Santa Cruz Heckler SL
Wheel Size: 27.5’’ rear / 29’’ front
Travel: 150 mm rear / 160 mm Front
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: S, M, L, XL, XXL
- Headtube angle: 64.0° (Low) / 64.3° (High)
- Seat tube angle (size L): 77.2° (Low) / 77.5° (High)
- Reach (size L): 478 mm (Low) / 480 mm (High)
- Chainstay length (size L): 444 mm (Low) / 443 mm (High)
Drive System Highlights:
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Torque: 60 Nm
- Battery: 430 Wh
- Display: Fazua integrated top tube display
- Remote: Fazua Ring Controller
Material: Carbon Fiber
Price: Complete bikes $7,299 to $12,999
Blister’s Measured Weight (Size Large, GX AXS build): 42.6 lb / 19.3 kg
Intro
There’s no doubt that the lightweight eMTB segment is growing right now, with bikes seemingly dropping left and right. Santa Cruz’s new Heckler SL brings a lot of the tweaks you’d expect for the genre — chiefly a compact drive system from Fazua and a smaller battery — but it’s not just the standard Heckler on a diet. The Heckler SL gets some geometry tweaks as compared to the standard version, is offered with mixed wheel sizes only, and a bunch of other little updates.
The Frame
The Heckler SL frame follows the same design language we’ve come to expect from Santa Cruz, with their lower-link-driven VPP suspension layout, and save for the beefier downtube, it’s almost indistinguishable from their non-motorized bikes. With 150 mm of rear wheel travel, it has the same travel as the existing full-power Heckler and also the non-motorized Bronson. The Heckler SL is also a dedicated mixed-wheel-size bike, unlike the full-power Heckler, which is offered in both MX and full 29” versions. The Heckler SL frame is available in either “Carbon C” or “Carbon CC” versions, with the higher-end CC getting a fancier layup that’s slightly lighter. As to be expected, there is no in-frame storage since the battery takes up that space, but there is still room for one water bottle inside the main triangle.
There is a flip chip that changes the bottom bracket between “low” and “high” settings, which of course also results in other geometry changes — more on that below. Santa Cruz hasn’t supplied any suspension kinematic data for the Heckler SL, but their flip chips usually make their bikes a touch more progressive in the low setting, and given the similarities in layout, we’d bet on the same being true here.
Drive System
Santa Cruz has partnered with Fazua to supply the drive system for the Heckler SL. Not unlike the full-power eMTB scene, there are only a couple of options when considering lightweight, compact drive systems — Fazua and TQ seem to own the majority of the market, but we expect to soon see more bike brands spec’ing Bosch’s recently-launched lightweight Performance Line SX motor.
Based in Germany, Fazua has been a pioneer in lightweight eMTB drive systems since its founding in 2013. Also of note, they were acquired by Porsche in June of 2022, so now you can get away with saying your eMTB has a Porsche motor.
The Heckler SL’s compact motor delivers a stated 60 Nm of peak torque and incorporates a boost function that can deliver up to a claimed 450 Watts in short bursts. Fazua states a total system weight of 4.2 Kg (9.3 lb), including the battery. For reference, a Bosch Performance Line CX motor (85 Nm of torque) and 625 Wh battery weighs approximately 14.5 lb (not including the display).
Fit & Geometry
The Heckler SL is available in five sizes — Small through XXL. The XL and XXL are the only sizes that have size-specific chainstays; the Small, Medium, and Large frames share the same 444 mm stays (low setting), with those numbers growing to 447 mm and 451 mm on the XL and XXL, respectively. The new Heckler SL also has a slacker head angle than both the Bronson and standard Heckler, at 64º in the low setting — matching Santa Cruz’s longer-travel, full-power Bullit.
With a 77.2º / 77.5º seat tube angle (size Large), the Heckler SL has one of the steeper seat tube angles in Santa Cruz’s lineup, and is steeper than both the Heckler and Bullit, with only the Nomad and Megatower coming in steeper. As mentioned above, there is a flip chip that changes geometry between high and low bottom bracket settings, which of course affects the other geometry numbers as well. The reach, for example, grows from 478 mm in the low setting to 480 mm in the high one. The changes afforded by the flip chip aren’t massive, but it is nice to be able to dial things in just a little bit to suit personal preferences, or to tune for certain trail conditions. The bikes ship in the low position.
The Builds
Santa Cruz has kept things familiar with the builds for the Heckler SL, mirroring what they offer on many of their other models. The R, S and GX AXS builds will have the slightly heavier Carbon C frames, while the XO and XX builds get the Carbon CC frames. All the Heckler SL builds feature a full complement of SRAM / RockShox parts, minus the R build, which sneaks in a Fox rear shock. Much like the rest of Santa Cruz’s lineup, we would expect the GX AXS build to be the best seller, and for good reason, as it represents what we consider to be the best value.
At a glance, the GX AXS build looks a lot like an “S” kit with wireless electronic shifting, but dive in a little deeper, and there are also upgrades to the brakes, rims, and handlebars. We think the $900 difference between the S and the GX AXS builds is more than justified by these upgrades, and is why it would be our pick.
Not specifically called out is the fact that the Heckler SL’s RockShock Super Deluxe rear shocks are equipped with that shock’s optional hydraulic bottom-out circuit. We’ve spent some time on shocks with this feature and have been impressed, and we also think this technology is especially well suited to heavier eMTBs. If on the fence between the R and S builds, and in conjunction with the other component differences between the two, the shock makes a strong case to go with the S build. The S build’s other notable upgrades from the R build include Code R brakes, a GX drivetrain, DT Swiss hubs, and the excellent OneUp dropper post. Granted, it is $1500 more than the R build, but it would be tough to upgrade an R build to an equal spec for less.
Here are the component highlights for all the Heckler SL builds:
- Frame: Carbon C
- Drivetrain: SRAM NX Eagle
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Battery: 430 Wh
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select (160 mm)
- Shock: Fox Float Performance
- Brakes: SRAM DB8 with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: SRAM MTH 745 hubs with WTB ST i30 TCS 2.0 rims
- Dropper Post: SDG Tellis
- Frame: Carbon C
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Eagle
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Battery: 430 Wh
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select+ (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Brakes: SRAM Code R with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: DT Swiss 370 with RaceFace AR Offset 30 Rims
- Dropper Post: OneUP V2
- Frame: Carbon C
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX AXS Eagle Transmission
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Battery: 430 Wh
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Select+ (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select+
- Brakes: SRAM Code Bronze Stealth with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: DT Swiss 370 hubs with Reserve 30 SL|AL 6069 rims
- Dropper Post: OneUp V2
- Frame: Carbon CC
- Drivetrain: SRAM XO AXS Eagle Transmission
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Battery: 430 Wh
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Brakes: SRAM Code Silver Stealth with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: Industry Nine 1/1 hubs with Reserve 30|HD rims
Dropper Post: OneUp V2
- Frame: Carbon CC
- Drivetrain: SRAM XX AXS Eagle Transmission
- Motor: Fazua Ride 60
- Battery: 430 Wh
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate (160 mm)
- Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate
- Brakes: SRAM Code Ultimate Stealth with 200 mm rotors
- Wheels: Industry Nine Hydra hubs with Reserve 30 HD rims
- Dropper Post: SRAM Reverb AXS
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) Santa Cruz states the Heckler SL will have a similar range as a full-power eMTB with a 630 Wh battery, due to the Heckler SL’s reduced power output. We’re curious to see if that claim holds up.
(2) Can two equally fit riders realistically ride together with one on a Heckler SL, and the other on a full-powered eMTB? How much are you giving up there with the reduced power output?
(3) How does the Fazua drive system compare to the lightweight TQ drive system as featured on the Trek Fuel EXe we’re currently testing?
(4) And how does the Heckler SL compare to the Trek Fuel EXe as a whole?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Santa Cruz’s take on the lightweight eMTB category looks promising — not boundary-pushing by any means, but a thoughtful adaptation of their existing technologies paired with a proven drive system. Lightweight eMTBs are an exciting category, and we can’t wait to spend more time on the Heckler SL in the months to come.
Flash Review
Blister Members can read our Flash Review of the Heckler SL for our initial on-trail impressions. Become a Blister Member now to check out this and all of our Flash Reviews, plus get exclusive deals and discounts on gear, and personalized gear recommendations from us.