Five Riders, Five Chameleons

Since its inception, the Santa Cruz Chameleon was made to be adaptable and rebuildable. The latest model, which we reviewed this morning, is no different. For the launch, Santa Cruz asked five riders to experiment and sculpt their ideal rig from the ever-adaptable platform. Find galleries and more about each of the riders from Santa Cruz below…

Myia Antone

Myia Antone is from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (the Squamish Nation) and is based in her hometown of Squamish, BC. She is a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim (Squamish language) lifelong learner and teacher and is passionate about land-based education and language revitalization. She is the founder of Indigenous Women Outdoors – a community-led organization that supports Indigenous women and non-binary community members get back out on the land. She uses her Chameleon to reach further into the forest to find the plant medicines that her ancestors have been harvesting since time immemorial, but she’s discovered the act of cycling is also medicinal.

Eric Ackermann

Eric Ackermann works in the Santa Cruz factory where their bikes are assembled. But in his own time he’s a fantasy model-making wizard. Eric built a Chameleon that could be used to ride to work, then hit the trails afterwards, and anything in-between.

Swanee Ravonison

Swanee Ravonison owns a bike shop and organic grocery (Fée du Vélo), and welds her own bikes under the moniker Pariah. She builds custom bikes that are meant for escaping the city and finding space in nature. She took the Chameleon and stripped it “of his flashy dress” and some of the bike’s techy components to make it purer for the kinds of bikepacking Swanee enjoys.

Mike Hill

Mike Hill is a UK-based builder who creates custom BMX frames under the Deathpack BMX brand. He’s spent a lifetime riding dirt jumps on a BMX but wanted to build an off-road workhorse to carry tools down the singletrack to the woods where his trails are. The Chameleon is a tool as much as the shovels and spades he carries upon it.

Sven Busse

Sven Busse wanted to build a bike that was always ready for any type of shenanigans. Meeting friends at his bar, the The GegenÜber in the middle of Bielefeld, right next to a large skatepark? Take the bike. Need to go to the music studio in the morning. Grab the bike! Lunchbreak in the skatepark? Ride the bike! Scout in the woods? Shred the bike!

Find all five riders and their bikes up on santacruzbicycles.com.

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