Santa Cruz Heckler

[Rebus ✓ supporter]

Looking to make the jump to a serious FS rig after summer. Saving all my nickels and dimes.

The Santa Cruz Heckler is a beefy looking rig that looks like it would hold up well under my abuse and tonnage. It can also be had with a Fox Float R for less than $1K.

I know the Heckler used to be a big deal in the bike world, but what’s the general opinion on this bike nowadays? I have a budget of $1000 to spend on a new FS bike. I have high quality top of the line parts to put on it, so I can spend all that dough on the frame alone.

Right now the Heckler is looking pretty sweet. Anyone know how it handles straight XC riding? Climbing?

Thanks in advance

[Bombardier]

I’ve seen Hecklers built up as anything from speed-freak XC machines, to huck-yo-momma dirt bombers….. Because of their simplicity, they are built very strongly.
Because of their pivot location {high & forward of the BB}, they exhibit less pedal-induced bobbing. However, it is still there, along with the slight brake-jack.
Still, there are still a lot of people that like Hecklers, and swear by them.
One of the nice things about the Heckler is that floating-brake kits are readily available, and will fix that little brake bug that single-pivots suffer from.

Have you looked into the SantaCruz Bullits? They have a bit more beef than the Heckler, but are still really nice bikes. I believe that SC phased them out to be replaced by the Nomad.

Here’s a nice example.
Bullit

[Rebus ✓ supporter]

Thanks, bud. That’s the kind of info I was looking for. I was looking at the Heckler mainly because of its loyal following and its price. But by the time I’m ready to buy, I might be in a position to look a little more towards a Nomad frame, which is my dream bike.

Thanks

[Author]

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