2024 Santa Cruz Heckler SL

Ou812

Well-known member
Jun 26, 2022
768
525
Inverness
All battery powered devices have vampire drain.

Not sure why your buddy is shocked. Hasn't he ever owned literally anything with batteries before?

Li-Ion batteries typically have a discharge rate of 1.5-5% a month depending on the temp where the battery is stored. These bikes are draining 1-2% a day on a shop floor at room temp, definitely something wrong there.

Just for some context, I charged my spare battery to 50% 5 months ago and haven’t touched it since. I put it in my bike today and it was at 43%.
 

OZ-E

Member
Jun 21, 2021
27
22
Australia
Struggling to pick a size on this bike.
I'm 5'9" and SC recommend the L for me but the reach looks a bit long.

I have a Mondraker Crafty M with 470mm and an Orbea Wild with 455mm

The wheelbase seems to suggest the Heckler L will suit me best.
I'm thinking a Large and a shorter stem but SC don't list the stem length.

Throwing it out here to possibly get some feedback on others experiences regarding size. Also if somebody can tell me the bar stem length.
 

tbones

New Member
Nov 14, 2023
2
0
Utah
I'm 5'10.5" and ride the medium. I have longer legs and a lot of seat post sticking out, but I love how the bike rides and feels.
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
108
141
Cascadia
Fellow Fazua owner (Relay) questions for those who have had a DU replacement

- What power mode do you ride in for your typical rides?
- How often are you checking your Engine temps?
- Have you been riding in the wet?
- Lunch laps on full Rocket, longer rides mostly River, default R60 profile
- What? I do make sure to keep the heatsink fins clear
- Dry weather is boring

By the way, I've still got the Lyrik you sold me years ago (pinkbike) running strong on the Sentinel 🤙
 

Dodger1

New Member
Oct 16, 2023
12
15
Devon. Uk
I’m 5’10 and have a medium, I also have long legs so more seatpost.
When I test rode the heckler sl at my local shop I also tried a large Bronson and HighTower for size comparison and I liked both sizes but the Medium just felt a little more nimble under me.
 

RxBike

Member
Jan 26, 2023
26
18
USA
Another update on my order: medium, GX AXS, magenta

Original shipping ETA was the beginning of May. Just received an update from my LBS that the ship date has been moved back to middle of July. Horrible news.

However, the S build is in stock and ready to ship. Decided to roll with an S build. Main differences are: lack of transmission, race face wheels vs reserve AL, and brakes. I was planning on throwing a brand new set of Shimano saint brakes on the GX AXS build when it showed up. So main difference is going to be the wheel set. Might look into running the traditional GX AXS upgrade kit or buying a transmission groupset at a later date.

Just ready to ride the damn thing..
 

OZ-E

Member
Jun 21, 2021
27
22
Australia
Unfortunately I can't get a test ride on one of these. I have tested the Focus Jam SL though.
Wondering if anyone here has ridden both and can give some feedback on the ride difference please.
 

Andeh

Member
May 30, 2023
46
26
Half Moon Bay, CA
I just put a Vivid on my HSL - first ride it felt great. I checked with SC first that it would fit, and asked their thoughts on tune. They said they didn't have an official tune, but something similar to some of their other bikes would work well. So I found one with a C37 R25 tune (same as the one on my Nomad) and it feels spot on.
 

ehfour

New Member
Feb 28, 2024
51
33
Vancouver
- Lunch laps on full Rocket, longer rides mostly River, default R60 profile
- What? I do make sure to keep the heatsink fins clear
- Dry weather is boring

By the way, I've still got the Lyrik you sold me years ago (pinkbike) running strong on the Sentinel 🤙
Nice!
 

RxBike

Member
Jan 26, 2023
26
18
USA
My bike finally arrived and I have been able to get out a couple of times on it already. Such a fun bike. Loving how poppy and flickable it is - noticeable upgrade from the Transition relay in that regard.

I had a matte ride wrap kit laying around from when I first ordered the bike last fall (originally ordered the grey color), decided to put it on before my first ride. It definitely took some sparkle out of the magenta. Unsure how much I like it and am pondering replacing it with a clear wrap.

Had my LBS install shimano saint brakes when the bike arrived. First time on saints, must say I really like them in comparison to the codes I had ridden before.

Question for the group: how silent is your bike? Do you notice any rattle when descending? I am Not wondering about the quietness of the fazua motor. But I can't pin down where a rattle is coming from when I encounter repeated bumps. It sounds like cable rattle but I am having a hard time replicating it when not on the trail. I notice that Santa Cruz still isn't guiding the rear brake line through the rear triangle, so maybe that is the culprit or contributing. Contemplating placing some foam of sorts around all of the cables in the bottom of the frame. What have others done? What have you used?

View attachment 140185 View attachment IMG_2783.jpg
 
Last edited:

Andeh

Member
May 30, 2023
46
26
Half Moon Bay, CA
My bike came with a foam tube in the rear triangle around the brake line already. Check with your shop if they left it in place. In terms of rattles, mine is mostly pretty quiet - every now and then I hear something, but not certain where it's coming from. If I had to guess, it's from the excess ring controller cable up loose in the head tube area. When I had the lower guard / battery hatch off during brake install, the cables seemed pretty well secured down there.
 

Marshall Willanholly

Active member
Oct 24, 2022
30
40
Oregon
My bike came with a foam tube in the rear triangle around the brake line already. Check with your shop if they left it in place. In terms of rattles, mine is mostly pretty quiet - every now and then I hear something, but not certain where it's coming from. If I had to guess, it's from the excess ring controller cable up loose in the head tube area. When I had the lower guard / battery hatch off during brake install, the cables seemed pretty well secured down there.
How difficult was the brake install? I’ve got some Mavens waiting for my SL to arrive, hopefully this week!
 

RxBike

Member
Jan 26, 2023
26
18
USA
Although I didn't install my brakes, it looks pretty simple. Front triangle is completely guided. To make it a breeze, you can cut the old hose right before the rear caliper and attach the new hose directly to the old hose. Pull through from there. Pretty sure you could figure it by completely pulling the old line out first, but finding the brake guide behind the battery might be more tricky that way.
How difficult was the brake install? I’ve got some Mavens waiting for my SL to arrive, hopefully this week!
 

Alan Yeung

Member
Jul 9, 2019
36
33
Ottawa, ON, Canada
My bike finally arrived and I have been able to get out a couple of times on it already. Such a fun bike. Loving how poppy and flickable it is - noticeable upgrade from the Transition relay in that regard.

I had a matte ride wrap kit laying around from when I first ordered the bike last fall (originally ordered the grey color), decided to put it on before my first ride. It definitely took some sparkle out of the magenta. Unsure how much I like it and am pondering replacing it with a clear wrap.

Had my LBS install shimano saint brakes when the bike arrived. First time on saints, must say I really like them in comparison to the codes I had ridden before.

Question for the group: how silent is your bike? Do you notice any rattle when descending? I am Not wondering about the quietness of the fazua motor. But I can't pin down where a rattle is coming from when I encounter repeated bumps. It sounds like cable rattle but I am having a hard time replicating it when not on the trail. I notice that Santa Cruz still isn't guiding the rear brake line through the rear triangle, so maybe that is the culprit or contributing. Contemplating placing some foam of sorts around all of the cables in the bottom of the frame. What have others done? What have you used?

View attachment 140185 View attachment 140186
Silent for the first few months then it developed a creak and a rattle. It took some time to isolate the two sounds. The creak is coming from the fork (CSU issue - annoying, no way to fix). The rattle was caused by one of the cables contacting the battery. I added some foam around the cable and problem solved.
 

RxBike

Member
Jan 26, 2023
26
18
USA
Silent for the first few months then it developed a creak and a rattle. It took some time to isolate the two sounds. The creak is coming from the fork (CSU issue - annoying, no way to fix). The rattle was caused by one of the cables contacting the battery. I added some foam around the cable and problem solved.

Did you just add foam around the cables behind the battery guard, or up higher than that behind the battery?
 

Andeh

Member
May 30, 2023
46
26
Half Moon Bay, CA
How difficult was the brake install? I’ve got some Mavens waiting for my SL to arrive, hopefully this week!
Although I didn't install my brakes, it looks pretty simple. Front triangle is completely guided. To make it a breeze, you can cut the old hose right before the rear caliper and attach the new hose directly to the old hose. Pull through from there. Pretty sure you could figure it by completely pulling the old line out first, but finding the brake guide behind the battery might be more tricky that way.
It's more difficult than you'd think compared to SC trail bikes. Rear triangle gets a foam sleeve stuffed down inside, then the rubber grommet fitted around it and the speed sensor wire. After the brake hose enters the front triangle, there's about 2-3" before it enters a guide tube, which is tucked up above the battery. There is a fairly sharp bend getting up to it, so there's no way that you can just feed it in the hole and hit the guide tube. I took off the bottom cover, fed the brake line through and out the bottom hatch. Then I dropped a Park Tool Internal Routing Tool line down from the head tube, and attached the brake line to it, and used that to guide it into the start of the guide tube. Once you get it into the guide tube, you can just shove it up from the open hatch and out the top. Then you reinstall the hatch.
 

Rodres

New Member
May 1, 2024
9
7
Lisbon, PT
How difficult was the brake install? I’ve got some Mavens waiting for my SL to arrive, hopefully this week!
I've just replaced the brakes on mine (trying out shigura) and agree it's not as simple as the trail bikes. In my 5010 you just had to push the line in and it would follow the routing.

In this one you do have to remove and reinstall the foam on the rear triangle - quite easy - and then have some sort of guidance when you remove the motor cover to send line beneath the battery.

Not having the proper tools I just put half a toothpick in the new brake line, old brake line in through head tube, insert that into the toothpick, put some tape around it and slowly push the new one in. All done.
 

BrandEZ_SL

New Member
Jan 7, 2024
8
7
Ontario
Have owned my HSL for 8 days, rode it twice, been in the workshop for 6 days with an error code. Not a lot of faith going forward with this bike tbh
Stick with it, I’ve had two replacement motors but now it’s been absolutely rock solid for over 1000km. Teeth in g issues for sure but incredible bike when it’s sorted. Warranty process was great.
 

Yorkshirelad

Member
Oct 11, 2019
144
74
Robin hoods bay
Stick with it, I’ve had two replacement motors but now it’s been absolutely rock solid for over 1000km. Teeth in g issues for sure but incredible bike when it’s sorted. Warranty process was great.
Yeah I will try, thing is the weather has been decent here whilst it’s been in the shop so it’s just doing my head in, can’t face losing a summer due to teething issues…..
 

DB88MOTO

Member
Apr 25, 2020
62
28
BC Canada
Hey everyone, curious on some real world range numbers. What are you getting out of a fully charged battery. Currently riding a Bullit and thinking about getting a SL for smaller ride days. Cheers
 

Andeh

Member
May 30, 2023
46
26
Half Moon Bay, CA
Hey everyone, curious on some real world range numbers. What are you getting out of a fully charged battery. Currently riding a Bullit and thinking about getting a SL for smaller ride days. Cheers
I regularly get 4,500'-4,600' vert in about 2:15 off most of a battery (like 1-3% left) mostly in Rocket. I typically only drop down to River for the last lap. I weigh 165# without gear and am at least moderately fit. I haven't tried doing a long ride in Breeze yet so can't speak to that.
 

DB88MOTO

Member
Apr 25, 2020
62
28
BC Canada
I regularly get 4,500'-4,600' vert in about 2:15 off most of a battery (like 1-3% left) mostly in Rocket. I typically only drop down to River for the last lap. I weigh 165# without gear and am at least moderately fit. I haven't tried doing a long ride in Breeze yet so can't speak to that.
Thanks for replying. What does that convert to KM on a ride. I usually get about 35km in range on my Bullit, but also depends how many meters I climb. I weigh about 143 pounds. I’m located in Canada. Cheers and thanks
 

cykelk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 15, 2023
108
141
Cascadia
Hey everyone, curious on some real world range numbers. What are you getting out of a fully charged battery. Currently riding a Bullit and thinking about getting a SL for smaller ride days. Cheers
A few rides on mine from the past week. I'm ~170lbs with ~220W FTP on an indoor trainer. According to the Fazua data my "all day Zone 2 power" in the real world MTB situation is somewhere around 160W.

- 19 mi / 3600 ft / 88% used / Rocket
- 24 mi / 4150 ft / 99% used / Rocket + some in a custom, boosted River profile. I think forced-Eco hits at 5%
- 18.7 mi / 4230 ft / 51% used / Eco (a custom acoustic-group profile)
- 9 mi / 2750 ft / 55% used / Rocket with 300 to 400 ft hike-a-bike

For those first two rides ^ I rode with a buddy on the same bike who is about my weight but significantly more fit. I think he finished the first with 30% left (I had 12%) and the second with somewhere in the 20% range.
 

Andeh

Member
May 30, 2023
46
26
Half Moon Bay, CA
Thanks for replying. What does that convert to KM on a ride. I usually get about 35km in range on my Bullit, but also depends how many meters I climb. I weigh about 143 pounds. I’m located in Canada. Cheers and thanks
Last long ride was 16.5 miles / 4,700' vert or 26.6 km / 1,433 m. 2:22 elapsed time. A couple of those laps were in Breeze with a couple of guys on normal bikes. Another ride prior to that had same distance / vertical but was done in 2:05.

Rider weight without gear is about 75 kg. Bike as built up (DH tires, Vivid shock, but otherwise light components) is ~44 lbs / 20 kg.
 

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