"The new Heckler is a totally different bicycle," says Santa Cruz co-founder Rob Roskopp. "Every tube is different, the swingarm is all new, and its geometry has been changed. Its a heavy duty trailbike in between a racer and a freeride bike.
"You can beat the crud out of this one," he commented. "We sent one of the first Hecklers to our dealer up at the North Shore. They have been using it for sick drops and all that stuff up there, and it is still going strong"
Technically, the Heckler offers Santa Cruzs time-proven single-pivot monoshock swingarm, with a dropped-top-tube main frame. The obvious updates are the swingarms heavily ovalized lower tubes and a single connector strut between the shock mount and the swingarm pivot. Extra gussets near the head tube junctions are also new items. The Heckler frame is configured to use a lightweight Fox Float air rear shock or the Progressive Fifth Element coil-over damper.
Less obvious, but critical for performance, is that the Hecklers swingarm pivot has been moved to moderate the tendency for single-pivot rear suspensions to extend under braking. Also, the seat and chainstays have been widened to accept all but the widest downhill tires. Look more closely and you may notice the Hecklers multi-mount cable and brake hose guides. The guides use small zip-ties to bind full-length cable housings or hydraulic brake hoses to the sides, and are drilled and slotted to accept conventional brake and derailleur housing stops.
All-purpose bikes tuned to your city pace, your downtown commutes and your campus quads
