2024 Santa Cruz Heckler SL

[jhatfie]

I have the Cascade link. It's not a huge change on the HSL since it's already a pretty progressive bike, but it is noticeable. I had to add 30 PSI to my Vivid with it. It's more active off the top, and more bottomless at the end. I'd say it pairs well with riding aggressively and a burlier build. Not necessary with the stock Lyrik/SD setup.

There will be a new X2/DHX2 this year, lots of photos of pros riding it already. Looks like some larger changes in architecture rather than just minor tweaks.

Thanks for that input. I'm likely going to put a Vivid coil on it to start and likely update to a 170mm Zeb a bit after and then see what I think and go from there.

 

[OZ-E]

I test rode the EXe but ended choosing the HSL because I preferred the extra torque and the plusher feel of the HSL. I actually don't want to lighten the HSL. I find at 42 lbs this weight strikes a perfect balance between being playful and planted.

100% Agree. I have no desire for my Heckler SL to be any lighter. Compared to my Wild it feels like a standard bike, even though it's only 3kg lighter.

 

[TonTonUB]

Since Dji released the M1 avinox motor (and their ultra thin / light battery), each time i see a beloved frame / geo EMTB, SL or fullfat, i think :
- Hey, gimme this bike with an avinox M1 and it's battery, on this specific bike ... SL or not.

And you know what ? Each time i consider the Heckler SL, i wonder : what the hell ... such an incredible frame / geo, so desirable to ride ... but ... but ... but ...

Dji really broke the boundaries, don't they ?

 

[Andeh]

Not really. From the reviews of their own bike I've seen, it's incredibly power hungry (hence the big battery), it's not available on any other bikes yet (only rumored release is Forbidden), and the build weights with realistic components are coming in much heavier than their initial marketing fluff pieces (~48 lbs not 42).

I'd much rather have a reliable and proven Bosch, and just bought a Vala for that reason. I'll keep my Heckler SL built up a little lighter for shorter rides and riding in mixed normal/ebike groups, and build up the Vala with a range extender and burlier parts for bigger rides. If I could wave a magic wand and put a Bosch SX motor & 400 battery into the Heckler I would, but as it is the Fazua 60 isn't a bad motor by any means.

 

[OZ-E]

Since Dji released the M1 avinox motor (and their ultra thin / light battery), each time i see a beloved frame / geo EMTB, SL or fullfat, i think :
- Hey, gimme this bike with an avinox M1 and it's battery, on this specific bike ... SL or not.

And you know what ? Each time i consider the Heckler SL, i wonder : what the hell ... such an incredible frame / geo, so desirable to ride ... but ... but ... but ...

Dji really broke the boundaries, don't they ?

No.
I picked up the Avanox in store and it actually feels a lot heavier than the Heckler SL

 

[jhatfie]

Just got my heckler sl put together today. Hope to get it out for it's maiden ride tomorrow.

 

[jhatfie]

First ride done and while I have some things to tune still in terms of suspension and rebleeding the front brake, wow this things is light years more fun than my 160e. Feels far more nimble and responsive. 45.3lbs (mod edit: 20.5kg in RoW units) without pedals on my scale, which seems solid considering the coil and Fox 38. Really looking forward to the next ride.

 

[k17chy]

First time emtb owner. Had my Santa Cruz heckler SL ax axs for a few weeks now. Loving it tbh.

 

[k17chy]

Some pics of my new bike.

 

[craezor]

hi all i’m considering a demo heckler SL axs model with reserve wheel. has a fox 38z at 170 also. anyway it’s a ripper deal at $9000AUD. I’m quite hesitant to pull the trigger with all the Fazau motor issues. Also with the Valla coming out it kind of feels like it’s nearly superseded given weight difference. anyway keen to hear some thoughts. everyone who rides a HSL froths but!

 

[Andeh]

I have both an HSL and a Vala. Both are great, but pretty different in how they ride.
HSL: better for lighter riders (it's about 3.5 lbs lighter than an identically built Vala), riders wanting a ride feel closer to a normal bike, riding with others on normal bikes, poppier more playful feel. On motor side, its quieter and feels like it rewards rider effort/power rather than just high cadence. I feel (anecdotally) like most of the motor issues were early on. The one I still hear about and that I experienced was a rattle sound from the motor but it still worked fine. It was replaced under warranty and took a couple weeks. Current software has a glitch where if the motor goes to sleep due to inactivity (like you stop to talk for 5 min), when you power on it gives no power until you power off and power back on again. The new ring controller, range extender, and bigger battery continue to be "soon" with no hard ETA. You can pair the bike with a Garmin but not Wahoo to see battery % realtime. You can ride with full power ebikes if you run turbo and they run trail but won't have their range then.
Vala: Feels more of a charge bike downhill, rear wheel gets out of the way on bumps better. Higher stack, so gives a more neutral upright stance and will fit taller guys better. You can run a 65mm stroke shock in the back to make the bike 160/160. Motor doesn't rattle but does have a high pitched electric whine in turbo. Can't pair with Garmin/Wahoo devices to see battery %. Wireless remote is great. Dealer tells me that an LCD display replacement upgrade is coming within next couple months, as is a software update to give >100nm torque. Range extender is available but currently backordered. You can run with full power ebikes at the same pace, with range equivilant dependent on battery size. Caveat: you will have greater range than some of the really heavy full power ebikes with big batteries (cough... Norco...).

Strictly based on ride feel, if you ride a lot of flowier trails with small features to pop off, I'd go HSL. If your rides have a lot of rocks, I'd go Vala (stiffer fork and the rear end has less feedback in your feet).

 

[tp806]

So wonder, if the latest Heckler SL Stout build, blurs the lines between the SL and the Vala at 20.3kg with Fox 38 and Float X2?
Could it be the Goldilocks bike, for riding downhill, especially for hard hitting or heavier riders, that also want to pedal a bit for fitness; and feel as close to an analogue MTB as possible?
Although range is an issue, if you only ride in turbo, with a 430Wh battery, but then it is a whole other sport... not mtb.

 

[craezor]

i

So wonder, if the latest Heckler SL Stout build, blurs the lines between the SL and the Vala at 20.3kg with Fox 38 and Float X2?
Could it be the Goldilocks bike, for riding downhill, especially for hard hitting or heavier riders, that also want to pedal a bit and feel as close to an analogue MTB as possible?
Although range is an issue, if you only ride in turbo, with a 430Wh battery, but then it is a whole other sport... not mtb.

i had a fuel exe for 2 years and very rarely rode it in full turbo. eco and trail mode at best. i loved the bike was running a 160 / 156mm platform. Some of my mates now moving to vala and other full fats but we will ride with analogue for majority. i just want something reliable and flexible but not a pig. im all about maximising the downs but also keen to stay fit

 

[Andeh]

So wonder, if the latest Heckler SL Stout build, blurs the lines between the SL and the Vala at 20.3kg with Fox 38 and Float X2?
Could it be the Goldilocks bike, for riding downhill, especially for hard hitting or heavier riders, that also want to pedal a bit for fitness; and feel as close to an analogue MTB as possible?
Although range is an issue, if you only ride in turbo, with a 430Wh battery, but then it is a whole other sport... not mtb.

I have built my HSL along the lines of the Stout (Zeb, Vivid, Mavens, DH tires, Cascade link). It's a lot of fun, still pretty playful, but has a lot of grip from the weight. That said, it's still about 44 lbs built up with high end components like that, and makes a 35 lb Enduro bike feel like a feather. I did my first ride on my Vala without weighing it and while it was noticeably heavier, it doesn't feel like much adjustment going from one to the other. The biggest difference descending is between the VPP and 4bar.

 

[westcoastmtbr]

Thinking a buying a used Heck SL. Rode my buddies yesterday and have never felt better as far as the set up. Just seemed to fit awesome. Can anyone give me a run down if you feel it's worth the Fauz motor given the issues plus if you desire more power such as many of the bikes are going towards. I think I'm feeling like this would be the best blend of power (I like some extra work) and downhill prowess. Does anyone feel the 60nm on the Faux is not enough? Would you buy again? Thanks to all in advance..

 

[OZ-E]

Thinking a buying a used Heck SL. Rode my buddies yesterday and have never felt better as far as the set up. Just seemed to fit awesome. Can anyone give me a run down if you feel it's worth the Fauz motor given the issues plus if you desire more power such as many of the bikes are going towards. I think I'm feeling like this would be the best blend of power (I like some extra work) and downhill prowess. Does anyone feel the 60nm on the Faux is not enough? Would you buy again? Thanks to all in advance..

I'm 96kg and find it has good power.
It has more power than most other SL motors and has MUCH better range for the battery size.

 

[westcoastmtbr]

I'm 96kg and find it has good power.
It has more power than most other SL motors and has MUCH better range for the battery size.

Luckily I have a buddy who has a large and will let me take it out. Just a quick ride and it felt instantly perfect, so I do want a light powered bike to go along with my Levo which is awesome, just a tank at times. lol

 

[JStrube]

Luckily I have a buddy who has a large and will let me take it out. Just a quick ride and it felt instantly perfect, so I do want a light powered bike to go along with my Levo which is awesome, just a tank at times. lol

You can rent one for a day in Santa Cruz, ride to the trails, and back. I did this before buying my Heckler 9. I would have probably bought an SL had it been out, I usually ride in Eco.

 

[jhatfie]

Thinking a buying a used Heck SL. Rode my buddies yesterday and have never felt better as far as the set up. Just seemed to fit awesome. Can anyone give me a run down if you feel it's worth the Fauz motor given the issues plus if you desire more power such as many of the bikes are going towards. I think I'm feeling like this would be the best blend of power (I like some extra work) and downhill prowess. Does anyone feel the 60nm on the Faux is not enough? Would you buy again? Thanks to all in advance..

I've only got a couple hundred miles on mine so far, but so far I love it so much more than the Full power Yeti 160e I had. Just handles so good and offers plenty of power for my 200+ lb butt and the amount of assistance I want. Personally, I am not very concerned about the Fazua reliability all that much. I'd 100% buy my Heckler SL again.

 

[Snoggin]

I have both a Heckler SL and I just bought one of the new Bullits.. I bought the Bullit because my motor quit on the HSL after 1300 miles since october, The new Bullit is my first full power e-bike. It’s like wow! It’s a lot of bike and Im just getting used to it and need to work on the suspension. But it’s very cool. Been riding it for about 3 weeks while the heckler SL was being fixed.
While waiting on the motor I decided to do a 200 hour service on the fork. Came out pretty great and today was my first time taking it out after the new motor. It’s amazing! The suspension is really dialed now and I set a bunch of PR’s and it just feels great going down especially. The fork is better than it was. More supple.

The Bullit is the shit though too. But Im way used to the HSL and it felt so good to ride today! The Bullit I hope to become worthy lol

 

[Wally73]

hello my SL friends...
thi is mine after some upgrade... fantastic bike !!

 

[k17chy]

Not be able to ride my heckler for nearly 2 weeks now. Had a slight off over the bars and have done my arm in. Waiting for physio to refer me for some scans to see what's going. Gutted I'm missing all this lovely weather we are having

 

[Rodres]

Unfortunately my motor's also going into warranty, after 1500 happy kms and without any error codes... Increasingly reduces assistance after a bit of riding.
Hope the guys with recent motors are doing ok? Mine has a production date of Nov 2023.

 

[ehfour]

Noticed the Silver and Purple Heckler SL's on sale- Canada

 

[Snoggin]

Put on some color coordinated Hayes Dominion A4 and some new grips to replace the gnarly ones beat up from riding and a couple offs.

 

[ehfour]

Question for those of you who've done the Green Loctite on the motor bushings- has your creak come back? or has it pretty much eliminated it?

 

[Marshall Willanholly]

 

[Andeh]

Anyone hear from their dealer when the Fazua Mode Control remote & 480 battery will actually be available for purchase? I got a couple emails from Fazua this week announcing them again, but in typical Fazua fashion no hard date on them. The owner of my local SC dealer said he hasn't seen anything from SC on those parts yet.

 

[k17chy]

I messaged fazua about the mode control and was told it was only available to buy through a dealer and they would have to fit and do a data transfer. So looks like no DIY/ at home option. I would imagine the new battery will be the same.

 

[Andeh]

I messaged fazua about the mode control and was told it was only available to buy through a dealer and they would have to fit and do a data transfer. So looks like no DIY/ at home option. I would imagine the new battery will be the same.

Yeah, that's fucking BS. They already sell the older controllers through retailers. It's not hard to swap those out - if you're not routing the cable through your handlebars, it's a 10 minute job and only requires TX10 and M3 (to remove your grip) wrenches. Not even a 1-beer job. If there's a data transfer, it's because of software limitations they created.

Regardless, it's annoying because Fazua is so tone-deaf to how their products are perceived as vaporware. You know it's bad when your dealers say, "Yeah, just because they announced it doesn't mean anything. If you're lucky it'll be in 6 months."