Santa Cruz Heckler R 29 Review

In the automotive and motorcycle world, Japan has always had a reputation for being a breeding ground for excellent engines. Shimano is doing its utmost to live up to this reputation in the e-bike world with the EP801 engine. Even nasty steep sections are effortlessly climbed by the motor. The Shimano EP801 conveys a riding feeling. Thanks to the good range, longer tours with the Heckler R 29 are no problem.

Carbon is considered a premium material in the bike industry. In the price range about 7000€, aluminium is usually the frame material used. With the carbon frame, Santa Cruz can clearly differentiate itself from many competitors. The Rock Shox chassis provides safety and traction, even when the trail gets rougher. However, it comes to its limit at high speed. On rough descents, the moderate chassis limits you and demands a more precise line choice than bikes with better chassis. The thick 38mm stanchions on the fork provide an extra dose of steering precision and performance. At the brakes, Santa Cruz middle class four pistons brakes by SRAM are used. The average shifting components and accessories leave some tuning potential open. For most e-bikers, this should be an acceptable point. The moderate head tube angle provides a good compromise between stability and agility when going downhill. The reach is also right there in the middle ground. The low bottom bracket height is a party pooper for the handling on the trail. On other bikes, you are more centrally located behind the handlebar. Hell yeah, the geometry is killer! Here the remarkable know-how of the Santa Cruz developers is videly visible.