Skip to content

Mountain Bikes We’d Like To Own: The Santa Cruz Chameleon

  • Ron 

Before I started building up my current hardtail (a Focus Raven 27r), I was doing a lot of window shopping trying to find the right bike for me. One of the frames that kept bubbling to the top of the list was the Santa Cruz Highball – their 27.5″ carbon fiber hardtail. I ultimately dismissed it because of the cost, but now, I’m suffering from enplusone disease seeing their new aluminum 27.5 + / 29 Chameleon.

The Chameleon just screams versatility. As noted above, it can accommodate both 27.5 Plus and 29 inch wheels, 142mm or  148mm (Boost) rear spacing and geared or single speed configurations.

The geometry  of the Chameleon falls into the modern “trail” angles and a nearly an inch longer reach than Santa Cruz’s other bikes. It’s designed around a 120mm front fork, but could even go rigid with the right choices.

Adding to the do-it-all capabilities of the bike, it has internal routing for a dropper post, a front derailleur mount if you want to buck the 1x trend and even sports two (two!) water bottle mounts if you’re going on rides longer than 5 miles.

The best part? You can pick it up as a frame-only option for just $749! Builds ARE available, but at a price like that, I’d buy it and customize to my hearts content. I could do with something other than olive drab for the color, but hey, you can’t have it all…..

If you want some photos to drool over, check out the gallery on MTB Review.

Tags:
Bike World News