What size heckler to buy??

[email protected] said:

Yeah, I think you're right. What about the large Heckler with a laid back seatpost though? I'm trying to find a used bike and there are several good deals on large Hecklers out there, but I haven't seen any XL's for sale at all. Any idea where I can get a good deal on a XL?

Click to expand...

On a smaller bike, you tend to sit more upright w/ more of your weight over the back tire when your arms are extended. If you have a laid back seatpost as an attempt to spread you out over the frame, it seems you'd have even more weight in the rear and would really have a tough time keeping your front wheel on the ground when climbing. I just find it much easier to pedal a longer bike through technical terrain and if your using this bike as an all mtn/xc rig, I think this is what you want. On a frame that's too small for you, small adjustments in body position affect your center of gravity and you tend to be less stable. I ride a large heckler (which I got at a great price) and I put a long stem on it to give me more room but I hate the way it feels w/ such a long stem. Your better off trying to find an XL than monkying around with stems and seat posts trying to make a large frame fit you. Not sure where to get an XL but if you get a large I'd suggest a normal seat post and a stem no longer than 90mm. Even though the large is a bit too small for me, it's still fun to ride and it's very nimble.

Stem length and reach on your VP

This is just a thought and you probably have it under control. Take into consideration that your VP probably has a short stem on it and your new Heckler will probably have a longer trail bike type of stem.

I only thought about this because I have a Large Gemini with a 24.5" TT and a 80mm stem and straight post (27.65 total reach) . I use this bike for trail riding.

You should figure up the total reach your are comfortable with and see if the large will work for you.

I'm 6' tall with 33" inseam.

My large Heckler 23.3" TT with a 100mm stem and layed back (27.87" total reach) post puts me over the pedals where I need to be. That's less than 1/4" difference in reach between the two bikes.

On Santa Cruz web site they used to have size chart with stem lengths, For a Large Heckler 5'11" to 6' listed a 110mm stem, I used a 100mm listed for 5'10". 6'1" - 6'2" they list 120mm.

Here is some examples with straight seat posts, (set back post would offer more cockpit room):

Only you know how you how you like your free ride bike and your XC bike to feel.
I'm just basing everything on overall reach of the cockpit and I don't know what size stem you have on you VP.

Lets say your VP had a 70mm stem, your overall reach would be 27" (24.2 + 2.76") If you bought a XL Heckler 24.9" TT you would need a 50mm (2") stem to keep your reach close.
I beleive this stem would be too short for trail riding.

With a Large (23.3" TT) you would need a 100mm (4") stem to keep you reach close to the VP that you described as fits great.

Just something to think about. I went through this a couple times buying bikes online hoping they would be the right size.

Good luck.

[email protected] said:

I've finally decided that my next bike is going to be a heckler, but now I need to figure out what size I should be looking for. I'm just short of 6'2 and have a 34" inseem. I'm riding a large VP Free right now (I just sold my trail bike, so until I get me heckler the VP Free is also my XC rig). My large Free fits great, but it has a longer top tube than the large heckler. Last weekend I rode an XL heckler which felt too big, but it had a 110 mm stem on it and a seatpost that I couldn't lower so I'm thinking that with the right parts it would be just fine. I sold my last bike because I felt cramped on it, and it had pretty much the same TT length as the large heckler. My concern is that if I get the XL, I will lose some of the maneuverability of the bike, but if I go with the large then I will feel I little too cramped on the longer rides.

Has anyone else had this problem? And if so, what size did you go with? I need a bike that I can take on long rides and be comfortable, but also still be able to bomb down the hills. I wish they had a frame in between the L and XL-- its a pretty big jump!

Click to expand...

That was exactly what I needed! My VP Free has the 888 fork with integrated stem. I'm not sure of the length, but its short! I took your advice, measured the reach, and came to the conclusion that a large frame with a 100mm stem will give me basically the same cockpit fit as on my VP Free. I also realized that I was wrong to base my decision solely on the top tube length becuase there are so many other factors to consider. On the heckler, the seat tube angle is 3.5 degrees steeper (less vertical) than on my old bike, and the headtube angle on the heckler was 1.5 degrees more vertical. I did the math and calculated that if I run the same amount of seat post extension than I did on my old bike, I would actually be stretched out about 2 inches more on the heckler than I was on my old bike just becuase of these different angles.

I've made up my mind-- I'm going large! Thanks everyone for your input.