[Closed] Chameleon frame alternative

AirDrop Bitmap?

Bird ZeroAm or their new 29r?

Pipedream Moxie or Solarismax for 650+/29 mixing but both a fair bit longer of reach if that bothers you either way.

Thanks there a couple there I will check out 👍

What size did you order and how long is the wait? I’ve been thinking about one myself and this might take it out of the running.

Another guy on here rang jungle direct and was told Feb earliest. I'm looking for a large and no one seems to have one available so I'm thinking about other options. I will ring jungle tomorrow to ask about exact delivery on a large plus version.

Spamspamspam. I like these. Light, long, nimble, big tyre clearance. Re-did my sale page today and did photos for the last one -  https://pedalsbikecare.co.uk/shop/2018-orange-clockwork-129-frame-large-29/

I looked long and hard at HTs and rode a mates Chameleon.

The thing about the Chameleon is that SC have to some degree bucked the trend by going for a 67 degree HA and moderate reach. It also has pretty darn short CS.

I found the Chameleon rode brilliantly and the more moderate geo lent itself to threading through woodland singletrack a treat.

In the end though I went for a Sonder Carbon Transmitter, similar reach and CS but a touch slacker in the HA, when I test rode it the handling was pin sharp which is what I wanted and it just had the edge on the Chameleon on acceleration and overall nimbleness.

I also rode the Signal Ti, that is one fricking awesome bike that felt great in a multitude of situations but was edged by the Transmitter.

Modern HTs are pretty damn great...  no doubt you'll love whatever you go for.

A quick add on to the above....   Alpkit/Sonder have been superb to deal with thus far, which is reassuring.

Thanks, another I will have a look at 👍

I considered a Chameleon as have had good times on a Tallboy3 which is similar and quite a sensible modern, but not too modern all rounder.

Ended up buying a Stanton Sherpa - as much for the aesthetics of steel as anything else.

It handles a lot like the Tallboy, and can be run light for XC/big days or burly for fun days. Might be worth adding to the shortlist

Have you tried 18 Bikes for a Chameleon frame? They had some in at the weekend, my mate picked one up on Sunday

NS Eccentric Cromo.

Solaris. I went for a Soul so I could use my existing wheels but if I wanted something with bigger wheels I’d be going down that route. The Soul is just awesome!

I had a Solaris Max V1, a Sonder Transmitter, and now a Chameleon.

They are all great.

Its the bikes fit to your body, riding style and environment that is the most important to how a bike rides.

+1 for a sherpa  love mine, capable enough, nimble enough.

Thanks guys I appreciate the help. I ended up with a chameleon from 18 bikes.

In many ways I think we are spoilt at present with some really good 29er frames.

I’ve owned a fair few and have been a steel Luddite at heart but bought a Chameleon frame earlier this year.

it really is a remarkable frame and is the first XL frame that doesn’t look like a gate.

I also find it much more akin to a steel frame for ride comfort than an aluminium frame, certainly nothing like other aluminium HTs I have tried.

i have just picked up a custom Ti Sonder that I based around the dimensions of the Chameleon albeit a bit longer.

will be interesting to see how it compares if at all to the Chameleon.

Going through the same process at the moment. The new Pace also looks great. Glad you got a chameleon OP, let us know how you get on.

I had the same issue earlier this year, and plumped for a Trek Stache, which I'm really, really happy with. I should point out that after calling every single shop I possibly could for a frame, I tried Jungle who said they'd keep an eye out, but only had full builds on their stock list and out at shops. Bless 'em, about six weeks later they called back, saying they had had someone ask for a full build in another size, but only had frames, so they had a brand new, albeit recently-stripped frame they could send me. Sadly I'd already ordered the Stache through my LBS, but I was really impressed that they'd kept note and remembered. Drop 'em a line, you may be lucky!

The Chameleon ticked all the boxes: reasonable front centre, but not too bonkers, short chainstays (I had a Mk2 Scandal for about six years before this, and the CS length and cable routing were my only grumbles), could do 27.5+ if I really wanted to, and could go singlespeed. There's probably one still in my future at some point, but for now the Trek is just so much fun. Might give it a try with 29+ at some point, definitely going to swap wheels with a friend who has a Sonder and wants to try 29" wheels, assuming he'll be happy lending me his 27.5+ ones.

Trek Stache 9.8 for me, fantastically capable bike, never fails to impress me. I had a top spec Yeti 4.5c, carbon everything, thought it was the bees knees' until i bought my Stache, originally for a winter bike last year. Its been my go to ride all year including ArdMoors enduro. Sold the Yeti 2 weeks ago!

sorry about the script waffle below!

Solaris Max - it got released as I was deciding and I just went with the gut feeling of a) loving every Soul I'd seen and b) Cosmic Black glittery paint - glad I did, love the bike. Would have likely been just as happy with the Chameleon, but there were stock issues so I just jumped on the Cotic once availability was confirmed.

There was also a small point that someone slightly up the sparsely populated Bourne valley bought a Chameleon .. just wouldn't do to bump into each other on matching bikes 😀