I've been trying to get one of these for years, and finally found it locally.
Q- What do you normally want in a Hardtail bike?
A- Reasonable Weight, Versatile set up, responsive under power, etc. I 've owned a few FR-HT's (Kona Scab, Kona Stuff, etc) and had forgotten how they rode. The Chameleon reminded me of how all bikes should handle. I messed around with my fork during today's ride, and it took it all in stride. Most bikes get squirrely or slow when you wind a fork from 90 to 130mm travel, not this one. The handling was great, and it is reasonably light weight. However- it is not a frame that is built for comfort. No my friend, comfort is ignored. If you've ever sat on a skateboard and felt the sidewalk clack underneath as you rolled (Maybe even with the old-school steel wheels?), you know exactly how directly this frame communicates to you. There is absolutely zero flex, and no dead-weight so this thing just leaps when you're dancing on the pedals. Due to the wide chainstays, I had to build it with a 118mm Isis spindle to clear the cranks vs. c-stays. This messed up my chainline, so I used a 2-chainring set up. I plan on hopping around with this, so that works out fine with the bash ring.
The rear facing dropouts will easily take any amount of torque that I can muster, but do complicate wheel removal. I got used to that with a Klein, I'm used to it today. They must be really handy to those that use this frame for single-speeding. Single-speed bikes are supposed to take five years off your life, as they're challenging to ride UP hills; I'm not interested in that.
I like it a lot, honestly. We sell very similar bikes from Marin and other companies, I'll remember easier to recommend this class of bike to a customer. The stiff ride will kick the snot out of me on a big XC ride, but I'll deal with that when it comes.
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