Santa Cruz Chameleon returns as a 29/27plus trail hardtail

Words by Zach White, photos by Gary Perkin

MSRP $2,000 (R Kit)
Sizes S, M, L(tested), XL
Available Now

As the name suggests, Santa Cruz’s Chameleon has historically been a frame that’s adapted to various riding styles quite well. Over the years, I’ve seen them built up as dirt jumpers, singlespeed trail bikes, freeride hardtails, townies, and even straightforward trail bikes (GASP!). The updated 2017 version holds true to this tradition as it is now offered and cross-compatible with 29er and 27.5+ wheels, has four different choices of swappable rear dropouts, and is compatible with a plethora of drivetrains(it’s so close to being belt drive compatible with the dropout design, but there isn’t a break in the frame). Angles and lengths are also updated to current Santa Cruz trail bike geometry standards, including Boost spacing and impressively roomy top tubes.

I had the chance to spend a couple of wet, sloppy days on the new Chameleon last month in England, which brings up an interesting marketing angle from Santa Cruz that we’ll get to in a minute. I was set up n a size large Chameleon set up as a 29er with a SRAM NX 1×11 drivetrain, and a 120mm Fox 34 Rhythm fork. We climbed up steep cobbled roads and bridleways laced between farms and fields to the tops of often steep, sloppy, loose and rooty descents that had me really wishing the dropper posts the frame has routing for had shown up in time for this trip.

Climbing steep doubletrack and techy, twisty bits of trail highlighted how tight and responsive the Chameleon’s rear end is, thanks to short 415-430mm stays on the 6000-series aluminum frame. While I’ll be the absolute first to admit Seb Kemp is a far better rider than I, watching him clean long, steep and wet rock garden climbs on 27.5×2.8 tires while I walked/pushed up with 29×2.3s had me wondering if it were possible for mere mortals to make it a little farther up said climbs with more tire. Otherwise, the 29er setup felt great and didn’t offer any excuses for other soft spots in my riding abilities. Stock 1x gearing worked well and lent itself nicely to not getting too clogged in English muck, but for those interested in broader gear ratios, the Chameleon is direct-mount front derailleur compatible.

Once the seat was dropped down with an Allen key, the Chameleon provided a playful feel, as it was almost as happy to manual as my 26-inch dirt jumper back home, and begged to be bounced around trials-style in urban settings. Descending on an aluminum hardtail without a dropper was interesting for someone like me who is currently addicted to suspension bikes and disappearing saddles at the push of a button, but it didn’t take long to find the Chameleon’s rhythm, especially in the softer muck. That tight rear end was once again appreciated as it whipped through tight and steep switchbacks, and tucked under rider nicely in a few really steep chutes and drops. Once things got rocky, or over miles of relentless cobbles and big, rough bridleway stepping stones, the Chameleon didn’t have any magic switch to soften trail feedback into the cockpit – at least in 29er mode. If this style of riding or something similarly bumpy was my norm, I’d opt for trying a set of 27plus wheels and tires at lower pressures on the Chameleon.

At the end of each ride, we spent a fair amount of time and English quarters(quarter pounders?) at the carwash cleaning a day’s worth of UK muck off the bikes. This is where an interesting marketing angle comes in from Santa Cruz, as they’re not just marketing the Chameleon as a well-sorted entry level hardtail. Santa Cruz suspects owners of its high-end suspension bikes might opt for a Chameleon as a winter bike/bad weather bike. At only $1,600 or $2,000 for a complete bike that’s void of pivot bearing maintenance, a drivetrain that’s a fraction of the cost of top-of-the-line options, and has modern geometry very akin to other trail bikes in their line, and considering how many riders of various tax brackets already likely to have a quiver of bikes, the not-exactly-original idea of a mud bike seems viable. Factor in how popular the brand of Santa Cruz is, i.e. the ‘matchy matchy!’ effect for current customers already running $10k+ bikes, and I think they’re on to something.

Regardless of marketing semantics, first impressions of Santa Cruz’s Chameleon are very positive, especially with its $2000 price tag. For riders like myself who can’t ride without dropper posts, it has internal routing that’ll easily allow installing a stealth style version as an upgrade. Set up choices are impressive with dropout options in both 142mm (singlespeed) and 148mm (geared) spacing, two wheel size options that are interchangeable, and an abundance of drivetrain compatibilities. The Chameleon’s fit and feel made jumping back and forth from it to a Tallboy all but seamless, short of the whole suspension thing, of course. Not to beat a dead horse, but finding similarity like this between two bikes of entirely different price tags is definitely noteworthy, and points to how well sorted the Chameleon’s geometry is at this point in the trail bike game. There wasn’t an opportunity to throw the new Chameleon on a scale, but it didn’t hint that it was portly or outstandingly light. Claimed weights should be released in the very near future, but weren’t available while writing this. All said, as an addition to a proper bike geek’s quiver, or as an entry level bike, the new Chameleon seems like a great option.

Santa Cruz shipped these bikes to some dealers earlier in March, so if you want one of these, best get on the horn with your local SC dealer, as Santa Cruz is out of stock and doesn’t even have one to send us for review.

Santa Cruz’s website has more details and a dealer finder.

Pricing:

D Kit: $1,600

R Kit : $2,000

Chameleon 27.5+
Frame	Reach	Stack	HT	HT	ST	ST	RC/	FC	BB	BB	Wheel	Wheel	TT	Standover
Size			Angle	Length	Angle	Length	Chainstay		Height	Drop	Base (short)	Base (long)
S	415	615	67.5	100	73	390	415-430	704	315	50	1115-1130	1130	596	689
M	440	615	67.5	100	73	420	415-430	729	315	50	1140-1155	1155	621	705
L	460	614	67.5	100	73	450	415-430	749	315	50	1160-1175	1175	642	721
XL	490	624	67.5	110	73	490	415-430	783	315	50	1193-1208	1208	674	739
Chameleon 29er
Frame	Reach	Stack	HT	HT	ST	ST	RC/	FC	BB	BB	Wheel	Wheel	TT	Standover
Size			Angle	Length	Angle	Length	Chainstay		Height	Drop	Base (short)	Base (long)
S	412	617	67.3	100	72.8	390	415-430	703	315	55	1115	1130	601	689
M	437	617	67.3	100	72.8	420	415-430	728	315	55	1140	1155	626	696
L	457	617	67.3	100	72.8	450	415-430	748	315	55	1160	1175	649	721
XL	487	627	67.3	110	72.8	490	415-430	782	315	55	1194	1209	682	740