[rtonthat]

5’7… currently on a 125mm KS Lev. Definitely should have gone with a 150.

 

[sselhtrim]

I have a 150mm i could borrow to see if it fits.

 

[SpeedyChix]

Changes from stock:
22 Fox 34 stepcast
22 fox Transfer SL and Remote
The $1350 Rovals
Esi silicon grips 34mm
Race face Chesters
XL frame - 25.5lbs - it was close to 30 stock.
She RIPS

View attachment 1983650

Nice!!! Did you go with the 44 or 51 rake?

 

[sselhtrim]

150mm dropper didn't work for me, too much extension even when fully inserted. And it doesn't clear the bottle cage bolts. But I imagine a taller rider who has the post mounted higher might be able to clear the cage bolts.

 

[SSsteel4life]

Sorry, missed this post. Running 32x18 which won't get me anywhere near a magic gear. My friend says 34x18 on an Epic HT works, but the Chisel chainstay is a smidge longer if I'm not mistaken, and that's too tall of a gear for this full-figured rider. I did pick up a BSA EBB so I might swap the crank over to a Shimano and see if I can't get that work with some sort of useable gearing combo. I've always hated tensioners, but the dual pulley is at least reliable.

No worries, I ended up playing around with mine, 32x19 was just a little much too loose, and 32X20 was just over the line of being too tight! I had hi hopes of one working. I thought of an EBB, doing 32X19 would probably have enough adjustment by the EBB.

 

[buumer]

On the topic of 100 vs 120mm fork, I had the chance to try both by swapping the air shaft ona 34SC. Differences feel marginal, but I prefer a 100mm on the Chisel. It puts you in a slightly better position on the climbs and makes it easier to put the power down. Both felt similar going down with a dropper.

 

[Bosto]

My Chisel "evo":

XL Frame
Fox 34 SC 120mm 51mm offset
Fox Transfer 175mm
SLX cranks (stock cranks were 865g!)
XT 10spd w 11-42 Sunrace cassette
29mm ID Nextie wheelset from my full sus (1800g, still lighter than stock lol)
203/180 SLX rotors

XT M8000 pedals
King cage stainless

11.75kg/25.9lbs as it sits

Nice bike! A couple of quick questions if you've got the time... I'm debating buying the Chisel in XL, but after seeing this photo I'm worrying the bike might be too small for me! I'm 6'6" (198 cm) with a 38" (98cm) inside leg. Is that similar to you? Have you found the bike big enough? It looks like you might be on the limits of how high the seat can go.

 

[downcountry_hardtail]

Hi guys, I am thinking about upgrading my chisel to 120mm of travel with either a SID or Pike. I know this is a recurring topic on this thread, but more feelings about the pros and cons of this switch would be welcome. Also, what do you think of this hastily photoshopped picture of my silver chisel with a silver Pike?

Please let me know if this is a good idea, and if you think a SID or a pike would be better,
Thank you!!

 

[makemann]

Hi guys, I am thinking about upgrading my chisel to 120mm of travel with either a SID or Pike. I know this is a recurring topic on this thread, but more feelings about the pros and cons of this switch would be welcome. Also, what do you think of this hastily photoshopped picture of my silver chisel with a silver Pike?

Please let me know if this is a good idea, and if you think a SID or a pike would be better,
Thank you!!
View attachment 2015429

Hey @downcountry_hardtail I have an Epic EVO and Chisel. I love them both, but for different uses. Based on your user name and assumption that you want to slacken it out with a longer travel fork, I’m guessing you’re looking for a more of well rounded bike. I appreciate the ability of the EVO to bomb down and easily climb pretty much any trail that I ride locally, and like the speed with which the Chisel carves up XC courses. If I could only have one bike, I would slacken out the Chisel with a Fox 34 or Pike.

What is your use for the Chisel?

 

[Jeremy05]

Hi guys, I am thinking about upgrading my chisel to 120mm of travel with either a SID or Pike. I know this is a recurring topic on this thread, but more feelings about the pros and cons of this switch would be welcome. Also, what do you think of this hastily photoshopped picture of my silver chisel with a silver Pike?

Please let me know if this is a good idea, and if you think a SID or a pike would be better,
Thank you!!

If you have the Judy fork on the chisel you can change the travel to 120mm by moving one of the spacers inside the fork. It wont cost you any money and you can see if you like the longer travel. The Pike & Sid are going to be ride different. Pike will be heavier, but most likely a little more plush. Sid is lighter and still plush, but I find it rides higher in it travel and has a lot of mid travel support. If it were me I would probably put the pike on my bike. But I also ride my chisel as more of a trail bike than a race bike.

Also, I have been riding my chisel at 120mm for about 1 year. Most of the time I don't see any drawlback, but i did find that it felt better with a 70mm stem than the 60mm stem that my Large chisel came with.

 

[downcountry_hardtail]

Hey @downcountry_hardtail I have an Epic EVO and Chisel. I love them both, but for different uses. Based on your user name and assumption that you want to slacken it out with a longer travel fork, I’m guessing you’re looking for a more of well rounded bike. I appreciate the ability of the EVO to bomb down and easily climb pretty much any trail that I ride locally, and like the speed with which the Chisel carves up XC courses. If I could only have one bike, I would slacken out the Chisel with a Fox 34 or Pike. What is your use for the Chisel?

My chisel is my ultimate dream bike (and only bike) and a do it all bike for Iowa. I’ve use it for mostly cross country single-track, some rocky and rootier stuff, even a blue jump line at an Upper Peninsula bike park and a touch of gravel riding. It is bone-stock right now at 25.8 lbs (size large) with orange seal and one-up composite pedals. I’m planning on a 170mm one-up dropper and the aforementioned fork. As for the fork I want something beefier than the stock Judy and more capable for the jumps and rocks (there is a lifetime frame warranty😁) but I would still love a full lockout (which I know the new SID does not have) because its a blast to use it like a full rigid on wide open gravel roads and hardpack. I also do not want to loose the wonderful handling right now to wheel flop and the like with a 120mm fork.

 

[Jeremy05]

If you are wanting to buy a sid with a lockout Amazon has the RL version on sale right now for $499. You could also buy the Sid Select + which does have a full lockout. I don't think that any of the high end Pikes are going to have a full lock out them. For the chisel I think that the Sid is a better fit for the bike, but I think that the pike is a more universal fork if you ever get another bike. You can change the travel from 120 - 140 on the pike vs the sid is 100-120. If you ever change frames and move to a Fuse the Pike would be a better fit for that bike. The only negative you have with the pike is that it is 100G heavier.

Also, one more thing to consider is that specialized only allows a 10% increase on their fork travel. So if you are concerned about warranty you can only technical put a 110mm fork on the chisel without voiding the warranty. You can buy a 110mm air shaft for the SID, but the pike will only go down to 120mm. And if you are concerned about wheel flop the 110 will have slightly less flop. When I changed my chisel to 120mm fork I did feel more wheel flop, but after I bought a FS trail bike I don't notice the flop in the chisel anymore. The chisel now feels twitchy compaired to my trail bike.

 

[DelPrete]

Hi guys, I am thinking about upgrading my chisel to 120mm of travel with either a SID or Pike. I know this is a recurring topic on this thread, but more feelings about the pros and cons of this switch would be welcome. Also, what do you think of this hastily photoshopped picture of my silver chisel with a silver Pike?

Please let me know if this is a good idea, and if you think a SID or a pike would be better,
Thank you!!
View attachment 2015429

I've been using a SID Select+ since 11/21, I love how this bike turned out with a 120mm fork........

 

[sselhtrim]

Well I just pulled the sid sl ultimate off the bike, can feel the bushing play even by hand between the stanchion and lower legs... About 6 months of use. Waiting on lower legs from the shop.

Fork weights 1296g with 190mm steerer without the axle.

 

[Preso]

Hello, i found this discussion when desparately searching for a used M size chisel 2021. Awsome discussion. The plan was to custom paint it as my Rockhopper, which was fully upgraded and move all the parts. Needles to say its hard finding a chisel these days at a nice price so... i got a brand new Chisel at my local bike shop. Can't stop improving the bike when I saw what it can do whithout high end wheels or fork.

 

[rakerdeal]

As I've mentioned here previously, I'm childless but maintain a slew of bikes for my extended family. We have build two major trails locally and we stated a bike club and have run through well over 100k into our local partks/trails. But anyway, given I'm 68 I tend to need a lot of downtime/recovery but also very much need vigorous effort exercise. I find without a doubt that riding my hardtails (we have Epic and Chisel versions) for a 45-minute to one hour jaunt, with lots of standing pedaling - well, this is incredible exercise for an older person. Zero injury, zero next-day pain or soreness, and lots of abdomen, thigh, torso exercise that keeps you able to to all the other things in life.

Sitting on the SJ? Yea I sit down and pedal those bikes too especially on longer rides with others where if I took the hardtails I'd be worn slap out. But on the day-to-day thing I'm always going for the hardtails which to me are the most simple and well-designed exercise machine available.

It isn't always about avoiding this or that, sometimes it is about "I want the most lively thing I can get." And that my friends is riding a 29er hardtail like the Chisel. Super bike bar none, and not expensive.

 

[dino45]

What is the maximum steerer tube length that can be used above the headset? Looking to install a new fork and raise the bars a bit vs. the stock setup (2022 Chisel, size L) but don't want to go too high such that I compromise the headset.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jeremy05]

I have ran 25-30mm of spacers without any problems. Much more than that and I would get a higher rise bar. The bar that came stock on the chisel is fairly flat, so if you want some height you could just look at a new bar.

 

[sselhtrim]

The R7 rides heaps better than the sid sl, much more compliant.

 

[imajez1]

Is it possible to mount a rear rack for bike packing on the specialized chisel?

You can use a Tailfin no problem on one. I have one for my Crux and Epic Evo neither of which also mounts for racks, You mount rack on axle instead and with the QR fixtures it takes seconds to remove bag+rack and only a tad longer to mount back on bike. Not tried it on my Chisel yet as only just got it and I'm still tweaking fit.
These photos are earlier versions of my bikepacking setup. Need to do some more recent shots, when I get my custom frame bags made.