ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review pros defects performance autonomy everything you need to know

ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review Build quality

The Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 ebike has a fairly high cost, around 12 thousand euros in the top range version, but also cheaper than other competitors.

The available sizes are very good for finding the correct size for your height and morphology.

The Fazua motor with 60Nm of torque and the 430Wh battery are excellent.

The Santa Cruz Heckler SL weighs approximately 18.9 kg, a competitive weight for the category.

It is also true that with an aluminum frame the weight would increase to a maximum of 2kg and the price could be much cheaper...

But this is what the market wants... so there's no point in complaining about the high prices of these ebikes.

The general build quality is valid, the value for money is good and better than many other competitors.

Of note is the reduced diffusion of the brand, sales and assistance points, aspects not to be underestimated with ebikes.

ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review Frame

New frame, new geometries, new everything, all done very well.

The entire Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 ebike is a modern, lightweight ebike of excellent overall quality.

The frame and rear suspension are very well made.

Nothing to report, an expensive but quality ebike.

ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review Assemblies

The range of assemblies is complete and wide, with versions perhaps too similar and with prices that remain high, but essentially for those who want this model, there is no shortage of choice.

The construction and assembly quality, in each version, is high.

The value for money is very good, as are the weights.

ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review Comfort

With a carbon frame and 160 and 150mm suspensions it is useless to talk about ride comfort.

It remains at an excellent level.

It's impossible to expect anything better, especially once the suspensions are well calibrated, which are of excellent quality.

ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review Guide

The Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 ebike is certainly a light, powerful electric bicycle with good autonomy.

It turns out to have a great riding balance and achieves the goal of being very similar in behavior to a muscle bike.

Excellent traction and ease of driving uphill, excellent performance on the flats, only limited by the wide suspension travel.

A rigid and reactive frame, easy to handle, but never nervous, easy to control.

Its behavior is excellent on technical climbs, where it is very easy to control the direction and always maintain high traction.

Downhill behavior is also excellent, where the Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 ebike actually behaves like a traditional mountain bike, only the greater weight is felt, but handling, stability and riding balance are very similar.

Excellent braking and suspension, smooth and easy to set up.

An excellent e-mtb suitable for downhill, but also valid for uphill, perfect for fast and medium-slow routes, with difficulty only on very slow routes.

ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review Performance

The not very high weight and the good power of the engine and its autonomy are the strong points of the Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 ebike.

The Fazua Ride 60 motor is no longer new, very gradual in its thrust, it still expresses good force when necessary and when deactivated it offers no pedaling resistance.

Weight aside, it is one of the ebikes that is easier to pedal without the help of the electric motor.

The autonomy is not very high, but in any case the real one exceeds 100km, using the engine carefully when really needed.

The minimum range is approximately 50km using the electric motor without any savings.

Without the thrust of the engine, the Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 ebike remains fun downhill and still pleasant to ride on the flats, just clearly heavy uphill.

The driving dynamics, in general, are better than many e-bikes, stable, precise, fast, excellent overall.

Its strong point, clearly, is downhill, where it has very few rivals, but even uphill it highlights ease of driving and enviable traction.

Performance on the flats is equally good.

Price aside, excellent ebike overall and competitive against other ebikes similar in weight and with an even higher cost.

ebike Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 test review Pros and cons

The Santa Cruz Heckler SL 2023 2024 ebike has proven to be a very valid, competitive and even better e-bike than many other competitors.

Like all light e-mtb it has a low power engine

and a relatively reduced autonomy.

They may or may not be a problem.

However, on this new Santa Cruz Heckler SL ebike the differences are very limited, both in terms of engine thrust and real autonomy.

The Fazua engine is truly the best in terms of weight-power-autonomy ratio.

The overall quality is very high.

In the end it's not a bargain, but the price is competitive for what the 2023 2024 Santa Cruz Heckler SL ebike offers.

The only defects are the absence of a widespread sales and assistance network, the difficulty of maintenance and the various problems relating to the maintenance of the ebike engine and the price of spare parts.

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NDR: the photo does not refer to the specific bike being tested