in whistler last year, hitting everything. Yeah I bottomed out on the bigger hits but no problems with the frame. I suggest getting one of the new single crown adjustable travel forks that goes up to 6". I can't remember the specific angle but with a 5" fork I thought it was too steep for really sketchy steep stuff, yet you'll want more like 5" for climbing and all-around stuff. If I had to pick one bike right now I would rebuild my heckler: simple, relatively light, climbs great (not just "for a single pivot," I think they work great compared to anything), strong for what it is.

It'll be a great addition to your quiver. I agree with Mike D to an extent and I think that bikes are getting way too specialized, but I also think the three you're talking about will be perfect: hardtail, 4-6" travel trail bike, and big squishy gravity machine.

And a 3-4" cross country bike.

And a single speed hardtail.

And a road bike.

And a fixed gear road bike.

 

[Beyr]

Needed to start my post all over...
The heckler is a wonderful do it all bike. It being my only bike, I really ask alot out of it. Its needs to be able to climb like a XC bike, desend like a downhill bike, and jump like a freeride bike. I can say that it has filled these rolls. My bike weighs in at about 29 poinds, with the Super-x build kit, a fifth element coil and a Maverick DC fork. I have no trouble keeping up with my buddys riding full XTR blurs, and no problem desending and jumping with my friends on bullits (Maybe its just because of my mad skillz, but I don't think so)

I really don't know what to say. The only problem I have had with this bike was the avid juicy 7 front caliper rubbing on the spokes because of its massive bulk. Besides that the juicys are awesome, the best brakes I've tried. The XT cranks are shizznat, 0 problems, not noises, stiff, all that good stuff. I must say the most suprising thing of all was the strenght of the mavic 717 rims. They have held up amazing, while my buddys DH rims are craking all over the place.

If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer then for you.

 

[Mtnrider]

Do it!

I really like my Heckler, I have a Bullit for DH and FR and use my Heckler for trail riding and some FR stuff. I weight 200 and I'm not exactly smooth, I've had my Heckler for about a year with no problems. It has taken plenty of abuse!

 

[elderz]

the heckler is my one and only for all offroad concerns and it rocks! i cant say enought goo things about it. very good all around bike though the comments about slow hill climbing are true. still, if youve gota HT for other stuff the heckler is a wonderfull bike. one of the best things about it is that it can easily be customized to fit pretty much any needs as your riding style changes.