The Carbon Chameleon is dead long live the aluminium Chameleon

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Santa Cruz kills off the carbon Chameleon but replaces it with a new alloy Chameleon starting from just £2399.

Wet muddy trails mean it’s about time for some hardtail hooning, and if you’re after something fresh Santa Cruz has the goods.

The Santa Cruz Chameleon has been a bit of a hardtail hero for some time, and this new updated version of the classic is even more versatile than ever before.

Santa Cruz has treated the new Chameleon to a bunch of updates and changes so that this hardtail really can be ridden anywhere you want and how you want. Hardcore fans will likely love the fact the new frame can be built up with a mullet wheel configuration with 130mm fork, while hardtail enduro riders can build one up with dual 29er wheels for speed. Although Santa Cruz has built the Chameleon to take some serious abuse they also want riders to use it for long-distance riders too, and so have included additional cargo hanger bolts along the downtube.

We’re not so sure many UK riders, especially in winter, will use the downtube rack options so it’s just as well Santa Cruz have updated the geometry for some serious muddy rut action. Reach has increased across all sizes, the head angle has been relaxed to 65-degrees and the top tube has been dropped for better clearance when flinging the bike about.

Santa Cruz will offer the new aluminium Chameleon in 3 builds in either 29er or mullet build (so 6 bikes in total) with pricing ranging from £2399 – £3499. Before you ask, no there won’t be a frame only option and there also won’t be a new carbon frame.

2022 Santa Cruz Chameleon Geometry

2022 Santa Cruz Chameleon Pricing

  • Santa Cruz Chameleon D – £2,399
  • Santa Cruz Chameleon R – £2,999
  • Santa Cruz Chameleon S – £3,499

For more details head over to the Santa Cruz website.

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Andi is a gadget guru and mountain biker who has lived and ridden bikes in China and Spain before settling down in the Peak District to become Singletrack's social media expert. He is definitely more big travel fun than XC sufferer but his bike collection does include some rare hardtails - He's a collector and curator as well as a rider. Theory and practice in perfect balance with his inner chi, or something. As well as living life based on what he last read in a fortune cookie Andi likes nothing better than riding big travel bikes.

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Home › Forums › The Carbon Chameleon is dead long live the aluminium Chameleon

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Viewing 7 posts - 81 through 87 (of 87 total)
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  • The Carbon Chameleon is dead long live the aluminium Chameleon
  • fenboy
    Full Member

    Am I the only person who quite likes them?

    No, I do as well. Chameleon should never have been carbon IMO. Lack of frame only kills it as an option for me though. Shame as the dropout adaptability is great.

    frame only option IS available from Stif …. i also like them and don’t get the SC hate. Yes its bit £££ steep for an alu HT but its not that overpriced and all the bikes mentioned are likely to shoot up in cost soon enough….
    similar options i’d consider to be comparable are the pace rc529 and pipedream moxie/sirius options both steel but a bit more rad in the geo dept but £150 cheaper so just need to fight an internal battle to go for an alu HT over the usual steel HT preference.
    I’ve had a 2000 SC heckler(well still have) so have a soft spot for SC, its a nice looking bike and the dropout flexibility means numerous set up options to try

    Posted 3 years ago
    Del
    Full Member

    Apologies if I sounded a bit chippy

    No worries at all dude. Probably says more about me than you but the old SC tropes get a bit wearing and everyone putting up examples of frames that really don’t do the same thing but are valid comparisons because they’re broadly the same shape… 🙄🤣

    Posted 3 years ago
    twonks
    Full Member

    Well it has certainly got enough of us talking about it, so job sort of done by SC marketing.

    The comments about them being the goto brand for all the gear no idea rich bods is interesting. I’m not saying it is incorrect but it made me think a bit as the only bike that has every attracted nice comments from teens and young adults is the Chameleon.

    Nearly every local ride somebody says ‘Nice bike Mister’, or occasionally ‘Give me that bike’ if there are a group of yoofs trying to impress one another, so from this I deduce that they are either designed and built to appeal visually rather than have good components etc or every teen knows how much a SC costs over every thing else. Probably a bit of both in reality.

    Maybe it is this design aspect that also attracts the older generations as well, not just the SC badge.

    As an aside, I also have an On One Whippet, which rides very well, is lighter than the Chameleon and about half the price as frame only. The paint and finish isn’t a patch on the chameleon and there is one less mouth to feed in the supply chain, so I can see where the extra cost is, accepting that there is a degree of SC tax in there as well.

    Ultimately, you pays your money as the saying goes. Main thing is that we are riding bikes and getting enjoyment out of it. Doesn’t really matter what each and every person rides, and it shouldn’t be put down no matter what it is.

    Posted 3 years ago
    chakaping
    Full Member

    them being the goto brand for all the gear no idea rich bods is interesting

    A few years ago, but times have changed.

    Now it’s blingy ebikes.

    Posted 3 years ago
    IdleJon
    Free Member

    Am I the only person who quite likes them?

    No, I do as well.

    I do as well. We need brands like SC to make really expensive bikes so that we can pretend that our expensive bikes are cheap in comparison.

    Posted 3 years ago
    bentudder
    Full Member

    @del Yeah – we’re all bickering over three metal triangles. 😀

    Posted 3 years ago
    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Choice is good, each to their own.

    The riding gods on here reckon we should all be riding the same bikes as them, and anything over 2 grand is ridiculous, despite them having 5 bikes in that price bracket.

    Posted 3 years ago
Viewing 7 posts - 81 through 87 (of 87 total)
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