Santa Cruz Chameleon R MX review: venerable yet versatile

For the past 25 years the Santa Cruz Chameleon been a tough hardtail that can run mid-travel suspension forks, hit jumps and drops, while still being comfortable and light enough for longer rides.

There are lots of bikes which have carried the same model name down through the decades, but not many that can claim to have stayed as true to their original design as the Santa Cruz Chameleon, or been as cool for as long.

Brand: Santa Cruz
Product: Chameleon R MX
From: santacruzbicycles.com
Price: £2,999
Tested by: Antony for 3 months

Mmm, raspberries and custard

Three things I loved

A super versatile frame thanks to agnostic geometry and swappable dropouts
Works well with mixed wheels
A lovely looking frame, particularly with this colour scheme

Three things I’d change

So-so brakes
So-so fork
Generally poor value for money in this build (go for frame only and build one up instead?)

Mullet-spec

Recent incarnations of the Chameleon have pitched it squarely at the “one bike to do almost anything” category, with its secret weapon being its swappable dropouts. Want a hardtail that can run two wheel sizes? Or one that can be a singlespeed? Just order an extra set of dropouts, and away you go.

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Specification

Frame // Santa Cruz Chameleon, alloy
Fork // Fox 34 Rhythm, 130mm
Wheels // SRAM MTH hubs, RaceFace AR Offset 30 rims, 32h
Front Tyre // Maxxis Minion DHF 29″x2.5, 3C, MaxxGrip, EXO, TR
Rear Tyre // Maxxis Aggressor, 29″x2.5WT, EXO, TR
Chainset // SRAM Descendant Eagle, 30T, 170mm
Drivetrain // SRAM NX
Brakes // SRAM Guide T
Stem // Burgtec Enduro MK3
Bars // Burgtec Alloy
Grips // Santa Cruz House
Seatpost // SDG Tellis
Saddle // WTB Silverado Race
BB // SRAM DUB, threaded
Size Tested // M
Sizes Available // S, M, L, XL
Weight // 29.3 lbs

Geometry for our size M test bike:

Head angle // 65°
Effective seat angle // 74.3°
Seat tube length // 405mm
Head tube length // 110mm
Chainstay // 425mm
Wheelbase // 1,183mm
Effective top tube // 621mm
BB height // 315mm
Reach // 445mm

While you’re here…

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-nukeproof-scout-290-review-trail-toy/

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/juliana-wilder-santa-cruz-blur-review-xc-race-bikes-fit-for-trails-too/

Review Info

Brand:	Santa Cruz
Product:	Chameleon R MX
From:	santacruzbicycles.com
Price:	£2,999.00
Tested:	by Antony for 3 months

Antony de Heveningham

Antony was a latecomer to the joys of riding off-road, and he’s continued to be a late adopter of many of his favourite things, including full suspension, dropper posts, 29ers, and adult responsibility. At some point he decided to compensate for his lack of natural riding talent by organising maintenance days on his local trails. This led, inadvertently, to writing for Singletrack, after one of his online rants about lazy, spoilt mountain bikers who never fix trails was spotted and reprinted on this website during a particularly slow news week. Now based just up the road from the magazine in West Yorkshire, he’s expanded his remit to include reviews and features as well as rants. He’s also moved on from filling holes in the woods to campaigning for changes to the UK’s antiquated land access laws, and probing the relationship between mountain biking and the places we ride. He’s a firm believer in bringing mountain biking to the people, whether that’s through affordable bikes, accessible trails, enabling technology, or supportive networks. He’s also studied sustainable transport, and will happily explain to anyone who’ll listen why the UK is a terrible place for everyday utility cycling, even though it shouldn’t be. If that all sounds a bit worthy, he’s also happy to share tales of rides gone awry, or delicate bike parts burst asunder by ham-fisted maintenance. Because ultimately, there are enough talented professionals in mountain bike journalism, and it needs more rank amateurs.