1999 Santa Cruz Chameleon...major update. Rebuild Nr 2 (p4)

[Mindmap3]

Cranks arrived the other day, they were a bit grubby and pitted, but have come up really well after a bit of effort with some Autosol and fine wire wool for the really bad bits. Also cleaned and fitted some blue V12's. The matching Conti Gravity tyre was fitted to the front wheel as well, so now both tyres have plenty of clearance.

I've hopfully found a bash guard, just waiting for a PM back. A pair of Minis are on the way, although the front one will be replaced by the M4 that is also on the way.

I've also cut down the steerer to keep the front end as low as possible because the other half is a hobbit, seat post cut down so it goes down further in the frame, forks were stripped, cleaned and filled with clean oil to. I also swapped the worn stanchions for some without any.

Here are a load more pics...

 

[superstu]

Good choice of cranks, suit it perfectly.

 

[Mindmap3]

These arrived today...

And some pics of them fitted...

The rear wheel is currently with the bike shop to be redished and trued so it doesn't rub any more. Hopefully it will be ready for Saturday.

Its pay day tomorrow, so I can order the disc mount and the last few bits needed. Fingers crossed it will be ready for its first ride some time next week.

So far, I'm pretty pleased with the results.

 

[coomber]

Lovely stuff. Mmmm.... I want

 

[ChrisR]

That looks stunning! Good work.

 

[Mindmap3]

Cheers chaps...the debit card has taken a bit of a battering today getting the last few bits I need for this and my P1.

Hopefully all of the bits will arrive early next week. Really looking forward to getting it all finished. Only thing I'm having to wait on is the lime green brake hose from Superstar. Will get some more pics up as stuff starts to arrive.

 

[Mindmap3]

The bike is all finished...except for the green brake hoses.

Took the other half to Cannock Chase today and the bike was great. She actually really enjoyed it; I was worried that she would hate it after previous attempts to get her cycling. She rode everything, although she had a few sketchy moments and needs to stand up more and keep the pedals level.

Will need to try and get some softer springs for her forks though as they weren't quite as plush as they should be. Oh, and the front Mini squeals like a pig in the wet.

Will get some pics up tomorrow.

 

[ChrisR]

Glad she got on well with it

Know what you mean about squeely front brakes... My mono m4 can be a bit noisy if wet and light braking... Alright when anchoring up though.

 

[Mindmap3]

Re: 1999 Santa Cruz Chameleon...

It's been a while since I posted an update on this bike and its biggie...

The raw frame turned out to not be such a good idea because it tarnished really quickly when it got wet / dirty. The other half never really liked the colour scheme either, so it was time for rebuild number two...

I decided to powdercoat the frame

White was chosen as a good base to go with her preferred colour scheme. Decals were once again supplied by Gil_M

Some work in progress pics

Please ignore the very manly scissors...not my choice at all!

I hated the Race Face Evolve stem that I bought last year so picked up a Thomson X4 stem from eBay which I collected this morning. However, this may end up on the BFe or my Cannondale build.

If I do steal the Thomson stem, this bike will either get a Race Face Turbine or a Diabolus stem. The downside I don't this is that both of the other stems have a rise to them and I need to keep the front end low because she's short!

There are a couple of big spec changes this time around. Firstly the Z1's have been replaced with a pair of Pikes (thanks ChrisR) which have had pink decals added to them. Secondly the Hope Big Uns on X Lite Phatso's have been swapped for my old NS Bikes hubs on XM321's. not the lightest wheels but lots lighter than what was on there originally. The V12's have been swapped for my old Azonic A Frames in the short term to fit in with the pink and black colour scheme.

Some part built pics

It's been treated to a new cassette and I have a new chain for it too. It would have been finished today but I forgot to order the pink gear outer and brake lines this week. The jury is still out on the Mini's; I may well swap them for soe Deore brakes mainly because I think the smaller blades will suit her hands better. At the moment the levers are too long for comfortable one finger braking although I may run the shifters between the grip and brake lever to see if that helps.

I'm hoping to get it all finished next weekend. I personally prefer it like this and so dies the boss!

 

[jimplops]

Re: 1999 Santa Cruz Chameleon...major update. Rebuild Nr 2 (

Looking good, colours of the graphics go really well. Have you got a lizard graphic for the top tube like my later one has.