Submitted by
Jon
a Weekend Warrior
from Latrobe,PA,USA
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2007
Strengths: The original and still the best all-mountain bike on the trails. If you can only buy one mt. bike this should be the one. Great for long, single track rides or crazy, nut crushing rock gardens. Goes up hills with power and down the hill with confidence. This bike screams "I knew what the heck I was doing when I bought this bike!!!" You will also look way cool - which is important.
Weaknesses: you can't replace the rear derailluer hanger - unless you snap off the tab on a rock and then buy a hanger from another bike and then very carefully bolt it on...that's what I did- about three times...pain in the but
Bottom Line:
If you are like me and can only afford one duel suspension mt bike then buy this bike - everytime I start to look at other bikes I feel all dirty inside.
Similar Products Used: used to have a rigid cannondale M300 - not even close.
Bike Setup: built up the frame and unlike every other biker on the planet I have no money...so it was deore, deore, deore & I splurged on an XT derailluer. Bomber fork and a fox vanilla rear shock
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Submitted by
jun s.
a Cross Country Rider
from san jose , ca
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2002
Strengths: everything, not too pricey compared with other full suspension....
Weaknesses: ???????????
Bottom Line:
This Heckler is now upgraded to all xtr, etc....excellent all all around bike, cannot ask for more, it is light, I geuss there is really nothing say anymore, very pleased with it, very good product.........
Similar Products Used: SC Bullit, GaryFisher Big Sur, GF HooKoowhatever...
Bike Setup: CK Hubs, Mavic 517Rims, CK Headset, RaceFace LP Cranks, RaceFace ISIS BB, Manitou Fork, WTB KV Tires, SRAM 9.0's Shimano XTR FDeralier, SRAM 9.0 RDeraileur
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Submitted by
Andy Carson
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2001
Strengths: Light, Plush ride but still where it needs to be, Tracks well, It's a comfortable bike to ride.
Weaknesses: Haven't found any yet
Bottom Line:
Great bike for a casual mad dog like me. The bike jumps well, handles the bumps with ease, tracks the down-hill line well and it doesn't flex too badly on the hard slogs up-hill. I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't take their bike riding TOTALLY SERIOIUSLY.
Similar Products Used: None, this is my first full suspension bike
Bike Setup: As built by the shop
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Submitted by
Glenn
a Cross Country Rider
from Duncan,B.C.,Canada
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2000
Strengths: Excellent climber,digs in.Desends well for only 4" of travel.Plush,yet has no apparent feeling of power loss.A rugged design...durable for its weight.
Weaknesses: No replacable derailer hanger.
Bottom Line:
This bike does it all. I looked for a bike that was durable, low maintenance and would climb as well as a hardtial(even better).If you need a bike to hammer all day the plush ride really delivers.The suspension design allows the extra weight to go unnoticed,a well balanced sytem.It is a superb technicall climbing machine,and leaves my hardtail behind on desents.Tough enough for the weekend warrior and fast enough to race and win.Well done Santa Cruz.
Similar Products Used: Pro flex,Rocky mtn,Trek,Norco
Bike Setup: Fox vanilla,Rock Shox XC Hydracoil,Roox,Race Face,XT.
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Submitted by
Clint
a Weekend Warrior
from Portland, OR
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2000
Strengths: tough as nails, easy set up, looks
Weaknesses: little flexy in the rear
Bottom Line:
So far so good. I have been putting about thirty miles a week on this bike since I purchased it. I like it a lot. when the ride gets slow and twisty I have noticed that the rear flexes a bit, but this bike flys when you drop the hammer and put it through the paces. I have found that if I ride it a little harder, rail the corners, and push it, it is a very stable bike and you wont notice the flex as much as the suspension does its job. If you are a weekend worrior that doesn't ride very smooth this bike seems to be great.
Bike Setup: marzocchi, xt, control tech, titec, mavic
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Submitted by
Danny
a
from Calgary, alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2000
Strengths: Price, build quality, simple design
Weaknesses: not quite strong enough
Bottom Line:
Kick ass bike, the only problem was that I started the whole freeride thing soon after buying it. After 15 months of relentless beatings by me it finally broke. Upgraded to the bullit (should of bought in the first place).
If you don't plan on doing 8+ foot drops all the time buy this bike, otherwise by a bullit, or maybe a super 8 with a font derailer on it......
Similar Products Used: all sorts of friends bikes....
Bike Setup: Rhino lite rims, 2000 Marzzochi JR T, Hayes disc front Tioga 2.3 front, tioga 2.1 rear. All XT
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Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Stoke, England
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2000
Strengths: chuckable, sexy, lurvley red colour!
Weaknesses: havn't paid for it yet!!
Bottom Line:
Having had a Superlight for nearly six months I liked the suspension action and plushness, but felt it just a bit to fragile! heckler feels more my cup 'o tea! fantastic bit of kit, eats anything you chuck at it!
Submitted by
Mark Shuttleworth
a Cross Country Rider
from Oldham England
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2000
Strengths: Very stiff great feel
Weaknesses: non well apart from the non replacable hanger.
Bottom Line:
Had the machine of my dreams for about year now WOW its the dog Bol%^*%s The best buy I have ever made and hopefully will be with me for many years to come. Unless some nasty little tyke nicks it but I will buy one the very same day..
Submitted by
Al Heberer
a Cross Country Rider
from Griffin, Ga
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2000
Strengths: I want to follow up with an earlier posting. I upgraded to a Fox Float RC rear shock. Santa Cruise was very helpful with helping me replace the old shock and made me a great deal on buying the RC. Their service is as great as their bikes.
Weaknesses: Not as fast as a hardtail but not as painful on the body
Bottom Line:
The bike is great and the after the sale service is great.
Submitted by
Dainis
a Weekend Warrior
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: November 3, 1999
Strengths: Pluuush, forgiving, quick, light for a dualie-though not stupid light.
Weaknesses: rear hanger, front der. hard to adjust.
Bottom Line:
This is easily the best dualie out there for under 2 g's. It climbs like a goat, descends like a rocket, & doesn't destroy my back in the process. The stock IRC's are useless for east coast riding, so swap them out ASAP, if you live out here. Also the front derailleur is a pain to adjust because the swingarm keeps getting in the way. And, as *so* many have mentioned, no replaceable rear hanger, though it's plenty tough, & I just had it built up with a breakaway bolt, which the shop threw in for free! Bottom line though is the ride, which can't be beat.This is an astounding bike that has totally changed my mtb experience, & you can take that to the bank!
Weaknesses: No replaceable rear derailleur hanger, front derailleur awkward to adjust, fork caps hit the frame
Bottom Line:
I went to this bike store in Portland, Oregon because the Heckler was on sale and well you know there's no sales tax in Oregon. The Heckler is midnight blue w/ a black fork, and when I saw it, I knew it was going to be mine. It's relatively light at 26.5 lbs and with an LX/XT mix and after I swapped the parts out with my hardtail, I probably brought it down to less than 25 lbs. It has the potential to go even lighter with an upgrade in rear shock and fork. The Manitou SX-E that came with the bike is set up way too stiff for my 145 lb body. There's no damping adjuster and I have to set the preload all the way out. I can feel the little stuff, but it does great on the big hits. Cool MRD lockout though. Upgrade the fork if you way less than 160 lbs. The rear is easily adjustable depending on the trail you're riding and super plush. When I first sat on the bike, I felt the front was too high and too light, but after some twisty singletrack with short climbs it felt super comfortable and tracked real well. This thing shines on the climbs with little to no bobbing when you're standing. I guess it also helps that I don't way that much. Getting the complete bike cost me less than if I ordered a frame and fork. This frame is going to be around awhile, it can easily be upgraded when components get trashed. The bike can also get lighter, depending on how much cash you want to layout. If you want a lightweight dually, do everything, super comfy, lots o' fun, your friends will wish they had one and won't get off of it even when you're trying to go home, awesome built bike - hey, this is the one to get. Santa Cruz bikes are awesome! Their website isn't too bad either.
Similar Products Used: Specialized FSR-XC, TiCycles Skookum
Bike Setup: I swapped parts w/ my Specialized M2 - XTR front and rear Derailleur, Race Face cranks, Azonic riser bar, Avid brakes, Crossland wheels, Manitou SX-E fork, Fox Vanilla rear shock
