Last week I flagged up Specialized’s latest launch – a Chisel trail bike that had been given the Evo treatment – but lamented the lack of supply to UK customers. Well, it seems I jumped the gun a bit, because the Chisel Comp Evo was always slated to come to the UK, but Specialized held back the release date this side of the pond to make sure there was supply. Looks like I messed up that strategy…

Clean and simple: the Specialized Chisel Comp Evo

It’s good news for UK customers in the market for a simple but effective trail bike at a reasonable price, because the Chisel is a bike that gives just enough without all the fancy gizmos that add ££s to the hang tag. Which means the Chisel Comp Evo will come in at £3,000 on the nose here in the UK. Not bad for a non-discounted price from a big brand with an extensive dealer network. And the spec looks really good on this thing: it gets a high-end Fox 34 Performance Elite fork, Fox Float Evol shock, SRAM G2 four-piston brakes, and GX mechanical shifting. As I’d expect from the addition of the Evo badge, this Chisel has been suped-up with bigger and more powerful brakes, a longer travel fork (130mm instead of 120mm), a fat, grippy T9 Purgatory front tyre, and a longer dropper post. Adding the longer fork and bigger tyre has also relaxed the head angle half a degree and raised the BB by 4mm, but it should still possess that rapid, dynamic ride quality that Guy Kesteven loved when he tested the basic Chisel for us earlier this year.

Specialized’s SmartWeld tech was originally developed for the road, but applying it to the Chisel has saved weight, improved strength, and helped the ride quality.

Guy raved about the cut-price Epic vibe of the Chisel, saying Specialized had created “an affordable, but still seriously rapid, impressively-sorted and effortlessly-enjoyable speed machine”. Much of this he attributed to the high-tech D’Aluisio alloy frame, where the ends of the hydroformed tubes are partly folded over, giving a stronger junction and allowing thinner walls. This saves weight and improves the ride feel. Other details, like the flex-stay back end and one-piece seat tube and pivot mounts, add further weight efficiencies and give a respectable frame weight of 2.7kg.

Bigger brakes and a longer travel fork are a couple of the spec updates to make this the most capable Chisel in the range.

Integrated rubber frame protection, and little details like the cover between the chainstay yoke and the cable exit port at the back of the seat tube, help elevate the Chisel above the flotsam of entry-level alloy frame offerings. And now it’s been made even more capable, while staying true to its roots.

There’s also a matt black version of the Chisel Comp Evo.

In Specialized’s own words, the “all-new Chisel, The Lightest, Fastest Alloy Full Suspension Bike in the World, gets a full makeover with our ultra-capable EVO build. Utilizing the same lightest-in-class frame as the standard Chisel models and taking geometry and kinematic inspiration from our downcountry-hungry Epic 8 EVO mountain bike, the all-new Chisel Comp EVO delivers the performance you can feel and is spec’d for the ultimate downcountry experience.”

I’ve seen the Chisel Comp Evo listed on the Tredz website, and it should also be available in your local Specialized dealer right now.