[Shaftoe]

Hello,

I'm 1.80 cm (5'11") height

For the Heckler, SantaCruz recommends a frame L,
with a stem of 120 (mm ?)

Is this is ok, for a Freeraid/XC usage ?

Which is your opinion ?

It's significant for me, because I could not test the frame before buying it

Thank you.

Bye/Shaftoe

 

[Headcrash]

Hiya Shaftoe,
First off, what do you define as freeride? _Most_ people seem to agree on XC, but freeride can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Are you talking North Shore style (ladders, teeter, tight steep lines, hucks, wheelie drops, skinnies) are more downhill (long fast descents, hucks, table tops etc).

A Large frame with that long 120mm stem would be great for XC, but for what I personally consider freeride, not so great. I'm about the same size as you and as a generalization I like a Medium frame, short stem and riser bars for the freeride stuff I do. This is even more important if you are going to ride a single crown fork as it will force your weight back more. Its much easier to make corners on those tall skinnies, huck off the end of stunts and get way back over the rear wheel for the big rock rollovers and steep lines with the more compact geometry. Of course this compact, raked out geometry is what will hurt the XC performance of the bike, especially in steep technical climbs.

A good compromise might be a Large frame with a short high rise stem or get two stems to swap out depending on the ride you are thinking of.

In my opinion, you really should try riding the frame before buying it. Anyone you know who has one and you can switch for a ride? Maybe someone on RM you could meet for a ride?

Anyways, this is all just IMHO and I'm sure many other people will feel quite differently about the whole matter.

-- headcrash

 

[JoyRider]

I just got a new SC heckler and I went with a 100 mm stem.
My feeling was that the recommended 120 mm was going to
be too long for more technical riding. I'm glad I went with the
shorter stem. I have no complaints about XC riding and climbs.

I am 5'8" and my heckler is a medium. I think it is a perfect fit
for my height. My last bike was a small GT I-drive. I went
with the small because I was living in Whistler and I was more
worried about technical riding. Now I live in Oregon and I wish
I had bought the medium. In my opinion it would be best to
go with the large and the shorter stem (+ a riser bar).

 

[mr_dove]

I'm 6' and I bought a medium too. The large was just too big for me. The medium fits me just right. I'm not sure why it didn't fit me. Maybe I have a short inseam or something. I would probably go with a medium.

I think it's better to go a little small rather than bigger. You'll probably hate the big if it's too big.

I was told that you can try riding a superlight for size comparison on the Heckler because the frames are so similar. You might try that. I checked the geometry of the two bikes on the SC website and they are almost identical.

So, give the superlight a ride to see which one fits you, then buy the heckler

 

[Shaftoe]

Hi,

Thank you for your opinion !
I'll try an Heckler next week.

Have a nice day.

Shaftoe

 

[oldfart]

The new Heckler's are short compared with most bikes. According to their chart, I should be on the medium with a 105 stem. But I ride a small superlight with a 120 stem. The top tube on the medium Heckler is 22.5 inches or close to that and the small is 20 and change? Is that right? I was checking them out at the shop and website the other day. I determined a medium Heckler with a 90 stem would fit best or maybe the smal with the 120 stem. Thing is for steep descents with roots and drops thrown in, you want a shorter stem to put your weight further behind the contact patch of the front wheel. Too long a stem makes supermans too common.

I ended up with a Superlight small as they were on clearout. It replaces my old Heckler so the parts went over with no changes.