Now, the Aggressor is still a tough and durable tire, but out of the beefier tires, I think it’s probably the fastest rolling. The front is a rough and rugged Minion DHF, which is great for providing some traction and control on the descents, but the rear is a faster-rolling Aggressor. I think the saving grace is the tire selection. It doesn’t feel like you’re dragging a boat anchor though. The Chameleon isn’t an ultra-light XC whip. I don’t think lighter and smaller riders are going to notice it too much. I’d rather have that flex than have an ultra-rigid frame- it smooths out the ride, especially on the downhills. When you’re really putting down some power, the bottom bracket wiggles a bit side to side. I did notice a bit of frame flex on the Chameleon. Once I correct my poor form and start spinning smooth circles, the bike start to feel fast and smooth. For the first mile or two on a hardtail, I notice I’m bouncing out of the saddle a little bit. The efficiency now comes down to how smooth you can pedal. You don’t have rear suspension to rob any of your pedaling energy. It seems silly to talk about efficiency on a hardtail. It’s not a huge deal, but something to be aware of. That rearward position can make getting around tight switchbacks tricky too if you’re not shifting your weight over the bars. If you don't consciously keep your weight forward, the front wheel tends to want to wheelie and wander. The short chainstays and seat tube angle might have something to do with this. The body position on the climbs feels fairly centered to maybe a little rearward. Avoiding rocks on a hardtail is huge-you don’t have suspension to keep things smooth. You can pick your line through the rocks instead of having to go over the top of them. The quick handling keeps the bike agile when the climbs get technical. You can actually steer the bike around tight corners instead of having to lean, hope, and pray that you make it. It’s lively and quick, easy to get around a tight switchback, and overall makes the bike feel very responsive. The handling is my favorite thing about the uphill performance. The geometry and components selection reinforce that as well. It is happy to sit on the fence between the two. Right from the get-go, the Chameleon shows its lack of bias for either uphill or downhill performance. They’re durable, reliable, and aren’t going to blow up in 5 rides. The great thing is, they’re still quality bike-shop-brand components. It’s no surprise that most of these components are on the lower end of the competent grade spectrum. For your hard-earned cash, you’ll get an aluminum frame, RockShox Recon RL fork with 130mm of travel, Sram Level T brakes, a Sram NX/SX drivetrain, and some cheaper WTB rims. That’s still a pretty penny, but relative to full suspension bikes it’s a fraction of the cost. This exact build, out of the box costs $2399. Why does the color matter? Because this yellow is amazing-think early 90’s Trapper Keeper vibes. In this case, we have the Santa Cruz Chameleon D AL 29 in Golden Yellow. We are talking about price, so the actual build now becomes relevant. This review is a little different, however. Anywho, that's an argument for a different day. Frankly, the level of components you get on your bike makes a very small difference to the overall ride quality in my mind. We try to keep it about the bike as a whole and not so much the individual build. We don’t normally dive too deep into build and price when we review a bike.
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