E-MTB / Test: With the Santa Cruz Heckler, the Californians are breathing new life into a cult name in the form of an E-MTB. As a versatile trail companion with large suspension travel reserves and a Shimano drive, the bike should impress with the usual Santa Cruz qualities.
In addition to the Bullit, the Heckler is only the second e-MTB from the cult manufacturer Santa Cruz. At first glance, the two bikes are similar in many ways, but the Californians have tweaked a few things and created one of the best all-rounders on the market. Thanks to its 160 mm of suspension travel at the front and 150 mm at the rear, the bike is definitely prepared for difficult terrain, especially since Santa Cruz has known how to design excellent rear triangles for many years. The versatility of the bike can be seen in the different equipment variants: The Heckler is available as a pure 29er or as a mullet bike (like we tested), with either more robust or slightly lighter components - depending on the individual application.
Surprisingly light, despite robust components
Propulsion is provided by the Shimano EP801, which despite having a similar name is a significantly more powerful motor than its predecessor EP8. The energy is supplied by a removable 720 Wh battery in the down tube. The other components on our test bike are all of very high quality, which is no surprise given the price of over 10.000 euros. The RockShox Ultimate suspension with ZEB and SuperDeluxe not only scores with strong performance, but also with its simple setup.
| frame | Santa Cruz Heckler |
| suspension fork | RockShox ZEB Ultimate |
| Drive | Shimano EP801 |
| Rechargeable battery | 720 Wh |
| Suspension shocks | Rock Shox Super Deluxe Ultimate |
| Wheels | DT Swiss 350 / Santa Cruz Reserve |
| Tire VR | Maxxis Assegai MaxxGrip Exo+ |
| Tire HR | Maxxis Minion DHR II MaxxTerra DD |
| derailleur | Sram X0 Eagle Transmission 12-speed |
| Gear levers | Sram AXS Pod |
| Crank | Shimano EM900 |
| Front derailleur | Without |
| Brake | Sram Code Stealth Silver |
| Brake discs | 200 / 200 mm |
| Seat post | OneUp Dropper V2 |
| Saddle | WTB Silverado Medium |
| Stem | Burgtec Enduro MK3 |
| Links | Santa Cruz e35 Carbon Bar |
With the new Sram X0 Eagle Transmission you can look forward to clean gear changes even under load and the OneUp vario support offers plenty of stroke. Another highlight are the in-house carbon rims, which are particularly sturdy at the back. The same applies to the tires, where you rely on the stable (but heavy) DoubleDown casing. If you take all of this together, the weight of under 22 kg in frame size L is a real statement.
The Santa Cruz Heckler X0 AXS RSV MX on the trail
Lively, playful, smooth-running, comfortable: the Santa Cruz Heckler manages to combine driving characteristics that are actually mutually exclusive. If it shows its playful character on flat single trails, the next moment it can suddenly score points with its extremely smooth running during the toughest enduro blasts. The way in between? Maximum comfort thanks to the great seating position. Only the loud clattering of the drive and battery spoils the fun of the descent a little. The bike from California also shows unexpected qualities on the uphill, where the combination of a central seating position, sensitive but powerful drive and high-traction tires works excellently.
