Santa Cruz Did The Unthinkable And Made An E-Bike

I'm not certain, but Santa Cruz naming their new Bronson-based E-Bike after their legendary Heckler series can't be a coincidence.  After all, E-Bikes are the latest fodder for all the haters out there who can't handle change in the bike world, and the heckling has already begun.  Just check out the comments on Pinkbike's Heckler launch article, here...  Those commenters are not messing around, they legitimately hate the thing.  So nice one, Santa Cruz.  You nailed it with the name.

Santa Cruz also made a great video for their Heckler launch, which does a great job of describing exactly why E-Bikes should should exist, and the places where pedal assistance can be a huge benefit over non-powered bicycles. 

There must be something about human nature that makes us want to hate anything new that threatens to upset our idea of what harmony in life is supposed to look like, especially when it comes to bicycles.  I've been riding mountain bikes since the early 90's, and I can't remember a time when a new innovation was merely accepted as a great, must-have thing.  Off the top of my head - front suspension, rear suspension, disc brakes, wide (I'm talking 2.4") tires, baggy riding shorts, dropper posts, 29" wheels, 27.5" wheels, short stems, wide bars, 1x drivetrains, shuttling, pedaling (before enduro made it cool, were all met with the same hate E-Bikes are receiving today so I can't say I'm at surprised or caught out by this.  Give it about six more months to a year and these same haters will be riding e-bikes and probably go back to hating on pedaling non-assisted mtbs uphill like the good 'ol days.

All hate and history lessons aside, check out the new Heckler here.  The bikes will start showing up to the store tomorrow, and we are expecting a medium and a large demo to add to our every growing fleet of Santa Cruz demo bikes.  

As always, please let us know how we can assist you with more information, a demo ride, etc.