Alright, I've now put in 100 miles and 10,000 vert ft. This bike is great. It's super quick and I'm very happy with how comfortable it is on ~30 mile rides. My Sid 120mm fork still needs a bit of tuning. It's fine for most uses, but it feels pretty harsh on fast + bumpy descents. Today I added two volume spacers and gave it a quick spin. Feels better. Still gonna need to play with the psi and rebound a bit. The Specialized Ground Control (Grid) tires have impressed me. Time will tell how durable they are, but they have plenty of grip in the loose stuff.

I've been working my way through the local trails to find how this bike compares to my gravel bike and full suspension bike. On the flat-ish XC trails I've found that my Chisel is as comfortable as my full suspension bike, and more fun to ride thanks to the lighter weight. In the steep and chunky stuff I'm still riding a bit tentatively. I need to get the tire psi dialed in a bit better so that I can soften the feeling of being pinged between rocks. This is more of a hardtail issue than a Chisel issue, but I do need to learn which bike to grab for a given ride.

I finally weighed my bike for the first time - 25.75lbs. In my head I was hoping to keep the weight under 24lbs, but the spec list was more important to me than the weight. Still, even 6 hours into a ride I have no issues getting this bike up to speed.

I'm a little surprised that Specialized doesn't have some higher spec models in the Chisel line. I'd guess that parts availability has something to do with this. I wonder if they're saving the higher end components for the Epics/Stumpjumpers/etc. With a little bit of marketing I think this bike could sell extremely well.

 

My first ride yesterday was 23 miles and 2550’, which is double what my usual rides are on the full sus. Granted my full sus is 37lbs, 160/150 so much different trails. The chisel sits perfectly between my gravel and full sus, and my ride experience was very similar to yours. The bike is super fast, very comfortable on smooth trails, but Im picking lines carefully when things get a but rougher. I think after a few more rides and my dropper arrives I’ll be comfortable to open it up a bit (or a lot) more on the chunkier, steeper stuff.

What gravel and full suspension are you also riding? Ive got a Giant revolt that I absolutely love.

 

fast traks/renegades can be up to 150-200 grams less per tyre compared to a ground control, all 2.35

my t5 renegade was 652 and lightest t7 ground control was 862.

 

I have a Diverge and a Tallboy. Now that I have this Chisel I may sell the Tallboy (110mm rear travel) and buy a bike with ~140mm travel. That seems like a pretty ideal situation.

 

I had a Giant Trance with 115/130. Loved that bike and regret selling it. If you can swing it..id hang on to that tall boy.

 

Tallboy has been great to me and I'm not in a huge hurry to sell it, but it's somewhat underbiked for the area I live in. I think I'd eventually like to be in a 130mm or 140mm bike. So...we'll see.

 

finished my chisel build, 22ish lbs with pedals. Mixture of xtr 9000,xt shifter, MT5 calipers with 9000 levers.

 

finished my chisel build, 22ish lbs with pedals. Mixture of xtr 9000,xt shifter, MT5 calipers with 9000 levers.

Nice! What did you use to strip the paint? How do you like the Transfer SL?

 

22?!?! Didnt think that was possible. Wow. Great build. Once I get my carbon wheels I will be under 25. Not sure where Id shave 2-3 more pounds.

 

I installed a Fox Transfer dropper to my '21 Chisel and the internally routed cable is really making a racket inside the downtube. Anyone have a suggestion on how to quiet it down? Thanks!

 

I have not had that problem. Maybe the length is too long and there is too much cable flopping around. Check the length and trim it down if its too long?

 

I got some foam tube from the LBS like they used for the factory shifter and brake cables in the down tube. It has not rattled any for me.

 

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4000115411205.html?gps-id=platformRecommendH5&scm=1007.18499.280016.0&scm_id=1007.18499.280016.0&scm-url=1007.18499.280016.0&pvid=5ce0779a-7daf-458e-86b5-9152ba576f54&_t=gps-id:platformRecommendH5,scm-url:1007.18499.280016.0,pvid:5ce0779a-7daf-458e-86b5-9152ba576f54,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238107%231934&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21SGD%21%21558.74%21%21%21%21%21%402101d1b016539073441887547e0cc4%2110000000300477105%21rec

Carbon wheels that got featured on the lovemtb channel at quite a low price. Too good to be true?

 

Maybe start a new discussion over in the Wheels & Tires forum to see if other people have had issues with them? I took a quick look and found only one person has posted about the brand. Elite-Wheels (Yuanan) 27.5 35mm Asymmetric Chinese...

 

did try asking in the chinese carbon wheel thread but don't think many people used them..

Elitewheels seem to have more presence in the road bike world though.

 

Looks like they cost a bit more directly from elite’s site.

29er Pro36

The Pro36 carbon wheelset is designed for cross-country riding. It features a modern rim shape with a 30mm internal width. Paired with the high-precision Elitewheels Pro hubs, the wheels excel will take your ride to the next level. *The 29er Pro36 wheelset has not been designed for eMTB riding...

www.elite-wheels.com

Ive never bought anything from aliexpress so Im more weary of that than the actual wheels. Ive got two long rides on the Hunt XC Race wides and so far I love them. Both rides were over 25 miles and 2500’. First ride was smooth and flowy, the second ride a bit steeper with a bit more chunk. I only had two rides on the stock wheels so cant provide much of a comparison. I believe the hunts came in at about 1540g with tape and valves. For under $600 (before tax/shipping), Im more than happy. The chisel is an absolute rocket. On my FS, my rides were typically 10-12 miles with about 1500’ max. I feel like I can ride all day on the chisel. It can probably handle 90% of my local so cal trails easily with some good line choices.

 

I have been debating some carbon wheels, and I think I decided when I pull the trigger I will probably try the BTLOS wheels. I have heard good things about them, and you can buy a wheel set for under $700.

 

No you cant.

That under $700 wheelset with DT Swiss 350 hubs and the least expensive shipping is over $1k. Here are 2 wheelsets I built. The ultralight wheelset is more expensive than the Roval Carbon 6b wheelset from Specialized if you use the 15% off coupon. The Rovals have a great warranty if they fail and if you trash them you can get a low cost replacement.

 

Anyone know why the chisel comes with such long cranks? I believe my M comes with 175, which is typically used for L and above on other bikes. I ordered a set of XT 165mm for my FS bike to help with pedal strikes and less pressure on my knees but have decided to put them on the chisel instead, as I noticed the knee pain creeping back after a few rides.

This is my first xc/hardtail so I’m not sure if longer cranks are the norm for these bikes? Im 5’7 so 170s have always felt ok. Wanted to try 165s to avoid knee issues on long rides. Any reason why I shouldnt put shorter cranks on the chisel?

 

Went from 175 to 165, no downside imo. Haven't hit the cranks on anything yet and no knee pain for me.

 

I have those rims in extralight, I bought rim only and damn they are light, probably premium would have been fine. In any case if I was looking for complete wheelset the Roval is a great option. I haven't heard anything bad about btlos.

 

Thanks sselhtrim. Just put on my 165s. Will hit a trail tomorrow and see how it goes. The stock stout cranks were a a PITA to remove. Could not get it off for thr life of me. Took it to my trusted mechanic and he had a heck of a time prying them off as well. Looks like red loctite was used either from the factory or the LBS where I bought it. Not sure if this is common practice?

 

I'm running 170 cranks and they feel fine.

 

@sselhtrim I think I got myself confused earlier. The Chisel frames (mk1 and mk2) look nearly identical at quick glance. The user with the silver bike does appear to have the previous version, which likely has a bit more room for a bigger brake.

 

Yea 2019 with mt5 calipers

 

Hi guys, I've been thinking of replacing my Chisel Comp crankset from MT511 to Shimano SLX. Does anyone tried to do this as an option? I believe the stock crankset is for boost frame but will SLX be compatible for Chisel's Boost frame? Tia.

 

That's not much of an upgrade. Not sure I'd bother.

 

Yeah...its basically a 1 step upgrade as the MT-511s are essentially 6100 Deore cranks...and SLX are 7100s. you may lose a few grams of weight. For the Chisel, 7100 cranks will work fine.

 

Just fitted xtr 9000 race 170 cranks, feel great but I’m running a 36T blackspire chainring with 49mm perfect chain line. I shimmed the crank out with two .5 mm spacers from bb30 crank on the drive side so it wasn’t so close to the chain stay. So far no problems.

 

My rear stock brake seem to have weeping piston and is not retracting fully.

Easy replacement would be XT but the formula cura seems to have few but very positive reviews and now there is a lightweight variant. Seems like formula also use similar rotor widths as shimano too.

CURA X – Formula

www.rideformula.com

Formula Cura X Brake shaves 34g with carbon lever and titanium hardware

The Formula Cura X is a premium version of the Cura 2-Piston brake with carbon lever and Ti hardware minimizing weight for the gram conscious

bikerumor.com

r2-bike weighed a set at this weight, iirc deore front weighs 290g while xt are 26xg

 

Seems so be a big price jump from the xt. The gold is certainly eye catching though. Id be curious how you like it if you choose to go that route.

 

Find wheelsets on sale!