2024 Santa Cruz Heckler SL

With brands all migrating their mid-power bikes to Bosch SX and TQ HPR60, it's getting hard to see Fazua have staying power at this point. They need to deliver on something more meaningful than a slow drip of firmware updates. Such a bummer, I love the performance of the system.
 
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Response I got yesterday from Fazua UK distributor via Instagram, about the new mode control.

"Hi, thanks for getting in touch. The Mode Controls are only available to our trade customers because the Advanced Toolbox, which is dealer only, is required for configuration.
Please speak with your local dealer to organise booking your bike in - FAZUA - Dealer Locator
Hope that helps.
Many thanks."

But I wonder if the new mode control is actually in stock now and available in any distributor, apart from Germany?
 
I guys,
i've hear voices that fazua will never realized the power extender.
do you have some information about?
 
Saw this on Facebook.

541368274_10238248350938003_1178924414709971118_n.jpg
 
That sucks, although I'd pretty much given up on it at this point. Any idea what this "special offer" is going to be?

I'm also pretty annoyed that the new mode control thing will require taking the bike into a shop to be reprogrammed remotely - much more of a hassle compared to the Bosch system on my other ebike.
 
My brother bought the new remote and the 480wh battery. Fazua can do a remote setup of the the new remote but I suggest to avoid it for now. He's having alot of issues with it, getting stuck or not selecting the mode.
 
Andeh said:
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).
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I'm trying to decide between the Vala and the Heckler SL for my next bike. I demoed both at the factory and was very impressed by each one. I'm coming off a Levo SL Gen 1, so the feel of the HSL is more what I'm looking for. I think I'd order one tomorrow, in fact, if it wasn't for Fauza reliability concerns. The Vala is a bit more than I need for the trails I ride, and the weight isn't ideal. Do you have any additional thoughts, having owned both bikes for quite a while now? Thanks in advance!
 
CaliforniaChuck said:
I'm trying to decide between the Vala and the Heckler SL for my next bike. I demoed both at the factory and was very impressed by each one. I'm coming off a Levo SL Gen 1, so the feel of the HSL is more what I'm looking for. I think I'd order one tomorrow, in fact, if it wasn't for Fauza reliability concerns. The Vala is a bit more than I need for the trails I ride, and the weight isn't ideal. Do you have any additional thoughts, having owned both bikes for quite a while now? Thanks in advance!
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Since I posted that, I've tinkered a bit with both bikes. I was running a Cascade link + Vivid & Zeb on the HSL, am back to a Lyrik / regular link / Vivid. Trying to make it stay true to its nature of a playful, poppy trail bike. The Vala on the other hand I've continued to overbuild, and now it's kind of a mini-Bullit. I kept the Vivid at 65mm stroke on it (giving it 162mm rear) and am now running a 170mm Zeb on it. I'll ride both bikes on the same trails, but the Vala is the one that feels more stable, charges harder, and goes faster. The Bosch motor impresses me immensely, and it's in another league over the Fazua in terms of smooth power delivery and lack of rattles. Plus you have the option to run a range extender for an extra ~40% range if you want.
If I had to pick one I'd pick the Vala, and not build it up into such an enduro monster. I'd run a 160 fork, and a smaller volume air shock (like Float X or Super Deluxe Ultimate with the XL air can). I'd try to keep the weight in check. When I had my Vala set up for more of a play bike, it didn't feel far off from the HSL despite being 3 lbs heavier. I feel like its tuning range is pretty broad depending on what components you put on it and how you tune the suspension. I'd take that tiny bit of weight penalty for a better quality motor, greater assistance on after-work laps, and greater range.
If they made a HSL with a Bosch SX motor instead, it'd be a much harder choice but I'd still probably go with a Vala for the option of faster after work hot-laps and greater range.
 
I also owned both for a stretch and ended up selling my Heckler SL, despite really loving that bike and the way the motor system performed. I second Andeh that at this point the Vala is the buy. I think the TQ system is the only one I'd consider for SL right now. I love the Bosch CX system, SX misses the mark imo.
 
Andeh said:
Since I posted that, I've tinkered a bit with both bikes. I was running a Cascade link + Vivid & Zeb on the HSL, am back to a Lyrik / regular link / Vivid. Trying to make it stay true to its nature of a playful, poppy trail bike. The Vala on the other hand I've continued to overbuild, and now it's kind of a mini-Bullit. I kept the Vivid at 65mm stroke on it (giving it 162mm rear) and am now running a 170mm Zeb on it. I'll ride both bikes on the same trails, but the Vala is the one that feels more stable, charges harder, and goes faster. The Bosch motor impresses me immensely, and it's in another league over the Fazua in terms of smooth power delivery and lack of rattles. Plus you have the option to run a range extender for an extra ~40% range if you want.
If I had to pick one I'd pick the Vala, and not build it up into such an enduro monster. I'd run a 160 fork, and a smaller volume air shock (like Float X or Super Deluxe Ultimate with the XL air can). I'd try to keep the weight in check. When I had my Vala set up for more of a play bike, it didn't feel far off from the HSL despite being 3 lbs heavier. I feel like its tuning range is pretty broad depending on what components you put on it and how you tune the suspension. I'd take that tiny bit of weight penalty for a better quality motor, greater assistance on after-work laps, and greater range.
If they made a HSL with a Bosch SX motor instead, it'd be a much harder choice but I'd still probably go with a Vala for the option of faster after work hot-laps and greater range.
Click to expand...
I think it'll be the Vala for me, after all--a much safer choice, at the cost of being a little over-biked for what I ride. It felt great when I demoed it, but I'm having trouble going all the way to full power at this point. But that's more about me than abot the bike! And thanks, sincerely, for the imput--it was just what I was looking for.
 
cykelk said:
I also owned both for a stretch and ended up selling my Heckler SL, despite really loving that bike and the way the motor system performed. I second Andeh that at this point the Vala is the buy. I think the TQ system is the only one I'd consider for SL right now. I love the Bosch CX system, SX misses the mark imo.
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I agree with you both. The TQ doesn't seem to the have the power I feel future me will need as I plow through my seventies, so I think I've run out of reasons to hesitate any longer on just buying the Vala. Thanks a lot for your take on this.
 
Andeh said:
Since I posted that, I've tinkered a bit with both bikes. I was running a Cascade link + Vivid & Zeb on the HSL, am back to a Lyrik / regular link / Vivid. Trying to make it stay true to its nature of a playful, poppy trail bike. The Vala on the other hand I've continued to overbuild, and now it's kind of a mini-Bullit. I kept the Vivid at 65mm stroke on it (giving it 162mm rear) and am now running a 170mm Zeb on it. I'll ride both bikes on the same trails, but the Vala is the one that feels more stable, charges harder, and goes faster. The Bosch motor impresses me immensely, and it's in another league over the Fazua in terms of smooth power delivery and lack of rattles. Plus you have the option to run a range extender for an extra ~40% range if you want.
If I had to pick one I'd pick the Vala, and not build it up into such an enduro monster. I'd run a 160 fork, and a smaller volume air shock (like Float X or Super Deluxe Ultimate with the XL air can). I'd try to keep the weight in check. When I had my Vala set up for more of a play bike, it didn't feel far off from the HSL despite being 3 lbs heavier. I feel like its tuning range is pretty broad depending on what components you put on it and how you tune the suspension. I'd take that tiny bit of weight penalty for a better quality motor, greater assistance on after-work laps, and greater range.
If they made a HSL with a Bosch SX motor instead, it'd be a much harder choice but I'd still probably go with a Vala for the option of faster after work hot-laps and greater range.
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I’m interested in your experience with the Cascade link. The idea of slightly longer chainstays intrigues me. I’m still on the stock Super Deluxe Ult.
 
Marshall Willanholly said:
I’m interested in your experience with the Cascade link. The idea of slightly longer chainstays intrigues me. I’m still on the stock Super Deluxe Ult.
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If you've run a Cascade link on another bike, it feels pretty much the same. They get the extra travel and extra progression by upping the initial starting leverage rate, so to get the same sag you have to increase pressure. (For example, on my Vivid I added 30 psi and slowed down rebound 1 click to get the same sag %.) That in turn gets more bottom out resistance. However, that really high starting leverage rate makes it feel really eager to get into its travel. There are pros and cons to it... it's really active over small bumps and has a ton of support on bigger hits, but the downside is it gets into the middle of the stroke a lot more often. As a flat pedal rider, I found that I had more foot fatigue running the link on brake bumped trails because it tended to dive into the middle ramped up part of the travel easier, and I had to push into it more to generate speed in berms/rollers. Me running the link with an air shock probably made this feeling more pronounced, and this would suit a coil better.
 
When did SantaCruz start offering some of the Heckler SLs with the 480wh battery? Seeing the GX, Stout, 90, and 70 build specs all offered with the 480wh battery now.
 
If anyone in the US is looking to try out a Cascade Link for their HSL, I've decided to sell mine. Mostly because I'm trying to get my Vala and HSL to feel more different. Send a PM if interested, otherwise it's up on PB Classifieds.
 
Just bought some new brakes and wondering what the rear brake line route is like? Any owners changed theirs, any advice? Cheers.
 
k17chy said:
Just bought some new brakes and wondering what the rear brake line route is like? Any owners changed theirs, any advice? Cheers.
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It's a santacruz... so push it in the hole at one end, and it pops out of the hole at the other end.
 
So went to got out for a ride and the bike wouldn't turn on. After cleaning it from the last ride I made sure everything was dry ,lubed and I made sure the bike would turn on.
So I disconnected the battery and all of a sudden it powers back on. All I can put it down to is condensation and freezing temps from last week.
So I've disconnected everything and used some acf50 in all the connections. So far is still working.
 
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So the bike is now back with the LBS as it now turns on but goes straight to 5 red flashing LEDs. So it's got a Hardware fault somewhere.
 
I wonder if SC would consider rejigging this platform to suit the TQ system. Don't think it would take a whole lot of redesigning.
 
Had a reply from Santa Cruz



Thanks for your message regarding ongoing support for your Heckler SL.



The good news is that as you probably know Santa Cruz offers amazing customer support especially when product back up is concerned and that doesn't change here.



We will be working with Fazua to ensure we have longevity when it comes to spares & general support going forward, we will effectively set up to become self sufficient.



Santa Cruz operates a 10 year parts availably guarantee and should we come across a situation where we can't supply a component that the frame component relies on we will work out a solution with the customer.



This is an evolving situation but the good news is that everyone here is working together to ensure any Fazua equipped bikes have a long & sustainable future.



I hope this helps.



Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Sounds positive and looks like Santa Cruz will look after us owners.
 
SC can do nothing when the manufacturing company does not longer exist. It was obvious since month that this will happen. Bike is nonsellable now. :/

But not undrivable - guess that’s the good message at least…
 
Santa Cruz recently stepped up big time for me. I have a Heckler SL that has been solid for 3+ years. I recently had a knocking sound coming form the bb area and they replaced the motor and included the new ring controller all under warranty a year plus after it had expired. (I paid $100 in labor) Thank you Santa Cruz!
 
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