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Santa Cruz Chameleon 27+

548K views 3K replies 365 participants last post by  laegrim 
#1 ·
#98 ·
Pretty sure my next bike will be some sort of versatile AM hardtail that can do either 27.5+ or 29" wheels and this one is high on my list to build from the frame. It seems that everything I have access to locally has long waitlists, though.

My wife had better decide what new FS she wants and get that stuff ordered, because she'd get pissed at me for ordering a new bike before she does.

I just specced out a possible build to see what sorts of weights I'd be looking at. I have a number of different industry connections, so thankfully I won't have to pay retail (but that makes it next to impossible to come up with a price list before I start buying stuff). I definitely didn't go weight weenie for the build, but it at least looks reasonably possible to get build weight for a Chameleon frame to around 26lb (MRP Ribbon fork, Arc40 27.5+ rims/I9 hubs, SRAM GX 1x11, Shimano 180/160 brakes, Thomson Covert dropper, DMR Vault pedals, not a drop of carbon in the build).
 
#100 ·
Subscribing here. Thinking about getting one for my wife who rides 3-5 times a year on paths and some hard pack and currently doesn't have a bike. I'm thinking I can set it up as kind of a dirt jump bike for myself although I actually plan not to jump it other than trail stuff but to ride it around town on 20 mile rides. I am currently riding a 24" bmx on these rides and I love it. I also have a new Tallboy 3 and I love that too. I'm thinking either a small or medium Chameleon might fill that gap and do double duty for when my wife wants to ride. Just got off the phone with my LBS and he said the SC rep stopped by 2 weeks ago and said they are all sold out and it's going to be some time before they get more. He's calling to confirm for me.
 
#101 ·
I had a 29 x 2.6 NN delivered for another bike today. I'll drop the wheel in my Chameleon to see if it fits. Hubs aren't boost, but it'll give you an idea of clearance on a wide (42mm outside Nextie Crocodile) rim. Need to post pics of my Chameleon and thoughts as well when it's not 12:30 AM! 😊
 
#111 ·
Rode my D+ model this past weekend in the Mud, Sweat, & Beers race in Traverse City, MI. It's a 21-miler with some short steep climbs, fast two-track, flowy singletrack, and plenty of sand and roots. The only drawback I can find on the bike is just the weight of the wheels when trying to accelerate (I have Bomboloni tires instead of the Rekons, so mine are even heavier), but those plus tires give some amazing traction to hold speed in corners and over bumps. The bike is ridiculously balanced and poised through ups, downs, and turns. Despite this being really my third good ride on the bike, I found it very easy to feel comfortable blasting through sandy and root-filled downhill sections where others were grabbing the brakes (hitting 35mph on one of them! haha). When climbing up some steep sections and making the most of that 42t ring in the back I didn't run into any problems with the front end wandering despite the slacker head angle. The climbing traction of the bike is unreal with that plus tire on the back. When going through turns the bike is easy to set into corners and pedal through to keep the power down. The rider's normal position is very neutral and ready to handle about anything that could be around the next turn.

One other thing I noticed is how great I felt after the race. I didn't feel near as fatigued as I would have expected based on the level of training I had done. I noticed this same thing on my first ride on the bike as well. The combo of the plus tires and the fantastic design work from SC on the back part of the bike make it a really comfortable aluminum hardtail.

The only thing I've really had a minor issue with thus far is getting the seat height right and getting it to stay there. I'm 6'2" and riding a large, and the seat post is almost maxed out to get up to the right height. Additionally, the clamp they provided was slipping a lot on the first couple of rides. I didn't seem to have any trouble with the post sliding down much during the race though, so I must've finally been able to get it tight enough.

If you have any further questions, let me know!
 
#104 ·
I'm fairly new to MTB world and am really close to ordering a SC Chameleon and was wondering if 10% off, no tax and free shipping is a good deal? Also, is the R version worth the upgrade?

This will be my first bike so I am just looking for some advice. Then the other question would be, 27.5+ or 29? Is the frame the same for both setups?

Thanks,

Cameron
 
#105 ·
I think it's a great choice! I also think that's a pretty good deal at least for what I can get it for. In fact I'd love to have you maybe pm me where you plan to get it from so I could possibly order one as well, I would however wait until you order yours. In regards to the R version, I think it's worth the upgrade myself and that's what I plan to order. However that's pretty subjective just like picking which bike is right for where you plan to ride. I have a 27.5+ and love it. I plan to order the 29er version as I don't have one yet. Id spend some time researching between the two. I was told when I bought mine (fairly recently) to go with 27.5+ and then later add a nice set of 29er wheels. Needless to say I love my 27.5+ tires. I do climb a lot and they are unstoppable and plow through everything.
 
#106 ·
I will send you a PM.

Thanks for the reply. Am I correct, that the only difference between the 27.5+ model and the 29er model is the the size of tires? Is there anything else different? Also, are both the 27.5+ and the 29er capable of switching to the smaller/bigger tire?
 
#107 ·
Yes, as far as I believe they are the same except for the wheel size. It's possible the derailleur bracket is different but I can't recall. Yes you can swap between 27.5+ and 29er and I thought I even read somewhere that you can stuff some fairly wide 29ers on it. It's a super flexible setup bike and that's a major reason for my interest.
 
#108 ·
Well since the Chemeleon frame was so much money I found this 2017 NS Eccentric Djambo on pinkbike for 300 bucks, I had parts laying around so I used those and the wheels and tires I was swapping with my Hightower,but I prefer the Hightower in 29er mode more. Anyway here are some pics.
 
#109 ·
Anyone with a bike have any insight on sizing? I'm 5'10" so right on the line between medium/large per Santa Cruz suggested sizing, but I have long arms and I'm fairly flexible. Currently on an '09 Superfly SS Large which lines up similarly with the SC medium but I'm thinking really the only way to tell is to ride both... hard to do when they're sold out everywhere!
 
#112 ·
The Hub in Brevard, NC has a large plus build available or did as of Sunday.
I took that large plus Chameleon for a quick spin on Saturday. I'm usually a medium guy, but occasionally feel good on a large. I'll say that large Chameleon felt pretty good to me. I'm 5'8 with longer arms, so the bike felt pretty good in the tt length department. But I didn't have much ST length exposed...certainly not even enough for a 125mm dropper. I'll bet that a large Chameleon will probably be a good fit for 5'10 with longer arms.
 
#121 ·
I ride a medium 5010 V1 and had problems with the TT with a 50 mm stem and 760 mm HB. I had difficulty leaning back on steed trails... so when I ordered this new Chamelion, opted a small... I'm 5'5, stocky built and in my height it was in the middle of a S and a M, since on paper it said it had longer TT than my medium 5010, i just went on the small frame, hopefully I made the right choice =)
 
#122 · (Edited)
Hi, I have preordered a medium frame here in New Zealand they are not due until June / July so the wait continues. I'm 5'8" but with long limbs and always use a 20mm offset seatpost and a slightly longer stem.
Currently riding a rigid Stache 5 29+ and find at times a bit too much wheel to deal with, on tight single tracks and wish for a little bit more stand over clearance. Was going to set it up 27.5+ but the low bottom bracket rule that out.
I know everyone will think its mad but will be setting the Chameleon up with a rigid fork for starters, might look at a Reba fork later.
Have collected most of the parts for the build, but the stem as not quite sure of the length ? If anyone could tell me What length stem is spec on the medium size bike ?
Would be great. Thanks
 
#123 ·
I'm both new to these forums and to 27.5+ bikes. However, I picked up a Medium Chameleon 27.5+ just over a week ago. I'm 5'8 (5'9 on a good day) and find that size to be perfect for me. I think I have average size limbs so prefer a shorter reach.

I was only able to test a medium though. The LBS only had one Chameleon in. I did test ride a Kona Big Honzo in a large and that seemed a bit big for me. Looking at the specs they seem to have similar characteristics.

Not sure how much that helps, with the limited stock around it seems you have to get what you can find.
 
#125 · (Edited)
I'd also like to hear about some wider 29ers for this bike. Not sure if it was this thread or the inter webs where I read it may fit up to a 3.0! Just curious, and I will go back through this thread.

*Edit earlier in the thread it's posted as SC stating max 29er is 2.5"

Would still be interested to hear if the above NN 2.6 fit.
 
#126 ·
more sizing information

Now that I'm a proud owner, I wanted to contribute my experience with sizing so that others who search the interwebs might find some insight:

My measurements: I'm barely under 5'10" but my wingspan is about 6'2" so reach is definitely more of a factor than stack for me.

I picked up the Large R+ from an Erik's in St Cloud, MN and I was surprised to find that I actually felt CRAMPED initially. Once I got it home, I took some measurements of my previous bike (2009 Gary Fisher Superfly SS, Large). On the Superfly, with a 75mm stem and 25mm offset seatpost, the total cockpit length is roughly 57 cm. On the large Chameleon, which had a 50mm stem stock, and with the seatpost slammed all the way back on the zero offset stock Race Face seatpost, the cockpit length was ~54 cm. No surprise I felt a little cramped. My plan is to double check saddle setback from the BB and add length at the stem if I need to. I don't think I'll need to get a setback seatpost but we'll see. Seems like most droppers are zero setback with the exception of the 9point8 Fall Line, so if I go the dropper route, it's either the Fall Line (standard or offset) or the Thomson Covert dropper (which has a 5 mm offset).

Other thoughts:
-NX shifting is pretty darn good for entry level. The shifter itself does seem a little cheap since it's a lot of plastic, and it's kind of a bummer that it isn't Matchmaker-compatible. GX shifters are pretty cheap, though, so I may swap it out for that in order to use Matchmaker clamps.
-The Level T brakes seem fine. I read somewhere that the SRAM brake with DirectLink have less space between the rotor and the pads than SRAM SwingLink or Shimano brakes (generally) and that seems to ring true. My SLX brakes on my old bike definitely have more space around the rotor, so we'll see if I swap those out or not. If so, Problem Solvers makes the MisMatch 1.1 adapter so I could still run a single clamp for brakes/shifters.
-The wheels are probably boat anchors, but I'm pretty happy with them so far. It's a nice touch that it came with the tubeless kit (Erik's no longer sets bikes up tubeless on the sales floor), and the tubeless setup was a breeze with a floor pump. We'll see how low I can go pressure-wise, but the setup process has me optimistic for a very solid tubeless performance. Also, the tubes I took out were 300 GRAMS EACH! So I saved over a pound by going tubeless.
-On the topic of weight, this bike is a little beefy. After the tubeless conversion and with a pair of Syzr pedals on it, my scale put it at ~29.4 pounds. That's about 9 pounds heavier than the rigid carbon SS 29er I'm coming from, but having gears on the climbs and front suspension on the DH will make up for it.
-Suspension-wise, I'm fairly inexperienced, having run rigid 29ers for the past 8-9 years, so fork feedback is within that context. The Fox Rhythm is definitely super smooth and I'm very happy to have a Fox fork for the $2K price (definitely a reason I considered this bike over others). The compression damper control level is on the top of the right stanchion and while it's not a true lockout, it certainly firms up fork action plenty for extended climbs or long fireroad/paved sections.
-Saddle seems fine. I'm used to firmer road saddles, so the WTB Race Volt is fairly soft in comparison. Still, I have no complaints on that choice as I've had good luck with WTB saddles in the past.
-I didn't see this mentioned anywhere, but the stock Race Face bars/stem are 35.0 clamp diameter, so keep that in mind if you're looking to make any part swaps.
-No complaints on the crankset either. My neighbor was jealous of the external BB. I would change the stock 175mm arms for 170s but that's my personal preference.

I haven't had a proper first ride yet since local trails were closed yesterday due to rain, so this evening I'll be breaking it in right. Hopefully my very positive first impressions stick around after some dirt time!
 
#129 ·
I have just ordered the large frame (I am 5' 9") and am looking to go with the 27.5+ wheel option. It should be here in 4-6 weeks.

Anyone built one recently? I wanted to go with the custom build as I have wanted to have a go at this for a while now.

Any advice on the parts for the rest of the build? Going to spend the next few weeks getting some bit together and progressively building over the summer.

Was thinking of the SLX 1x11 group set and possibly some hope finishing bits in purple and the rest is still TBC..with the forks and wheels being my biggest question as not really had much to do with 27.5"+ until now.

I have a 35mm Easton Haven carbon bar so far and that's it !!

Thanks and any advice/pics appreciated.
 
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