The EV is coming

Bit of a thread resurrection this, but I'm about to jump into the land of the EV......bike, too.

Having always been an mtber (gave up the road a long time ago), I've been on and off the bike for various reasons over the last 5yrs. When I did head back to it in 2021, I ended up with concussion, a broken hand and dislocated finger (avoided lots of nappies and night feeds for a while though!). Then I had a super summer or two, before general life, small kids, court cases and god knows what put a bit of a stop to riding at all, let alone regularly.

As a result, I'm now a good few kilos heavier and although I'm desperate to get out, the thought of being that low on condition has actually got the better of me. The wife has been trying to inspire me back out by buying me a subscription to MBUK which has somewhat done the trick but my brain is in self-defense mode; not able to deal with the idea of being a porker trying to ride stuff I used to get up easily.

The MBUK subscription and a chance conversation in the office to find out that we have an unlimited (well, actually £10k) budget for Cycle to Work scheme means that I've just put in an order for a brand new Santa Cruz Heckler SL. I did look at the Heckler and Bullit but a mixture of low stock and the fact I want something still light enough to ride if the battery goes flat or have some fun with, had me research the SL and found it appears to be exactly the kind of bike I want and will perfectly complement my Santa Cruz 5010c I've had for the last 7yrs and adore.

Here it is in XO AXS Reserve Kit (MX) form:


Providing HR pull their fingers out and get me the Certificate tomorrow, I should have the bike by the end of the week and clear enough of Covid to get out riding it!

 

Thanks for your help on this, Sean. Indeed, you know me too well! Of course I've jumped in feet first and up to my waist! In all honesty, however, there isn't an awful lot of choice locally to me in terms of dealers and those with demo bikes; Santa Cruz, certainly. The reason I feel relaxed on this is due to having ridden a very early Heckler (1997) and nearly buying that a few years later, then buying a Heckler Superlight, which I absolutely adored (which took me up Helvellyn) but got nicked 24m after buying it. And then buying my 5010c on an unseen basis. I also like something more in terms of reach and being 179cm, I've always been smack bang between a Medium and a Large with SC. I originally had a Medium for the Superlight but was persuaded to go Large on the 5010c and the bike feels perfect.

You're right on the read across between Bronson & Heckler SL and Bullit & Hightower. The 5010c is a smaller travel bike. It's perfect for the trails locally to me, Thetford Forest, Epping Forest and Icknield Way but can get a bit out of shape up in the Lakes, so a bit more travel will be welcome.

The other reason I've settled on an SL bike is that I'm not doing anything gnarly enough to warrant carrying the additional weight around plus just need enough assistance to deal with the hills and get be back out there, rather than needing to shred everything all the time. At least that's where my head has landed it. I may of course get completely addicted to the speed in which case, I'll be back in the market next year for a full fat on a new Cycle Scheme certificate once this one is paid off. I'm still amazed to be getting 47% off!!

I have to say, getting up to speed on all the various motor combos, torque figures and cadence was a bit mind-blowing. The other bike I had in the mix was the Whyte E-150 Works but the idea of needing to pedal at 105rpm to keep the bike zipping with its 55NM of torque kind of missed the point for me. That's a hoop load of fast pedalling, whereas I'd tend to deploy the slower but heavier pedal approach. The Heckler with it's Fazua motor seems to be 60NM torque peak at around 70rpm.

Watch this space - I'll do a quick report when I get it, although doubtful now this week given HR still haven't provided the certificate.

 

I'm going for the Gloss Magenta in the picture. I like the bold colours on SantaCruz - I've got a Rescue Orange 5010c. My wife like the Matt Silver but when speaking to the dealer, he suggested they look great for the first year but then all the battle scars get show up really quickly on the matt finishes.

 

Thanks for this @snrbrtsn. Some of that reading was scary with tales of woe regarding the Fazua motor. But then I dug around elsewhere and found a similar number of stories about Shimano and Bosch motors too. It did send me slightly off on a different path for a while, thinking it should look at Bronson or Heckler but upon more research, I’m settled again on the SL which I think suits my riding style and terrain best.

Certificate was issued on Monday. Bike being built today/tomorrow. Now in two minds whether I collect from Stif outside Harrogate or just have it posted. I’m heading up to Ullswater this weekend with my daughter and heading back Monday afternoon via our fave Fish & Chip shop in Yeadon. Although it would only add another 30mins or so to the driving, I’m conscious that if I stopped there, it’ll probably add another 2hrs overall to the return journey. It I were in my own it would be a no brainer. But she found the return trip last time (5hrs of travel) a little challenging last time. Let’s see. Will probably need to decide on Friday.

Getting excited now though. Must’ve watched every possible video on the SL on YouTube and have been back on the Peloton in preparation! Easier said than done after a spell with Covid last week though

 

Well - it's arrived! Good job I didn't plan a Harrogate trip - the bike was built and dispatched from their Bristol store in the end!

Annoyingly, it's arrived about 6hrs ahead of me heading up to the Lakes. I did consider briefly taking it with me and taking my daughter over to Whinlatter for the day, but when I read up on the Blue runs there, it still says it requires some decent offroad ability and sadly, in spite of my best intentions, that's not her. I thought it was fairly plain when I last rode them but I have to acknowledge I'd just come off the reds & blacks.

Bike arrived just after school runs but before work. Bolted it all together (handlebars, pedals, front wheel) and gave it an initial testride up and down the close a few times plus a fairly steep track/footpath near the house. What can I say.....blown away!!


I'm so glad I went for this rather than a full fat one. It feels heavy enough already and these are supposed to be the lightweight ones so can only imagine what the full fat ones feel like. First impressions - headtube feels very high when initially standing over, but once you get the saddle up to riding position, it all feels very natural like my Santa Cruz 5010c. Bars are perhaps a little wider than I'd like, but that can be changed. Otherwise suspension feels plush. Not spent much time on a 29er and front wheel and I can feel a bit of a gyroscope effect off of that which I'm not used to. But otherwise feels great on the short runs I did. They were curtailed partly through needing to start work, but also because this is like setting up a new car!

Had to pair the phone with the drivetrain (rear derailleur & bike motor / energy management system) then charge both SRAM AXS battery and Fazua batteries.

On the little wriggle I did up and down the road, I tried all modes. Off, it just feels like a heavy version of my 5010c. Breeze mode (lightest) adds a little assistance but very difficult to spot. River mode actually I can see myself using a lot as it's a nice bit of assistance but not overly intrusive. Rocket is exactly that and makes me wonder what Turbo on full fat bikes feels like. It's properly rapid and feels like you're being flung using an elastic band! Boost mode adds to it.

Unfortunately I'm now not going to be riding it until Monday earliest. But I have got the sense that this is going to be exactly what I wanted - a bike to get me out and about, enough assistance to not feel overwhelmed on the days when I'm not totally up for it, but then being able to dial it back and feel natural about riding when I want to push myself too.

So much more setting up to do - need to set up shocks for my weight and check torque settings of all the bits I bolted on this morning before I go for a proper shake-down ride, but I absolutely cannot wait!

 

Update incoming on this..

I’m now c 150km in on the Heckler SL and just about beginning to bond with it. I’ll admit, as much as it was a cracker out of the box, it was also a bit overwhelming in terms of its weight and size relative to the 5010c I’ve been riding for nearly 10yrs.

After some fettling of fork & rear shock pressures, it felt a bit more useable but the real test has been a blat today around Cannock Chase (first time ever here) - I’ll write up more in my motorhoming blog.

Being here has taught me a lot about the bike. How it responds on fast, flowing but technical singletrack, drop offs and very steep uphills and switchbacks. Interestingly, aside from an almost over the bar moment in the first mile where I didn’t pick up the front wheel over a rock (down to a mixture of fear, lack of confidence in the bike and myself and strength), the worst that befell me today over 35km of quite hard riding, was nearly coming off during a slow, tight switchback where the bike “took over” and rode away with me due to a tiny pedal input which triggered the assistance much quicker than I wanted!

On today’s rides, I’ve let more air out of the tyres and front fork and gradually now feel really able to lean on it in corners and berms. I guess for such a different machine it was always going to take a while.

Challenges aside, what it’s delivered upon is getting me out. I no longer fear riding - whether I’m in good enough condition, whether I can get around or whether I’m going to have a coronary. I plan to go and I go - no excuses. I can also manipulate the assistance to keep me in a low HR zone if that’s my target, or just go hell for leather (as I did today). It’s so versatile.

It’s also reignited my passion for both exercise and MTBing overall which has come at a good time for both my mental and physical health - both of which have been suboptimal of late. It’s inspired me to get my 5010c refurbed with new Hope X2 brakes being fitted currently and I’m aiming to do one non-assisted ride a week going forwards.

Although I was only one of only a handful on e-bikes today and felt a bit guilty on some of the uphills, my HR trace shows I was putting in max effort and there was no shirking.

Conclusion - they’re super machines and really do facilitate more adventure. I don’t see it as cheating but motivating.

 

So I notice from my Salary Sacrifice that it's coming up 12 months since the E-MTB arrived in my stable and what a 12m it's been. In fairness, it's not done nearly the mileage I'd thought it would after the first 3m last year. A few health scares put pay to that - and the very wet & boggy local clay conditions which generally puts pay to much fun on two wheels during the winter where I live.

But we're coming up to around 1,200km according to the onboard computer. I honestly wouldn't be without it.

As Sean quite rightly mentioned above, the refurb of the Santa Cruz 5010c proved completely fruitless. I spent £300 on new brakes for it and a service and promptly only ridden once or twice. In spite of how much my fitness improved on the ebike last year to the extent where I could've ridden the standard bike so much harder than I had for years, the way your mind adjusts to the new turn of speed you get on an ebike plus the way you anticipate the power coming in and ride with it, it ruins naturally aspirated riding. But not in a bad way.......I ride harder, faster, longer with the Heckler SL than I've ever ridden, really.

The pros are the same as they were before - being able to get out for a quick blat (c. 20km) well within an hour which allows me to squeeze it into a busy work or family schedule. Plus the days where I'm not feeling up for it, where I potentially wouldn't bother going, it gives you the push to get out and invariably I find that I end up enjoying being out so much that I put in the effort I'd normally do (maybe sometimes even more!) when without the ebike I'd probably have sacked off the ride completely. On top of that, I can track my wattage versus what the bike is putting out and contrary to popular "it's cheating" opinion, my wattage has gone up ever since I've got it, compared with previous rides on the naturally aspirated machine. So it is having a positive effect on my fitness overall.

And then there's the bike itself. Modern geometry, transmission, suspension and braking technology has improved so much in the 11yrs since I specced and built my dream 5010c, I feel I have the confidence now to push so much harder and although I'm in my mid-40s, I'm convinced I'm riding harder and with more guts, confidence and conviction than I've in years which makes me feel younger.

All in all, can't fault it. The only thing I'm looking at doing in the next couple of years is adding another ebike to the mix; selling the 5010c at some point and buying a full fat Santa Cruz Vala for more power and longer duration battery life to do some proper all day riding in some gnarly places. I think the Heckler SL is great as a trail centre bike but the battery pack is limited if you're going all day and want to fully use the performance available. I top out at around 35-40km and 1500m of climbing, being careful to not stay in Power mode all the time.

Watch this space!