Lightweight electric bikes have become a popular addition to mountain bike brands' line-ups, and Santa Cruz has joined in the fun, launching the Hecker SL.
The new bike features 150mm of rear-wheel travel and geometry that will see it comfortably tackle the whole mountain. It gets assistance from Fazua’s Ride 60 motor and an integrated 430Wh battery to give you a boost up the hills. It rolls on mullet wheels too.
Santa Cruz states this bike is for the discreet e-biker, newcomers or those hesitant about riding hefty machines that alter the ride feel and want something more in touch with trail bikes. It's designed to provide a little helping hand on the hills so you can push harder on the descents.
There are five sizes, from small to extra-extra-large, and five build options, starting at £6,699 and increasing to £11,999. International pricing is TBC.
Under the hood
At the heart of the Heckler SL is a Fazua Ride 60 electric bike motor and an integrated 430Wh battery. The battery isn’t removable.
The motor delivers a maximum torque of 60Nm and 450W of peak power in its Boost function. Santa Cruz boasts it has more range and power than other electric mountain bikes in this class. Battery charge time is 3.5 hours.
There are three power settings: Breeze, River and Rocket, which can be customised in Fazua’s app so riders can set their motor performance preferences.
Battery life and power settings are displayed on a top-tube LED display that features a USB-C port to charge your phone or a bike computer. There’s a Ring Controller that sits against the grip, enabling you to change power modes.
Santa Cruz claims the smaller, lighter motor, with its 430Wh battery, offers the same range as a full-power ebike with a 630Wh battery. Because the battery is non-removable, there are no latches or covers, plus the down-tube design is compact with a smaller internal diameter.
It’s still a mountain bike
The Heckler SL takes inspiration from the Bronson, Santa Cruz’s do-it-all trail bike. It dishes out 150mm of rear-wheel travel from its VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) dual counter-rotating link suspension platform. Up-front is a 160mm-travel fork.
Santa Cruz hasn’t released any details of the suspension kinematics. The bike uses a mixed-wheel setup, with a 29in front and 27.5in rear wheel, which should help keep the bike agile compared to a full 29in bike.
The bikes are available in Santa Cruz’s C and CC carbon fibres. Both share equal strength and stiffness, however, the more expensive CC bikes get these properties with a lower weight.
The frame features a window in the down tube tunnel to help you set up shock sag, plus there’s a flip chip in the lower shock mount that enables you to choose your geometry from high and low settings.
There’s plenty of frame protection to help silence the bike, and space for a water bottle inside the front triangle, but no mounts for tool storage.
The Hecker SL's geometry appears to be contemporary without being extreme, for the five sizes from S to XXL. Focusing on a size-large frame, its standout numbers in the low setting include a moderate 478mm reach.
The Heckler SL runs a 64-degree head tube for all sizes, and the size large has a 77.2-degree effective seat tube angle. While not the steepest out there, it's good to see Santa Cruz offering larger sizes with progressively steeper effective seat tubes.
The chainstays are also size-specific. The small, medium and large bikes have a rear centre of 444mm, while the XL is 447mm and XXL 451mm. These should balance handling agility and stability well.
The bottom bracket height is suitably low at 341mm in the low settings, and seat tube lengths are short across the board, ranging from 380mm (size S) to 500mm (size XXL). The geometry looks neutral with no great outlying numbers, which should make the Heckler SL a comfortable bike to ride.
| Santa Cruz Heckler SL – low position | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-large | Extra-extra-large |
| Seat tube length (mm) | 380 | 405 | 430 | 460 | 500 |
| Reach (mm) | 432 | 457 | 478 | 497 | 523 |
| Stack (mm) | 617 | 626 | 635 | 653 | 667 |
| Effective seat tube angle (degrees) | 76.6 | 76.9 | 77.2 | 77.5 | 77.5 |
| Effective top tube (mm) | 580 | 603 | 622 | 643 | 670 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 | 64 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 444 | 444 | 444 | 447 | 451 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1210 | 1239 | 1263 | 1295 | 1331 |
| Standover (mm) | 716 | 729 | 729 | 732 | 739 |
| Bottom bracket height (mm) | 341 | 341 | 341 | 341 | 341 |
| Santa Cruz Heckler SL – high position | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Small | Medium | Large | Extra-Large | Extra-extra-large |
| Seat tube length (mm) | 380 | 405 | 430 | 460 | 500 |
| Reach (mm) | 435 | 460 | 480 | 500 | 525 |
| Stack (mm) | 615 | 624 | 633 | 651 | 665 |
| Effective seat tube angle (degrees) | 76.8 | 77.1 | 77.5 | 77.7 | 77.8 |
| Effective top tube (mm) | 569 | 603 | 621 | 642 | 669 |
| Head tube angle (degrees) | 64.3 | 64.3 | 64.3 | 64.3 | 64.3 |
| Chainstay (mm) | 443 | 443 | 443 | 446 | 450 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1209 | 1238 | 1263 | 1294 | 1330 |
| Standover (mm) | 720 | 733 | 733 | 732 | 741 |
| Bottom bracket height (mm) | 344 | 344 | 344 | 344 | 344 |
Who is the Santa Cruz Heckler SL for?
Santa Cruz says the new Heckler SL will suit trail riders who are curious about electric bikes or are sceptical about full-power eMTBs and want an engaging experience with a little assistance.
It's also targeted at beginners and those who want the workout provided by riding a non-assisted bike, but with some additional power on the climbs.
So, it's a bike for all.
Santa Cruz Heckler SL specs and prices
Santa Cruz is releasing five models of the Heckler SL, three with the C carbon frame and two with the higher-spec CC carbon.
Santa Cruz Heckler SL CC XX AXS RSV
- Frame: CC carbon, 150mm travel
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate, 160mm travel
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX AXS Transmission
- Drive unit: Fazua Ride 60, integrated 430Wh battery
- Brakes: SRAM Code Ultimate Stealth
- Wheels: Reserve 30 HD, Industry Nine Hydra
- Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxGrip EXO 2.5x29in (f), Maxxis Minion DHRII 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ 2.4x27.5in (r)
- Seatpost: RockShox Reverb AXS
- Price: £11,999
Santa Cruz Heckler SL CC XO AXS RSV
- Frame: CC carbon, 150mm travel
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate, 160mm travel
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Drivetrain: SRAM XO AXS Transmission
- Drive unit: Fazua Ride 60, integrated 430Wh battery
- Brakes: SRAM Code Silver Stealth
- Wheels: Reserve 30 HD, Industry Nine 1/1
- Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxGrip EXO 2.5x29in (f), Maxxis Minion DHRII 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ 2.4x27.5in (r)
- Seatpost: OneUp V2 dropper
- Price: £10,299
Santa Cruz Heckler SL C GX AXS
- Frame: C carbon, 150mm travel
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select+, 160mm travel
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX AXS Transmission
- Drive unit: Fazua Ride 60, integrated 430Wh battery
- Brakes: SRAM Code Bronze Stealth
- Wheels: DT Swiss 370
- Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxGrip EXO 2.5x29in (f), Maxxis Minion DHRII 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ 2.4x27.5in (r)
- Seatpost: OneUp V2 dropper
- Price: £8,799
Santa Cruz Heckler SL C S
- Frame: C carbon, 150mm travel
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select+, 160mm travel
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle
- Drive unit: Fazua Ride 60, integrated 430Wh battery
- Brakes: SRAM Code R
- Wheels: DT Swiss 370
- Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxGrip EXO 2.5x29in (f), Maxxis Minion DHRII 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ 2.4x27.5in (r)
- Seatpost: OneUp V2 dropper
- Price: £7,599
Santa Cruz Heckler SL C R
- Frame: C carbon, 150mm travel
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Base, 160mm travel
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Drivetrain: SRAM NX Eagle
- Drive unit: Fazua Ride 60, integrated 430Wh battery
- Brakes: SRAM DB8
- Wheels: WTB ST i30, SRAM hubs
- Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxGrip EXO 2.5x29in (f), Maxxis Minion DHRII 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ 2.4x27.5in (r)
- Seatpost: SDG Tellis dropper
- Price: £6,699
Santa Cruz Heckler SL C GX ASX initial ride impressions
I took the new Heckler SL C GX AXS for a test ride in Whistler, Canada, before its launch. I was shown around some of the trails outside the bike park on a 23km ride, including 770m of climbing and descending.
That wasn't enough distance for a full review, but look out for one soon when we get hold of a bike back in the UK. For now, here are my initial ride impressions.
It should be noted the bike I rode was a pre-production model and the components don’t match the spec details listed above.
The Fazua Ride 60 motor provides ample power that helps turn climbing singletrack trails into fun flow trails when the assistance is turned up. However, you can still certainly get out of breath if you want.
It won’t match a full-power ebike, but it can provide some extra thrills compared to riding without assistance.
The assistance helps you cruise up hills, taking the sting out of climbs of various gradients.
The motor feel is intuitive, but I would have liked it to kick in a touch sooner when pressing on the pedals.
Uphill, the seated position is comfortable, and the suspension platform is stable enough that I didn’t need to lock the shock out. Grip was good when needed, but the bike doesn’t wallow into its travel.
On the descents, the Heckler SL is very intuitive to ride. The handling is easy and gives plenty of confidence through corners. The bike hunts out grip and offers good support from the suspension in the turns.
Over bumps, the 150mm travel provides decent support in the mid-stroke and deeper in the travel, while still being sensitive enough in the initial portion to keep that impressive traction.
It feels as though there's more rear-wheel travel than there is, and it balances isolating the rider from bumps and providing a supportive ride to maintain speed well.
On steeper terrain, the bike is stable and remains easy to handle and keep controlled.
The weight on the descents isn’t a hindrance and helps the suspension feel planted, yet the bike isn't a chore to slow down when needed.
Overall, the additional weight of the drive unit isn’t a hindrance, and I found the ride experience was very close to a non-assisted enduro bike.
