The Heckler is perfect for your description. Good choice!
-Heckler BB shell is 68 mm wide, spindle is 113 mm long
-no V-brake bosses - you need to buy disc brakes (and for freeride and DH you'll need them)
-you can do with the 105 mm fork but again, you're better off with a taller fork to slacken the attack angle a bit to reduce chances of endos and provide more plushness; Vanilla 125R is pretty good and reasonably cheap for a quality fork.
-5th Element for an extra $100 is definitely a good value; haven't tried the Pro-Pedal from Fox but the 5th coil is awesome; excellent anti-bottoming control and plush actuation with excellent pedaling
-painting depends on you - regular paint is pretty crappy by comparison to my '99 Kona; if you know you're anal then spend the extra cash to prevent disappointment; I don't really care that much but I can definitely see it's a weak point in quality; know that you'll eat a delivery delay to order a more exotic paintjob unless it's stocked at your LBS
-consider spending money on a 30.9 mm diam. 1" set-back seatpost to get your weight more over your rear wheel for better rear wheel traction; I also found my pedal stroke felt too far forward with a straight seatpost and is much better set-back; Santa Cruz used to sell their kit bikes with a set-back seatpost before they went to Thompson
-consider a tough set of (disc) wheels that are truly up to the freeride / DH challenge; my rear Mavic 317 / 717 disc wheel pooched out on me pretty early in the season as a result of some hard drops, probably some bad landings, and under-inflated tire pressure to gain more traction; I have to true it before every ride now; I hope my Mavic XM819 will work better for me with higher tire pressures (> 30 psi); at 200 lbs, you might need to consider more drastic measures.
-face and chase your BB shell and face your headset before installation to help prevent creaky bottom brackets and smooth rolling headsets
-so basically I'm the anti-Christ because I recommend you don't try and save money; sorry dude but you gotta pay to play; all the concessions I made in the name of cost and weight-weenism have back-fired on me; now I'm spending twice the money buying quality beefy components to handle more FR / DH stuff because it's addictive and it's your ass on the line and the XC-purpose built stuff gets trashed too easily
Good luck! Hope your significant other never reads this message.
-Heckler BB shell is 68 mm wide, spindle is 113 mm long
-no V-brake bosses - you need to buy disc brakes (and for freeride and DH you'll need them)
-you can do with the 105 mm fork but again, you're better off with a taller fork to slacken the attack angle a bit to reduce chances of endos and provide more plushness; Vanilla 125R is pretty good and reasonably cheap for a quality fork.
-5th Element for an extra $100 is definitely a good value; haven't tried the Pro-Pedal from Fox but the 5th coil is awesome; excellent anti-bottoming control and plush actuation with excellent pedaling
-painting depends on you - regular paint is pretty crappy by comparison to my '99 Kona; if you know you're anal then spend the extra cash to prevent disappointment; I don't really care that much but I can definitely see it's a weak point in quality; know that you'll eat a delivery delay to order a more exotic paintjob unless it's stocked at your LBS
-consider spending money on a 30.9 mm diam. 1" set-back seatpost to get your weight more over your rear wheel for better rear wheel traction; I also found my pedal stroke felt too far forward with a straight seatpost and is much better set-back; Santa Cruz used to sell their kit bikes with a set-back seatpost before they went to Thompson
-consider a tough set of (disc) wheels that are truly up to the freeride / DH challenge; my rear Mavic 317 / 717 disc wheel pooched out on me pretty early in the season as a result of some hard drops, probably some bad landings, and under-inflated tire pressure to gain more traction; I have to true it before every ride now; I hope my Mavic XM819 will work better for me with higher tire pressures (> 30 psi); at 200 lbs, you might need to consider more drastic measures.
-face and chase your BB shell and face your headset before installation to help prevent creaky bottom brackets and smooth rolling headsets
-so basically I'm the anti-Christ because I recommend you don't try and save money; sorry dude but you gotta pay to play; all the concessions I made in the name of cost and weight-weenism have back-fired on me; now I'm spending twice the money buying quality beefy components to handle more FR / DH stuff because it's addictive and it's your ass on the line and the XC-purpose built stuff gets trashed too easily
Good luck! Hope your significant other never reads this message.
