Go ride them and see which you like. The Hawk Hill is full suspension which is nice in the comfort aspect where the Chameleon is hard tail. Look at the trails in your area and ask around on the hard-tail vs full suspension point. 230 is not a deal breaker for full suspension but at the $1,600 price point you need to look at components closely. Just as [MENTION=226212]brawlo[/MENTION] said you are going to loose out on bits and pieces to make up that savings. If you just want to get on the trails and 'grow' into mountain biking go with the Chameleon. Santa Cruz bikes tend to hold their value and hard tails are still very popular because of the affordability and fun factor.