Jim,

here are some mediocre pictures of a Santa Cruz Chameleon I built up for no money and out of totally scrounged parts (including cables and housing). I found the frame (with Thompson post and Shimano BB) and wheels in separate trips to the metal recycling pile in North Vancouver. Fork, brakes, and crank from a wrecked Specialized in a lane. Other stuff from the parts bin. As you can see in the second picture, there is a serious crease in the TT. I never rode it off road to see if this was an issue. I built it up and sold it on Craigslist, to a guy who knew about bikes, had a few Chameleons in the past, and assured me he was only going to ride it in town. I built it up and sold it because I wanted a truing stand--my rationale was I was really just 'trading' bike parts, because I sold it for almost exactly the price of a Park stand. I enjoyed the bike the few weeks I rode it, but it was, alas, a means to an end. I would like to get myself another SS MTB, though--especially as I no longer live in East Van, but now in the Cowichan Valley, five minutes away from two separate mountains.

M Burdge

mgburdge@hotmail.com