Im really fancying a heckler after demoing one recently. who owns one, what do you think of them and what about colours and fork options please.

These belong to mates, they seem to love them.

Here's mine 🙂

It rides like a dream, very stable, confident and makes me grin like a loon 😆

Treat yourself, you know it makes sense 😉

No pic but I have one, great bike, love it, mine is last years so not sure of current options but unless you're a real weight weenie go for the coil shock, I demo'd the air version, my LBS persuaded me coil is better and it is sooo much plusher! And looks 10x better! Dark blue with shiny gold bits looks nice as well 🙂

I really wanted a heckler after borrowing one in the alps recently. Took one for a rest ride at Afan on Sunday and really didn't get on with it, climbed like a dog and was really hard worked compared to the Orange 5 I also took out.

Shame cos they're so much cheaper than an Orange 5. Maybe it was just shonky setup in the shop??

thanks guys not considered a 5 yet. just cant decide on a full build or frame and fork only option

Toons,

Nice pics, where was the 1st and 3rd pics taken?
Is the 1st pic the gap jump on the black run at kielder.

cheers

Andy

(sorry for the hijack)

I'm also in the market after cracking my Iron Horse MkIII. How do they compare to a DW link? Will a Pike suit a Heckler?

Here's mine… After months of not getting on with it, I went out on Sunday, and it all came together..

Great fun..

I sold this on here so I could buy a DH bike. I would have another. 140mm Pikes fine for general riding but longer would be better for extended gravity play.

why you not get on with it?

how would you owners best descibe it. would you say its a trail bike or is it more " all Mountain". im after a "Do it all bike" if there is such a thing.
something thats at home in the trail centres, and also to compete on in xc/enduro races.

what sort of weight are your full builds coming out at?

Had a Heckler since 2004 and love it. I went for DHX5.0 shock and Van32 forks and have done Alps, 7Stanes, Welsh Centers, local xc rides, Mountain Mayhem and Bristol Bike fest. Bike weighs 31.5 lbs. Will buy another one, when this one dies.

How are you guys finding the pedal bob or do you run stiff/lockout?

I LOVED my oldshape rootbeer Heckler (2yrs) but didnt like the bob when climbing.

I love mine, 2006 I think – the one of the last of the old shape. Perfect with Pikes for most things, though I found myself wanting a bit more travel in the Alps with the monstrous braking bumps. I think Lyriks up front will be the next upgrade.

Works well for everything I ride – flat local singletrack, Peak epics, trailcentres and the aforementioned Alpine adventures, so I guess it is pretty much a "do it all bike"… Not as quick as a light XC bike on flat stuff, nor as a DH bike on big stuff, but then you wouldn't expect it to be! I reckon it really comes into its own on fun natural stuff – ie Lakes and Peak descents, that kind of thing.

The bob has never bothered me, but I tend to sit and spin rather than stand up and grind. Mine has a coil shock which I'd definitely go for again over the air. They're quite short bikes, which may make a difference – mine's a large to give enough length, I found the medium too short with a 70mm stem.

Toons,
Nice pics, where was the 1st and 3rd pics taken?
Is the 1st pic the gap jump on the black run at kielder.
cheers
Andy

Yep 1st pic is the gap jump at Kielder. I think it's now been filled in; it certainly doesn't look like that photo anymore.

3rd pic is Hamsterley, the final section on the red\black, really nice drop off.

My Heckler is now a bit of a Heinz 57. It started as an 08 frame that was built up. Pikes on the front and DHX5 on the back. Great bike and I do every thing with from Stanes, lake district, local woods and Morzine. It broke it second swing arm pinch bolt in Morzine so I fitted the new style swing arm with no pinch bolts.

OP a Heckler may be overkill for you, you may want something lighter/shorter travel, but if you want the travel /stiffness and don't mind the weight, then it's a great bike IMO, though I've not ridden many other 5" bikes.

hora – Member
How are you guys finding the pedal bob or do you run stiff/lockout?

I LOVED my oldshape rootbeer Heckler (2yrs) but didnt like the bob when climbing.

Mine (03) doesn't bob enough to bother me.

roughly what weight are your builds coming in at. sub 30 lb?

do you think the heckler is too much bike to compete in xc races even if it was specced up appropriatley?

Not sure what mine weighs… At the moment, with all coil shocks and wheels that have their own gravitational pull I'd hazard a guess at somewhere north of 34lbs

blimey, do you think im being a bit ambitious trying to get around the 30lbs mark

Mines just under 30lbs with chunky tubeless tyres on it.Not a particularly blingy build

that sounds good to me. do you think its a "do it all" bike then?

You could get one down to 30lb – with lightish, but strong wheels… a set of 150mm air forks on the front (new Revs would be my choice) definitely with a 20mm axle… an air shock on the back, nout wrong with RP23 on there. Go with a light, tough chainset too and some big volume XC tyres. That bike will be capable of anything within reason…

However…

I'd agree with couple of folk above in that they are the most fun with coils front and rear, a set of burly ish wheels (though not full on DH) and a twin n bash with a 2 ring chain device.

I've got a 2006 Bullit which is pretty close to the current heckler, built up as I've just mentioned. It's around 36lb. I can pedal it around a 30km trail centre, it's a bit of a slog on long flat pedally sections and not the fastest climber, but it'll get you fit. Man, is it fun on the downs though.

Wouldn't want to XC race one, but guess if it's your only bike and you fancied giving it a shot the once, it'd get you round. Perfect for enduros though and a fantastic play bike. If my Bullit died, I'd replace it with a new heckler.

Here's my bullit for comparison…

Here's another chunky build: Lyrik coil U-Turn, DHX5 coil, 2.35 Nevegals, double+bash = 34.5lbs of all-mountain goodness. Typically gets used for "Vancouver XC" and happily spent last weekend playing DH in Whistler bike park. With a good 7 or 8 clicks of rebound + pro-pedal on the DHX5 it pedals great, although I normally turn both down again for descending anything tricky.

Heckler with Lyriks by Nich Burton, on Flickr

You won't get under 30lb without resorting to air shock, a weedy fork and wheels, and very expensive bits.

looking at putting an RP23 on with fox float 150s and a set of mavic 819s with pro 2s.

Absolutely LOVE mine! It handles the downhills and completely planted all the time, like others have said…it took a few rides to get used to it (even though I had the older one (2006) before?) – not sure why? It just did!

The uphills were easier when I had the 2.1 tyres, now on 2.35 Minion Super Tacky (ready for the California trip in 10 days time! 😀 ) but it not that much of a problem now to be honest, I have the RP23 and just set it to the stiffest option on 'Pro Pedal' when on the up's (I also sometimes to remember to wind down the Pikes to 110mm and that helps more).

I'm not a weight weenie but the bike still only weighs in at about 30lbs and is the perfect 'All Mountain' bike.

Here's the pics of current bike….

Here's pics of my old one…

Here's the both together (my mate has it now)…

nice,nice. how are the xt wheels on the black un?

was it easy to get used to the wide swingarm?? i demoed one but kept bashing my legs on it!

Changed tyres since then of course (this was years back). Less red now.

Love the bike, more capable than I'll ever be, very predictable. And with a platform shock on the rear (Think I'm the only person who liked 5th elements) and eta lock down on the front (30mm) it climbs well too, although as others may say, a bit light on the front.
Have done DH (put fat tyres on) to enduro (Picos, 6 hour+ epics) and it copes with all easily.

My build was a tough one at the time, 521 V rims, ditched the standard carbon for EA70 finishing, coil, etc. But that's paid off in longevity and a bike that is ready to roll anytime. Awesome machine.

Oh yeah, if anyone rode a red demo Heckler in 03 at Cheltenham Leisure Lakes, likely it was this one…

can someone tell me the shock eye to eye an stroke for an06 model in both
imperial
and metric

thanks

Shock is the 200mm i2i.
I've got one, briliant bike, puts up with serious abuse, but you can still build it light enough for all day riding. You aren't going to win an XC race on one, but as an all rounder, its hard to fault. One thing I would say, is you might want to consider a size larger than normal as the top tube is a bit short for the frame size. Wish I'd bought an XL now.

my old 2005 model which is built quite burly (heavy!)with lyrik forks and deemax wheels and is now only used in the alps;

Do it all yes Johnny,wunt want to do enduro's on one misen,would rather do one on a hardtail..

just come back from the Alps,thrashed the hell out of it,it did the job ok,felt nice apart from the bigger stuff and the braking bumps..
wheels are **** though,Halo Freedom rims werent good enough for the abuse the bike had :D..

Now tell me,what difference is there in on Orange5 to one of these?apart from the price difference?As these orange5's aint half exspensive nowadays.

Geometry on the Orange 5s a different… bit slacker at the front on the Orange. The heckler is also now 150mm at the back, which I think is more than the orange. If I wanted a bit more climbing and all day ability, the orange with a lighter build may be better. Reckon I'd rather have a heckler out the two though for ultimate fun bike.

I love the simple single pivot so much I'm considering getting rid of my Fuel EX in favour of a SC Superlight… it's like a mini bullit 🙂

the head angle is a bit steeper than i like on the Heckler,still think the Orange5's are overpriced now eh.

in favour of a SC Superlight… it's like a mini bullit

Sure?!!!! I thought the superlights were quite flexy for heavy riders/use?!!!

Not the new ones,very stiff.Handling much like the heckler only lighter.I should know if have both and the SL gets the most action unless the rides really rocky and ubber technical.

Gooner. Now that's a nice example! 😀

love my small 06 model. Feels like a bmx with 6 inches of travel. Run pikes on mine.it's very confidence inspiring, stable at speed and chuckable!