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Heckler photo thread 2007

430K views 816 replies 293 participants last post by  Mr Crudley 
#1 ·
I'm looking to buy a Heckler and i'd like to see some pictures of them to decide on the colour and spec...
 
#786 ·
My new ride

This is my new ride, just built it up. I bought it to try out 27.5" but will ride as a 26" for the time being. I have not hit the trails with it yet but I am sure it will get some ride time and give the Tallboy a break every once in a while.
 

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#788 ·
Here's my '12 build up. I' ve been swapping parts from my old Blur to this for the past month and it's finally done.
 

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#790 ·
Tire Wheel Bicycle tire Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle wheel
Got my set of Burgtec offset shock bushings the other day. Had to buy the little tool to press the old stock bushings out. New ones feel smooth. Even when the shock is bottomed without air, there is tons of clearance. (unlike with my 650b wheels, which get rub.) So this is what a 2009 Heckler looks like with and angleset, offset bushings, and a 150mm fork. Snow has gotten in the way of our riding so far, but it feels great riding around the block. The geometry change is not that subtle.
 
#793 ·
The 2003 blur was to big for me. It was a 22" model. My heckler is a mediumish large and it fits waaay better. I bought the blur used a couple of years ago cheap and toughed it out. Going down fire roads was a blast but on anything technical I never felt comfortable because I was a little stretched out on it.

I really like the geometry of the Heckler. It's much more slack. I sit more upright and for me climbing is easier and it's more nimble when I have to maneuver around things.

I bought the frame only on the SC website for $550 plus tax and shipping. If they had nomad frames for that price I would have gotten one of those based on all the reviews.

Any other questions just let me know.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD
 
#794 ·
Heres my new Heckler, custom built '13 model. This bike rocks, everyone including the shop owners tried to talk me into a nomad or bronson, but simply I couldn't afford those so went with this.
Coming off a Reign X I was told that this would be inferior to the Maestro platform and blah blah blah, but after my first run down my local tracks I hit things I never touched on the Reign, I love the liveliness of the single pivot. I don't really buy into the VPP hype now, clearly geometry is much more important as the bike just feels so right.
 

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#795 ·
Awesome bike man. I had bombers on my Heckler, '05 AM2's then '08 55ETA's. Tried some early brown 36 Talas and thought they were sh!t, no comparison to Zocchi. I resent that mtbr.com don't fullly cover Zoke's new products and leap at anything Fox, simply because they're paid to. Interesting to see how much you use the dropper post. Guess I'm oldschool, maybe just old, but they seem a bit of a gimmick to me, and not very reliable yet either.

Loved my Heckler, hammered the crap out of it for years, took unbelievable punishment. With it's long legs and short body, with a well balanced, upright seating position, it takes the big hits superbly, much better than a lot of more complex linkage.

I had an '03, developed a bit of slop in the swingarm which caused the shock bolt holes (on swingarm) to round out. The new design looks more durable, but make sure you replace the main pivot bearings as regularly, like every season. Had an '06 Foes FXR 2:1 after the Heckler which had a swing link connecting the top of the single pivot swingarm which significantly reduced flex, was noticeably stiffer than the Heckler.

Check this out: Heckler Rear End Flexing - YouTube

Edit: I just rewatched this video (after a couple of years) and I can barely see any flex in the rear triangle. The rear wheel is flexing it's guts out, but not the frame.

Now, I'm not dissing the Heckler, it's a great bike, but it is an inherently flexy design. Honestly, you don't even notice it when you're bombing down a hill, I never did, and I had the old model. But some lateral flex is there, and it's stressing the main pivot and shock hardware, something to be aware of. SC introduced the Butcher in order to address these issues, but it's not the classic the Heckler is, perhaps even the most classic mtb of all time, has one of the longest and impressive lineages.

In regard to the "VPP hype", I used to think the same, hardcore single pivot, even had a Bullit as well (great DH, pig of a trail bike)... until I rode a VPP bike. I'd always wanted a VP-Free, a DH bike you could actually ride to the top of the hill, and it's been a revelation. I mean, it's ridiculously overbuilt, heavy as hell (Saint cranks, 66 Evo Ti, DH parts), and the VPP design has since been revised several times, but man, it rides sooooo well. VPP farken rocks dude, it's really good, super plush yet has great small bump compliance, climbs really well and descends even better (it is a DH bike).

The single pivot design, although great, super stable and bombproof, relies a lot on the shock platform to prevent pedal bomb, mushiness. The trade-off for this is that the bike lacks a bit of small bump compliance. Takes big hits like a champ, but you do feel a bit more through the chatter, imo anyway. The beauty of VPP is that you can have your shock all the way open and let the linkage design take care of the rest, which it does without fuss, very impressive.

Anyway, have fun on your awesome new Heckler, and maybe VPP's something to think about in the future. Personally, I'm saving for a carbon Bronson.
 
#796 · (Edited)
After a year of tinkering, finally done and perfectly tuned...

My statistics: 180cm, 80kg, inseam 34inches. Trail/all-mountain, no jumps or drops higher/deeper than 1.5ft.

2011 heckler Medium size.

Cockpit: Easton Havoc 65mm + Funn Full-on 2inch riser alum bars 770mm width. Seatpost: Rockshox Reverb.

Fork: Rockshox Domain 318 set at 160mm with nylon spacer, 5wt Stendec oil, Boxxer Soft spring cut to match. Enlarged compression valve (drill bit is one size-up from original hole) using battery hand drill for faster flow, noticeably smooths out trail harshness and small bumps. Always have about 1.5 inches left from bottom out after rides with small 1ft drop-offs.

Shock: Fox RP23 2012 Kashima Vel=Low, Reb=Low (traded off with DHX RC4). Blow through mid-travel (1st ride) still happened, then I added a plastic sheet into air-can to reduce air volume (roughly 5cc). This shock out-performs the DHX Air as it smooths out the chatters better than DHX Air and suspension curve makes it really plush across the full travel. There's once the o-ring dropped off the end, but i didn't notice the bottom-out happen. As for RC4, compression felt like overdamp for heckler and much harsher, not a comfortable shock for trail riding.

Shock Bushing: Proshox offset. The change in geometry did help my riding. Most obvious improvement i noticed is the body weight centering sweet spot is much more accommodating during weight shifts, might be due to longer wheelbase and lower BB height. Previously, it was a body balancing act whenever i come across technical uphills or downhills sections. But now i'm clearing the same sections without feeling out of balance.

Tires: Maxxis Hansventure 2.4 2-ply (Front) + 2.25 ardent (Back)

Drivetrain, Brakes, etc: 2011 SLX groupset. Blackspire Stinger roller chain-guide. Shimano PD-647 clipless pedals.

Other DIY stuff: Water-jet cutting alum bashguard. "Carbon fiber" fenders. Off-the-shelf stickers.

:thumbsup:
 

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#800 ·
I posted a pic of my Heckler in this thread WAY back in 2007 right after I bought it (can't believe it's been that long!). Anyway, thought I'd post another pic. Took this one a few days ago. After all these years and countless miles ridden all over Arizona, Colorado, and Texas, the bike is still going strong. It kind of blows my mind how well it's held up. Just had the fork and shock rebuilt by Push. Between that and the new WTB Bronsons I just threw on, the bike has never felt better. I went with the Heckler over the Blur because I wanted a simple, low maintenance bike that would last. Not disappointed. If and when I have to replace it, there's a very good chance I'll custom build another Heckler. Bicycle tire Wheel Bicycle wheel Bicycle wheel rim Bicycle fork
 
#802 ·
My LBS was selling a 26" Heckler frame from a couple of years back. It still had the 1 1/8" head tube and 10mm rear axle. They asked 700€ for it which is like 50% off. Nearly ended up buying it as it was so cheap. But I didn't want another single-pivot bike - I already had a 2007 Heckler.
 
#804 · (Edited)
heckler 6.1

First Pic: completely stock heckler 6.1 with RAM kit:
(26" wheels, straight 1 1/8" headtube, steepish angles, no ISCG tabs. I guess it's obsolete now but ask me if I give a f***... heck no!

Note: click on any pic to see a larger version @ flickr


my heckler today, with some upgrades:









Changes/Upgrades:
1. Shimano SLX Crankset (9 speed 22/36/Bash)
2. Blackspire Stinger (no more dropped chains):thumbsup:
3. Marzocchi 44 rc3 ti fork, new old stock, ebay
4. Marzocchi ROCO coil World Cup, used, ebay
5. Ghetto Tubeless (no more pinch flats):thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
6. Chris King headset, taken from my old Superlight
7. Maxxis High Roller II 2.4 tires

Weight: 32.3 lbs (with original tires)

In stock form, this bike was super fun. Now it is super dee duper insanely fun!!!

I love my bike!

hella

 
#806 ·
I have a similar setup - Marz 44 RC3 Ti and Roco WC with Marz spring (non-Ti) on the back.

I had a Float front and Float CTD rear that came stock on my Heckler frame last year.

I swapped out the Float front for the Marz and really dug it so I went for the Roco on the back a few months ago.

What I have now is a lean mean killing machine.

The Roco does weight a bit more than the CTD but not massively so and the overall feel of the Roco is just all around better than the Float CTD.

Knowing what I know now I don't think I would ever go back to Float/Float on this frame...
 
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