[Jacques12345]

Hey! I am currently riding a 2004 ironhorse warrior comp and am looking to get a more expensive and full suspension bike. I will mostly be riding it on the trails with some uphills and some downhills and a few 2-3 ft jumps, will mostly be aggressive xc. I was thinking of getting a santa cruz heckler but not shure if I should go with the blur instead, what do you guys think, and does anyone have any other suggestions on any other bikes I could take a look at that would be around the same as the heckler or blur?

Thanks!

Jack

 

[BlueBike]

Sounds like the Blur will be better for ya, and the 5 spot or even the Flux(more XCish) come to mind.

Hey! I am currently riding a 2004 ironhorse warrior comp and am looking to get a more expensive and full suspension bike. I will mostly be riding it on the trails with some uphills and some downhills and a few 2-3 ft jumps, will mostly be aggressive xc. I was thinking of getting a santa cruz heckler but not shure if I should go with the blur instead, what do you guys think, and does anyone have any other suggestions on any other bikes I could take a look at that would be around the same as the heckler or blur?

Thanks!

Jack

 

[006_007]

Hey! I am currently riding a 2004 ironhorse warrior comp and am looking to get a more expensive and full suspension bike. I will mostly be riding it on the trails with some uphills and some downhills and a few 2-3 ft jumps, will mostly be aggressive xc. I was thinking of getting a santa cruz heckler but not shure if I should go with the blur instead, what do you guys think, and does anyone have any other suggestions on any other bikes I could take a look at that would be around the same as the heckler or blur?

Thanks!

Jack

You are looking at an area that has many different and good options. The Blur VS Heckler battle is a common one. Nutshell blur is more XCish, Heckler more all-round (can be built up light or heavy)

Other favorites in this catagory include the ironhorse MKIII, Yeti 575, Intense 5.5, Turner 5-spot......

 

[yagimax]

Get the Heckler !

I just went through the same scenario as you have.
The Heckler was the clear winner for me because you can dress them up for your riding style.
Mine is built up for trail riding with a Rockshox Pike up front and a Fox RP3 for duties out back.
The RP3 has three propedal settings and the Pike has adjustable travel ( 95mm to 140mm) etc.
This allows me to change to light duty freeride to more XC orientated riding in seconds.
And last but not least is the attractive pricing of the Heckler with it's simple single pivot design.

Gary

 

[6milliondollarman]

I was in the same boat (actually, Blur 4X vs Heckler). As 006_007 mentioned, this is a common battle. It is also discussed at length in the Santa Cruz Forum. The guys there are really helpful and should point you in the right direction in terms of the type of riding you do and what you expect out of the bike.

Quick points:

Heckler - Santa Cruz's best selling bike (according to a Santa Cruz rep). Can be built up for freeride or lightened for XC. I know a guy who races his Heckler in XC races expert class, and actually won a few. Simple, less hassle single-pivot technology (coupled w/a good SPV shock, you could probably hang w/ the VPPs).

Blur - Probably SC's most POPULAR bike, now comes in 3 flavors: XC, LT (long travel), and 4X. There are plans on discontinuing the classic Blur later this year. VPP technology "balances different forces to eliminate unwanted compression without limiting bump absorption". Some swear by the increase in ride efficincy compared to other suspension designs. Downside? More moving parts and perhaps a higher frequency of maintenance, and about $500~$1000 more than the Heckler.

If you go for the Blur, the LT model sounds like your type of riding, but personally, if I were in YOUR shoes, I'd seriously consider the Heckler, especially w/ yagimax's setup in the previous post. In my case, I opted for the Blur 4X because it perfectly suits the riding I do.

Good luck on your choice!

 

[Jacques12345]

Hey! Great info guys, really helpful, this is leaning me towards the heckler but the blur LT comes in close, if I get the heckler I will be speccing it with lighter parts, if I get the blur I will be putting a little stronger parts on it but i'm just not shure if the blur could handle my type of ridding and also i'm 6" 200 pounds. I want something that won't be really hard to pedal but that will be able to take some abuse and with the blur i'm worried I might break it and then it will cost a fortune to replace but with the heckler i'm worried it might be harder to pedal. Any suggestions on this?

 

[006_007]

Hey! Great info guys, really helpful, this is leaning me towards the heckler but the blur LT comes in close, if I get the heckler I will be speccing it with lighter parts, if I get the blur I will be putting a little stronger parts on it but i'm just not shure if the blur could handle my type of ridding and also i'm 6" 200 pounds. I want something that won't be really hard to pedal but that will be able to take some abuse and with the blur i'm worried I might break it and then it will cost a fortune to replace but with the heckler i'm worried it might be harder to pedal. Any suggestions on this?

If durability is an issue then I would choose the Heckler. Less moving parts in its single pivot suspension VS blurs multiple links. As fo rthe harder to pedal, with the stable platfrom shocks now available they truly mask the majority of "poor" pedaling performance associated with a single pivot. The biggest issue with a single pivot now is the way the rear stiffens under braking, and I found that the VPP designs do that as well.

Either one if you break the frame SC will hook you up at a reasonable cost. Their warranty dept. is one of the best in the business IMHO.

Go with the heckler, you will not regret it. Maybe contact SC to see if there is a LBS in your area that can hook you up with a demo ride (real one, not parking lot)

TJ

 

[jrm]

I found it

Hey! I am currently riding a 2004 ironhorse warrior comp and am looking to get a more expensive and full suspension bike. I will mostly be riding it on the trails with some uphills and some downhills and a few 2-3 ft jumps, will mostly be aggressive xc. I was thinking of getting a santa cruz heckler but not shure if I should go with the blur instead, what do you guys think, and does anyone have any other suggestions on any other bikes I could take a look at that would be around the same as the heckler or blur?

Thanks!

Jack

to be overkill for most of the riding i did. And i didnt like the behavior of the single pivot susp design.

 

[yagimax]

Choices

As 6 mill-man said , the spv shocks make for very peddle friendly bikes.
Another consideration would be the Yeti 575.
Look under the hecklers picture thread and see my ano black beast ( 31lbs)

Good luck in your search

 

[ronny]

Hey! I am currently riding a 2004 ironhorse warrior comp and am looking to get a more expensive and full suspension bike. I will mostly be riding it on the trails with some uphills and some downhills and a few 2-3 ft jumps, will mostly be aggressive xc. I was thinking of getting a santa cruz heckler but not shure if I should go with the blur instead, what do you guys think, and does anyone have any other suggestions on any other bikes I could take a look at that would be around the same as the heckler or blur?

Thanks!

Jack

Aggressive x-country with the odd jump here and there is what the Heckler was made for. It is an excellent all around bike.