Before the Santa Cruz musical is over, here's a little more about the bike: The Chameleon was Santa Cruz's "do it all" hardtail, the bike you choose for a bikepacking tour, ride in the evening for a crisp after-work ride and then use to hit the local dirt jumps on the way home. Nothing is said to have changed in this respect - but the frame material has. The Californians are now bringing the nimble "trail lizard" in carbon with a suitably chic finish.

But that's not all: the Chameleon fits both 27.5 plus and 29-inch wheels. This means that the bike can be adapted to the intended use or personal preferences in no time at all. Tire widths of up to 3.0 inches for 27.5plus and 2.5 inches for 29-inch wheels fit in the frame.

Details, geometry and equipment

Santa Cruz's most versatile bike offers two bottle cage slots and the option to mount a cargo cage on the underside of the down tube.

With the Chameleon, you also have the choice of riding it with gears or as a single speed. The dropouts are still made of aluminum.

The cables for the rear brake and dropper post are routed entirely internally. The gear cable, on the other hand, is only routed in the top tube, after which it rides along the seat stay to the changer.

The bike is available in sizes S to XL and is also a little more modern in terms of geometry, but not to the extreme. A reach of 437 millimetres is specified for size M, the wheelbase is 1139 millimetres. A slack steering angle of 67.2 or 67.3 degrees is combined with 29-inch wheels and short chainstays, which keep the bike agile.

Four versions of the Chameleon C are available: Two SE variants with spare carbon rims and two S variants with Race Face rims. Apart from the Sram GX Eagle drivetrain, the equipment is almost identical. The only difference between the Plus and 29-inch versions is the suspension travel. The former have a 130 mm Fox fork, while the Twentyniner comes with 120 millimetres of travel.

And now it's off to the musical!

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