The Santa Cruz Chameleon world’s most versatile hardtail just got a serious makeover. New hydroformed aluminum tubing eliminates the need for gussets and shaves a pound of weight off the frame without sacrificing any of the legendary toughness the Santa Cruz Chameleon is known for. We’ve added ISCG05 mounts and a tapered headtube, and riders can now choose between fixed vertical rear dropouts for geared use or adjustable swinger – style dropouts for singlespeed setups. The top tube grew a little in length, and the head angle has become a degree slacker. All new, more awesome than ever.
Ride and Handling Santa Cruz Chameleon:
It was as we have a tendency to plunged down the ragged, roughly cut slope path that we have a tendency to realized simply however capable the Chameleon was. The stiff, precise feel that the frame delivers makes for an energetic, responsive ride that helps you to speedily react to obstacles or the requirement to alter line.
The Santa Cruz Chameleon’s pure mathematics underlines the bike’s avidness to be ridden close to anyplace, leveling snappy handling with a decent dose of stability. The 1,105mm (43.5in) distance and currently bum head angle mix to form a assured ride on more difficult, high-speed trails whereas the short 420mm chainstays facilitate to stay things spirited and flickable in tighter, additional technical things.
The additional length within the high tube means that climb is snug and economical however on longer drags, you’ll notice the thirteen.15kg (28.99lb) weight and a couple of.35in High Roller tyres.
The SLX Shadow and rear mech makes a giant distinction on rougher sections, reducing chain noise considerably however considering the worth, we’d like a higher-end double- or single-ring chainset and a work damper equipped Fox fork. There’s many mud clearance at the rear – we have a tendency to ne’er had a drag with preventative.
Frame and Equipment Santa Cruz Chameleon:
A combination of the recently another tapered head tube and ISCG 05 chainguide mounts offers a nod towards the overall devilry that this small beast is capable of. The addition of the expendable rear dropouts boosts the bike’s comprehensive flexibility additional. These will be removed via the four 5mm Allen key bolts (two every side), to supply a selection between the fastened vertical dropout choice for a back-geared setup, or the adjustable dropout choice for running a singlespeed setup.
The Santa Cruz Chameleon new hydroformed metallic element tubeset has allowed Santa Cruz to try to to away with weighty gusseting. Doing so, they claim, has clean-shaven 1lb from the frame while not sacrificing any strength.
When it involves pure mathematics, Santa Cruz have another to a small degree additional material to the highest tube and slackened the top angle slightly. Ours measured in at sixty six.2 degrees.
Build choices begin at a reasonably affordable £1,599, however with the selection of adding such gems as a RockShox Reverb seatpost and Fox’s Kashima-coated thirty four work fork, that worth will simply begin to soar.
Our build is additional all-mountain than cross-country, that is why it sports the Maxxis High Roller a pair of.35in tyres and a lengthier 710mm RaceFace Ride bar. we have a tendency to switched to a shorter 50mm stem simply to perk up the steering up.
Image Credit © Santa Cruz