2026 Specialized

Chisel Hardtail

An affordable XC machine that fills an important niche.

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Guy Kesteven has been testing the brand new Chisel FS to find out if the alchemic SmartWeld alloy frame and basic SRAM spec can shine through to create a cost-effective cross-country champion

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Specialized is coming in hot with another premium alloy bike, the new Chisel FS, which takes the Chisel into the whole suspension dimension.

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Specialized has taken its latest carbon Epic XC/DC range and translated it into aluminium to create the new Chisel FS. The result is an affordable, but still seriously rapid, impressively sorted and effortless enjoyable speed machine, that just misses out on our best budget full-suspension bike list with its £2k price tag. And we’d recommend opting for the more expensive model if you can. That said, it’s a brilliant budget full-suspension bike with a pace that belies its modest price. For a rundown of the new Specialized Chisel range, check out our news story. Need to know Lightweight, high speed optimised XC/DC mountain bike Based on Specialized’s carbon framed Epic range 29er wheels with superlight XC tyres RockShox and X-Fusion suspension SRAM SX based spec Cheapest model of two, with frame-only option too Frame and geometry The Chisel FS is the latest Specialized bike to use SmartWeld alloy tech. This was introduced on its road bikes over a decade ago, but transferred onto the dirt with the Chisel hardtail. Rather than normal open-ended tubes, it uses fully 3D formed tubes with semi closed ends (like a drinks can). This makes the tube and junction much stronger, so the varying wall thicknesses can be made much thinner, reducing weight and allowing finer ride-vibe tuning. The seat tube is also formed as a single piece, including rocker and main pivot mounts, and the bottom bracket section at the base. All told, it reduces the amount of welds and duplicated material significantly, and creates a stiff yet light keystone down the centre of the bike. So even with a UDH hanger, internal routing entry clamps, main pivot mud flap, proper chainstay protection, and two bottle cage mounts inside the main frame, the claimed weight for a medium frame is just 2,720g. If you look at the geo sheet, the only big difference between the latest Specialized Epic 8 is that the Chisel FS has a 10mm shorter reach. 66.5º-ish head tube (depending where you have the flip chip on the shock mount) and 75.5º seat angle are the same though, and BB drop and chainstay length are also essentially identical. Components The Chisel will enter the UK with Shimano SLX (Chisel Comp) or Deore (Chisel) based spec, but will change to SRAM GX (Chisel Comp) or SX (Chisel) for the second production batch, and we got the SRAM spec on our test bike. That includes an NX rear mech upgrade, but the heavy 11-50T cassette, separate Powerspline BB and steel chainring chainset are all from SRAM’s base Eagle group. The cheaper bikes also get a steel-legged RockShox Reckon RL Silver fork and X-Fusion rear shock rather than RockShox SID Rush fork and Deluxe Select+ shock found on the Comp models. Specialized’s 760mm bar, 60mm stem and 27mm internal tubeless wheels are decent kit though, and you get oversized Torque Cap hub ends to sync with the fork for maximum stiffness. The lock-on grips and Power saddle are definite highlights, and the TranzX dropper …Continue reading »

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