Santa Cruz Heckler SL Review - Vital's SL eMTB Test Sessions

For their debut into the lightweight e-bike category, Santa Cruz aimed to blend stability with a high fun factor to create the Heckler SL. Being early adopters of Fazua's Ride 60 system helped bring that vision to life, allowing Santa Cruz to optimize range and power from a lightweight system. Hopping on a Santa Cruz always comes with the expectation that you will receive a premium ride quality. There is a reason they have such a cult following, and the Heckler SL lived up to expectations, as it was a fan favorite amongst our three testers.
Highlights
C & CC level carbon frame
Mixed wheels
150mm of rear wheel travel // 160mm fork travel
VPP suspension design
430 Wh battery
60 Nm FAZUA Ride 60 motor
Integrated top tube display
Customizable ride modes via the FAZUA app
Internal cable routing
Flip chip geometry adjustment
64.3/64-degree head tube angle
Size-specific chain stay lengths
Five build kits
Sizes: S-XXL
Verified weight (size XL): 44.6 pounds (20.23kg)
MSRP: $7,299 - $12,999 USD ($9,699 as tested, GX AXS Build)
Thanks to these brands for supporting the test!
Tannus Armour Inserts - tannusamerica.com/products/ta...
Feedback Sports - feedbacksports.com
Maxxis Tires - www.maxxis.com/us/tires/bicyc...
Read our SL E-MTB Test Sessions article - www.vitalmtb.com/features/vit...
More mountain bike news and reviews - www.vitalmtb.com
#ebike #emtb

[@Schnabulation]

Regarding that creaking noise you mentioned: I had that on my Heckler SL as well and we also found out it‘s the motor cover. We put some tape around it to decouple the cover, that fixed the issue.

[@IgorTrninic]

Hey @Schnabulation - Can you share some details on how exactly you did that? And what kind of tape you put where? I recently bought a Heckler SL and am hearing the same thing.

[@Schnabulation]

@@IgorTrninic of course: you know velcro tape? This has two sides, one side with the hooks the other side with the smooth fabric. We used the side with the smooth fabric and just layed it all around the motor cover. So the tape is in the cover and not on the frame. Now when the cover is mounted it does not have direct contact with the frame anymore, only the tape has. But you can‘t see the tape from outside. I hope that helps, otherwise I can send you a picture. Btw: the space behind the motor cover is the perfect place for an Apple AirTag ;)

[@IgorTrninic]

@@Schnabulation Thanks! Just to confirm, what you put on the motor cover is a tape where one side is sticky, and the other is smooth fabric, correct? If possible a photo would be great! Love the AirTag tip, will do that as well.

[@Schnabulation]

@@IgorTrninic yes, correct. One side is sticky, the other side is fabric.

[@ShapeThings]

I had a strange sound that may have been this same issue today, will try the tape trick. First time hearing it - have had the bike for months.

[@crnzsrt]

How does it compare to the giant trance elite?

[@MrPolaris800crew]

i had my Hecker SL break last ride, it lasted 30miles and the motor broke, started skipping and making clunking noises.

[@TheCureThatKillz]

But…$9,600 😩

[@425flex]

yeah 9600 for a pretty lame spec. i feel like they didnt address the biggest problem with this bike which was the value...

[@barneyisourhero]

A friend of mine has one of these and it has been in the shop more times for repair than he has had chance to ride it. Avoid it, the motor seems unreliable and the Santa Cruz customer service is very disappointing.

[@mikes.8305]

I’m with your friend. Honestly I love the bike. I would rate it as my favorite bike or e-bike ever as far as the way it rides. The power and especially the range are better than my Levo SL, but the reason I own a Levo SL is because the heckler SL keeps breaking. SC blames Fazua and offers virtually no support. Fazua isn’t that fast to replace these motors. Mine been in the shop about 2 weeks now. I have also broken the gears on the Levo SL but I literally had a new motor installed the 2nd day after. Now the interesting part is that Fazua is claiming the first hecklers had a bad batch of motors and ring controllers so they assure me it will be fixed and good to go. I’m not going to count on that though. Luckily I’m spoiled enough to have two SL e-bikes.

[@Schnabulation]

I have owned my Heckler SL since October 2023, put around 300km on it, not a single problem.

[@dxr2002]

Yamaha YZ125x cost around $7100. Cmon yall