It's a brutal challenge normally but with the electric boost it becomes fun, but still very hard work. It's a steep double track with occasional rock features to climb and lots of rocks strewn everywhere.
*I caught up to a group of women who were formerly XC racers, one sponsored and on the national team, and they were going about 7 km/h - but just toodling along and chattingĪnother ride I started doing involved riding over the Cleveland Dam and into West Vancouver to an ugly climb. Ripping on the road and arriving at the trailhead in a third of the time, is a seductive revelation. I ride from home sometimes on my usual rides, but on the Heckler it was automatic. Which means, there is no question that e-bikes increase wear and tear in areas that can't be shuttled. Heading up the fireroad on Fromme at 20km/h (12 mph)* was quite comfortable and it made the temptation of more laps hard to resist. I stayed close to home on my first rides, and going too far wasn't an option in the age of COVID-19, but I went for longer rides and in less time. If I was short on time I took the fireroad. Fromme's climbing trail, which I have only attempted at non-peak hours, is certainly faster, but the frequent switchbacks make the difference less pronounced. So far only skill has prevented me from getting up any hill I've attempted on the Heckler. It struggled when things got steep and needed high cadence to get really going. The power made available by the Shimano E8000 drive unit is vastly superior to what I experienced on the Xduro six years ago. I'll bet you a set of Reserve wheels there's a big-wheeled version on the horizon. Santa Cruz opted for tweener wheels here to generate a livelier ride that compensates for the extra heft (46 lbs). One of the first 29ers that was universally praised, it sold better than all other Santa Cruz models combined. Santa Cruz sales hit another gear when the Tallboy was launched. The naked eye might miss the 650b wheels as well, which was an interesting choice. A close look reveals the Shimano power plant mounted at the bottom bracket, and the fat, battery-filled downtube, but well-placed black finishing conceals both quite successfully. Santa Cruz did a stealthy job making the Heckler look like a bike. Is it safe for us? Probably not, but we're one ankle into this fetid puddle already so let's get wet, before we even have a menu dropdown for e-bikes. Trek, Specialized, and Giant have been making e-bikes for years now, but as a boutique brand with a loyal clientele, Santa Cruz wasn't about to plunge until the water seemed safe. Things have changed a wee bit in that time, and having Santa Cruz enter the market was an interesting milestone. It rode surprisingly well, with lack lustre components, a Fox 32 and sketchy geometry. Would an e-bike ruin my desire to power my ride with only my own paltry engine? Would my riding patterns change? Maybe I'd get hooked on the narcotic of watts as others have? I had an idea of what climbing would be like but not descending and I hadn't spent time on an emtb since 2014, when I rode a Haibike Xduro.
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