$1300 - $1500 (frame & fork)

We were planning on riding the exciting new virtual-pivoted Blur at the Santa Cruz booth, but the bike was just too damn popular and we couldn't find our in-house connection to hook us up. So instead of waiting, we took out the redesigned Heckler for some hard ridin', and were thoroughly impressed.


The Heckler returned last year after a year's hiatus, and now represents the middle of their FS line-up with 5 inches of rear travel; not as big and plush as the Bullit, and not as XC-oriented as the new VPP Blur. The Heckler is a bomber FS ride though, and will take anything you throw at it.


The bike comes as a frame/fork combo; from there it's up to you how to spec it out. Ours had the amazing 5th Element rear shock by Progressive on it, which did a great job of controlling pedal-induced bobbing on the climb. We love that shock! We also had a RockShox Psylo front fork and disc brakes.


On the trail the bike weighed in at about 30.5 lbs., and railed the descents while it handled like a XC bike in the turns. The head angle isn't too slack, and the geometry handles all conditions. Nice long cockpit, good stand-over height and the flexibility to "have it your way" spec-wise make this a favorite brand of many an enthusiast.