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Chisel Hardtail

4.6

20 Reviews

The all-new Chisel has been purpose-built to tackle modern cross country trails and…

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1974 to 2024: A 50-Year Tradition of Innovation

As Specialized celebrates its 50th Anniversary of innovating to improve riders’ lives, we have our sites set on the next half century and creating the future of cycling. Join us as we look back at five decades of innovation so we can continue to Pedal the Planet Forward together.

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Product Details

The all-new Chisel has been purpose-built to tackle modern cross country trails and race courses with the utmost speed. In fact, it shares many of the same modern features as its Epic Hardtail sibling, but in a more budget-friendly package—making it the most efficient and capable alloy hardtail out there.

The Chisel's all-new frame utilizes our D'Aluisio Smartweld technology that moves the hydroformed tube joints away from the areas of the highest stress, making the finished frame's balance of strength, rigidity, and weight more pronounced than any alloy frame in history. This not only makes the Chisel one of the lightest alloy hardtail frames out there at 1,350g, but it also allows for tuned frame stiffness across all sizes.
The new Chisel also houses all of the modern features that you expect from an XC bike, like Progressive XC Geometry with a 68-degree headtube angle and longer reach, internal cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket, boost spacing, 30.9mm dropper post compatibility, and 1x-only drivetrains.

Technical Specifications

Frameset

Frame

Specialized D'Aluisio Smartweld M5 Alloy, Hydroformed tubes, Progressive XC Geometry, internal cable routing, BSA BB, 12x148mm spacing, 30.9mm Dropper post compatible

Seat Binder

Specialized Alloy, 34.9mm

Suspension

Fork

RockShox Judy Silver, TurnKey damper, Solo Air, 42mm offset, 15x110mm thru-axle, 100mm of travel (XS - 80mm travel)

Brakes

Front Brake

SRAM Level T hydraulic disc, 2-Piston Caliper

Rear Brake

SRAM Level T hydraulic disc, 2-Piston Caliper

Drivetrain

Shift Levers

SRAM SX Eagle, trigger, 12-speed

Rear Derailleur

SRAM SX Eagle, 12-speed

Cassette

SRAM PG-1210 Eagle, 11-50t

Chain

SRAM, SX Eagle, 12-speed

Crankset

SRAM SX Eagle, Powerspline

Bottom Bracket

SRAM Powerspline

Wheels & Tires

Rims

Specialized Alloy, hookless, Tubeless ready, 25mm inner width

Front Hub

Specialized alloy front hub disc, sealed cardridge bearings, 6-bolt, 15x110mm thru-axle, 32h

Rear Hub

Alloy, sealed cartridge bearings, 12x148mm thru-axle, 32h

Spokes

Stainless, 14g

Front Tire

Specialized Fast Trak, Control Casing, T5 Compound, 29x2.35

Rear Tire

Specialized Fast Trak, Control Casing, T5 Compound, 29x2.35

Inner Tubes

Standard 40mm PV 29x1.75-2.4

Cockpit

Stem

3D-forged alloy, 31.8mm, 7-degree rise

Handlebars

Specialized Alloy XC minirise, double-butted alloy, 8-degree backsweep, 6-degree upsweep, 10mm rise, 31.8mm

Grips

Specialized Trail Grips

Saddle

Body Geometry Power Sport, steel rails

SeatPost

Alloy, 2-bolt clamp, 30.9mm

* Weights based on production painted frames as pictured. Actual weights will vary based on colourway, frame size, and component variation. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Geometry

	XS	S	M	L	XL
Crank Length	165mm	170mm	175mm	175mm	175mm
Handlebar Width	750mm	750mm	750mm	750mm	750mm
Stem Length	60mm	60mm	70mm	70mm	70mm
Saddle Width	155mm	155mm	143mm	143mm	143mm
Seatpost Length	350mm	350mm	400mm	400mm	400mm
Head Tube Angle	68°	68°	68°	68°	68°
BB Drop	68mm	63mm	63mm	63mm	63mm
Front Center	647mm	674mm	699mm	730mm	760mm
Chainstay Length	432mm	432mm	432mm	432mm	432mm
Fork Rake/Offset	44mm	44mm	44mm	44mm	44mm
Bike Standover Height	732mm	762mm	792mm	816mm	847mm
Stack	591mm	605mm	605mm	619mm	633mm
Head Tube Length	95mm	95mm	95mm	110mm	125mm
Fork Length, Full	486mm	506mm	506mm	506mm	506mm
Reach	385mm	405mm	430mm	455mm	480mm
BB Height	304mm	309mm	309mm	309mm	309mm
Wheelbase	1070mm	1099mm	1124mm	1154mm	1185mm
Seat Tube Angle	74°	74°	74°	74°	74°
Top Tube Length, Horizontal	555mm	578mm	603mm	632mm	661mm
Seat Tube Length	367mm	400mm	430mm	470mm	520mm
Trail	103mm	103mm	103mm	103mm	103mm

Manual Downloads

Specialized Bicycle Owner's Manual (World)

2022 Rider/Bike Weight Limits and Terrain Conditions

Rider Reviews

4.6

20 Reviews

07/15/2024

Great Bike

Absolutely awesome first grown up bike for our little girl. The change from a 24 inch bike to a 29 inch bike has been life changing. It has everything we need and nothing we don’t. 29 inch wheels with thru axels means we can upgrade and transfer as they grow.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Brant G.

Helpful?

03/08/2024

Amazing Alu Frame and geometry, disappointing components and price.

The positive points are as follow. This Aluminium frame is arguably the best one on the market right now! It is light and stiff and the geometry is as up to date as it can be. The welds are very well done and the red/papaya colour looks good although this last part is very subjective. As for the negative points; the price/value is very disappointing to say the least. The BB is a sram powerspline combined to a SX crankset which is by far the heaviest and cheapest combo on the market. I find it difficult to understand why the the whole drivetrain is the most basic Sram SX when I buy a 2000$ bike (NX and GX isn't that much more expensive). All of this led me to upgrade almost everything including the Sram Level T brakes because they are so heavy and basic. In conclusion: I give the frame and geometry a 5 stars rating and 1 star for the value and components. Overall rating of 3/5 stars.

Name:: Anthony

Helpful?

12/26/2023

As it should be

Very happy with purchase experience. Bike came in perfect condition and no surprises.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: mtbCharles H.

Helpful?

12/20/2023

Specialized Chisel Made MY LIFE more SPECIAL!!!

Bought the Chisel 2 months ago now and have been loving it. The bike is everything I wanted. Shout out to Mount McDowell Cycles in Fountain Hills, AZ doing a great job with the assembly. I recommend getting it shipped to a local bike shop for them to assemble unless you are one that really likes assembling. Overall couldn't be happier with the purchase.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Michael M.

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11/03/2023

Great bike

This is an incredibly fast bike for a mountain bike. It's fairly light and rolls over anything with the 29" tires. I bought the charcoal color and several people have commented that they like the look. All of the components seem well matched to the bike and an excellent value for the $1350 sale price. Originally I was going to buy a Rockhopper Expert, however for $50 more decided to go with the Chisel. The local shop owner told me that it was a good choice and the Chisel is a huge step up. Overall, I'm really impressed with Specialized and am going to order my son a Rockhopper this week. I would definitely recommend this bike especially for anyone who needs more than what a gravel bike can handle yet will not be doing crazy death defying stunts that would require a full suspension. This bike is perfect for typical single track riding.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Name:: Dan

Helpful?

10/12/2023

Great value for a little

Great value for a little more than a Rockhopper. Boost makes it easy for upgrades.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: William O.

Helpful?

10/07/2023

Great Bike

Good base bike, I love the colour of the frame, It is a Light bike!!! I might upgrade some of the parts maybe in the future, but yeah worth buying.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Sean

Helpful?

09/05/2023

sizing

Great bike performance is excellent, but the sizing is off. I am 5ft 2in and I fit fine on a medium on twenty nines. So, I would say go a size up then what you were going to get.

Name:: fritz

Helpful?

09/05/2023

Excellent starting platform

Pretty unbeatable as far as shred to price ratio goes. Really excellent frame, worthy of much higher end components. I bought this with the full intentions of ripping it apart and upgrading most everything before I even rode it. And I have My XL comes in at 26lbs, I upgraded to a Sid SL, SLX crank, Sunrace cassette, Tubeless, the rims are tubeless ready and they include valve stems, The rims weigh 1800grams, not bad for a training wheelset. I also added a dropper. Changed out the bars and stem. The internal dropper post routing is easy and well done. Super fun bike, I love it.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Guest G.

Helpful?

08/03/2023

Arrived broken

I had high hopes for this bike, checking it out while assembling it. It looked fantastic. But the cassette would not spin freely on the rear wheel, it was locked to the rear wheel at all times. The only option given to me on the 800 number was to drive an hour away to a bike shop. Drop the bike off, wait two to three weeks while they look at it and fix it and then drive another hour each way back to the bike shop to pick it up. A terrible option, so I returned the bike. Very very disappointed in the support.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Jerry A.

Helpful?

08/01/2023

I love it! I love it! I love it!

Amazing bike for the price. I upgraded the shocks to fox factory and popped a transfer dropper on. Can't wait to race it. The only thing about the bike is the SX shifting, but having a lower in shifting is one of the only ways specialized was able to make this bike so affordable. So no real complaints. Thanks you Specialized!

Name:: Martin

Helpful?

07/01/2023

Built For Comfort !

When my parents bought me this bike I was tocked and was exited when i was on my first trail It ran so smoothly and I have no complaints at all this is a terrific bike if your trying to save money !

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Name:: Princeton

Helpful?

06/24/2023

This bike is a trail rocket!

I just replaced my 2013 Stumpjumper with a 2023 Chisel. Today was my first day on the trails with it. To say it's fast and nimble is an understatement! My plan was just to ride my favorite trail to see how the bike handled. Without even trying, I took two minutes off my best time on that trail, I couldn't believe it. There's a reason the Chisel is getting such great reviews everywhere, it lives up to the hype! I have been buying Specialized bikes, eight of them in fact, for 40 years now. I have never been disappointed by any of them. If I buy a bike, it's going to be Specialized! Buy a Chisel, you won't regret it!

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Name:: Jon

Helpful?

06/14/2023

Brilliant frame, lackluster component compatibility

After almost a year on this bike, its currently set up rigid and I still love most of it. Geo is comfy, frame is light and responsive, value is awesome. Lateral compliance from chainstays/seatstays is plush but doesn’t feel sloppy even in a sprint. Internal routing ports at the head tube are razor sharp, but easy to fix with emery cloth. Dropper clearance from seat tube bottle bosses is tight but acceptable. Same goes for larger chainrings; 38t is a snug fit on the stock chainline. Two main gripes are the HG driver body and lack of UDH. Unfortunately this makes the wheelset a dead end, and I would imagine this dropout is an order-only piece for most people. A better (albeit more complicated) option: buy the frame, choose components with more compatibility, stock up on these dropouts, and file the routing ports like your life depends on it :)

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Christo

Helpful?

04/13/2023

Excellent

Light, agile and nimble everything you want in an XC bike. I should have bought the Chisel 4 bikes ago.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Guest G.

Helpful?

04/03/2023

Chisel review

Quick points: 1. price is excellent 2. bike is tubeless ready 3. bike handles well

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Tyrone B.

Helpful?

12/11/2022

Awesome bike for price

I had a Merlin XLM chisel is 8 lbs heavier but it's $5000 less to the chisel is a great entry level xc bike I have 0 complaints ok n the bike It took me a few months to get the right set up wasn't used to 29in wheels

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Name:: Flyinbrian

Helpful?

11/15/2022

This product was as described

This product was as described and would be a great beginner to intermediate level cycle for anyone interested in off-road trail cycling.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Johann W.

Helpful?

11/15/2022

Such a great bike. So

Such a great bike. So great in fact I bought 2 of them. One for XC / Trail and one I built for road and gravel duty. Decent spec but the fork keeps this bike from being a 5 star buy. It really lets the bike down and is a boat anchor at around 2600 grams. It works better than it should but you can really feel it on the trail. At the very least, the aluminum stanchioned version of this fork should have come stock. I rebuilt a Reba for it and it really did the trick. The bike is much more balanced and responsive and is incredibly fun to ride. With the Reba installed ( everything else is currently stock except for a GX derailleur and shifter, set up tubeless and a PNW dropper post ), it comes in at a very respectable 25.5 lbs. A person could drop even more weight but I didn't need to build a race whip, just a reliable bike for my local Midwestern trails. The saddle is also worth mentioning. Its the best I've ever had. It's taken the place of my Phenom saddles that I have moved from bike to bike for many years. There is no press fit BB ( standard BSA ), no gimmicky, proprietary nonsense and the geometry is completely spot on. Highly recommended.

Would Recommend?: Yes!

Verified Buyer

Name:: Dustin R.

Helpful?

09/16/2022

Bike is responsive and handles

Bike is responsive and handles rough terrain and hills with ease. However, due to single front chain ring gearing, it is a dog on the road.

Verified Buyer

Name:: Guest G.

Helpful?