Only available in the US, the combo of down-to-earth down-country pace with added muscle could make the Specialized Chisel Comp Evo a hot ticket with UK riders too.
At the more realistically-priced end of the Specialized mountain bike range sits the Chisel. A short travel down-country/XC ripper that goes back to basics but doesn’t skimp on the ride. And now there’s a subtly enhanced Chisel Comp Evo model to satisfy those customers who want a Chisel that can notch up the miles on tougher terrain. That’s the good news. The bad news is it’s not on sale over here in the UK.
The new Chisel Evo reminds us of how mountain bikes used to look – simple and purposeful.
Want to know what we’re missing out on? Well, read on. The regular Chisel gets 120mm of travel up front with 110mm at the back, but the Chisel Comp Evo gets a longer travel fork while keeping rear travel the same. Specialized has specced a 130mm travel Fox 34 Performance Elite with the Grip 2 damper – a pretty high-end spec that offers four-way adjustment of rebound and compression damping. This is paired with a Fox Float Evol inline shock with two compression settings and rebound adjustment. Other noteworthy additions include better brakes – two-piston calipers swapped for four-piston SRAM GS RS with a larger 180mm rear rotor. Specialized has uprated the front tyre with a 2.4in Purgatory in stickier T9 compound, and there’s a longer dropper post to get the saddle out of the way for steeper descents. Specialized claims that packing all that extra heat adds 700g to the complete bike weight over the Chisel Comp, taking it from 12.8kg to 13.53kg. We weighed the cheaper Specialized Chisel FS at 14.47kg when we tested it – a bit more than the 13.87kg that Specialized claims for that model.
Those slender stays do away with the need for a Horst Link.
It’s fair to say that Guy was very impressed with that £2k entry-level bike, saying it’s “a properly quick, responsive, and exciting bike”, and that “even in this base spec, it’s a great starter model for fast/far riding”. So, while Specialized’s high-end Stumpjumper 15 and Epic 8 have basked in the spotlight and received all the column inches since their launch, the basic Chisel deserves just as much attention.
One of the key aspects that makes the Chisel platform such a success is the D’Aluisio Smartweld frame, that uses hi-tech alloy hydroforming to create a superlight chassis. Grams are further minimised by the flexstay design that does away with a traditional Horst Link.
The longer travel fork takes 0.5º off the head angle and adds 4mm to the BB height.
The whole bike is finished off in a rather fetching black with gold decals, recalling the livery of old Lotus F1 cars. Will Specialized ever bring the Chisel Comp Evo in to the UK? We’ll certainly ask –with a price point likely to be close to £3k, it’s still a long way off the cheapest Epic Evo at £4,250. Click here to view the Chisel Comp Evo on the Specialized US website.