Heckler Acceleration

A couple of things going on here.

CaboWabo said:

I am concidering buying a Santa Cruz Heckler.I was on my buddies the other day and blown away by the rapid acceleration I got on this bike. He has the 5th element air shock and keeps it pretty hard. Any Heckler owners getting more acceleration from this bike than others riden? Is it the rear shock? My buddie is in no better riding shape than the people he rides with yet blows us away with a burst anytime he wants. He thinks it's the rigidity of the Heckler frame. What do ya think???

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The main reason that the Heckler accelerates rapidly is because of the frame design. The High forward pivot placement, paired with a stable platform shock, allows energy to go right to the pedals, with very little pedal bob. An air shock that is filled to the max will help with acceleration also, but will not perform very well on the bumps and the ride on your buddie's Heckler is probably compromised in this department.

The swing arm of the Heckler is not known for being super stiff. There is a little bit of flex there, so I don't think this is the main contributor to acceleration. There is a combination of factors. I had a Hadley bolt on rear hub on my Heckler, and it made that bike super stiff.

Overall, the Heckler does accelerate pretty quickly.

Vulcan, the Heckler is not magical. It is supernatural.