FIRST LOOK: ALL-NEW SPECIALIZED CHISEL
Inspired by the Epic 8, at a more attainable price
FIRST LOOK: ALL-NEW SPECIALIZED CHISEL
Press Release – Specialized Bicycles
The Highest Performance Alloy XC Bike Ever
With advanced kinematics and geometry from its big sibling, the Epic 8, combined with cutting-edge D’Aluisio Smartweld technology, the Chisel mountain bike delivers performance you can feel—whether you’re racing “between the tape” or ripping solo hot laps on local trails.
Lightweight
D’Aluisio Smartweld
How do you make the lightest alloy full-suspension XC bike ride like an absolute dream? Pretty simple if you’ve pioneered a totally new way to weld alloy bikes. The big brains in the Specialized Science Club call it D’Aluisio Smartweld. It’s patented, and it’s the reason the new Chisel is more than the lightest alloy XC bike in its class.
LIGHTEST, STRONGEST, BEST-RIDING ALLOY
Thanks to D’Aluisio Smartweld, the Chisel boasts the lightest aluminum XC frameset in its class. Traditional alloy frame construction joins tubes with welds at the highest stress point. D’Aluisio Smartweld delivers the highest strength at the lowest weight by using hydroformed tube junctions that allow us to move the joint away from the area of the highest stress and create a “valley” for the weld bead to lay in.
ONE-PIECE SEAT TUBE / BOTTOM BRACKET
The first of its kind, Chisel shaves extra material and weight with a one-piece hydroformed seat tube that integrates the seat tube pivot, main pivot, and BB shell. On a more traditional bike, the seat tube is typically just a “tube” with pivots and a BB shell welded on.
KILLING IT SOFTLY
Our D’Aluisio Smartweld technology not only makes Chisel the lightest bike in its class, it also delivers previously impossible handling and ride quality. Each highly manipulated frame tube boasts continuously varied wall thicknesses and shaping that deliver stiffness where you need it – for efficiency – and ride-smoothing compliance where you want it – for comfort and optimal control.
Capability
Capability, Dialed to 11
The high-performance pedigree of Chisel can be traced directly to the Epic 8, our World Cup race machine. DNA from the Epic 8, like advanced suspension kinematics, Ride Dynamics tuned suspension, and progressive geometry honed on technical World Cup courses, can all be found in the Chisel, making it more than capable of handling varied terrain with confidence and speed.
Smoother Is Faster
We engineered a flex stay rear end for class-leading suspension performance, while eliminating the extra weight and maintenance associated with pivots required in a traditional design. More common on carbon bikes, extensive field and lab testing prove that Chisel has achieved the impossible—the efficiency, control, and light-weight of a flex stay design, in advanced alloy.
SPEC CALLOUTS
- Cockpit: 29mm rise bars
- Fork: 120mm travel RockShox fork
- Shock: 110mm of rear wheel travel (metric 190×40)
- Dropper: Dropper posts on all models
- Brakes: SRAM Level T Brakes
- Front Tire: Ground Control 2.35
- Rear Tire: Fast Trak 2.35
Geometric Capability
Progressive Geometry for Modern XC and Downcountry
With advanced kinematics and geometry from its big sibling, the Epic 8, combined with cutting-edge D’Aluisio Smartweld technology, the Chisel mountain bike delivers performance you can feel—whether you’re racing “between the tape” or ripping solo hot laps on local trails.
Engineered to Disappear – Specialized Ride Dynamics
While you were cutting school to ride your bike, some kids stayed in science class. A few of those kids rode their bikes, too. They grew up to be members of the Specialized Science Club, creating evidence-based performance for riders. The Ride Dynamics team is an elite part of the Specialized Science Club that relentlessly focuses on holistically developing the chassis, geometry, kinematics, spring curves, and damping performance of our bikes to achieve a singular, elevated ride. A ride so good, so intuitive, that it disappears underneath you, leaving nothing but the pure exhilaration of the riding experience.
Two Styles, One Goal
How did we make the Chisel equally at home on the race course and technical trails? Well, its lightweight and efficient kinematics help it fly up the climbs, while its suspension and geometry make it a capable, down-country weapon.
Efficiency
Supremely Efficient
Chisel pedals with incredible efficiency thanks to the utilization of geometry and kinematics that went into our World Cup racing Epic 8 platform. The steep seat tube positions the rider in the optimal pedaling position, and honed anti-squat reduces pedal-bob. Put it together and Chisel translates every watt applied to the pedals into maximum forward motion.
Balance of Power
The leverage rate and anti-squat on Chisel were designed together to give the balance of suspension performance and pedaling efficiency. As a performance benchmark, it sits between the new Epic 8 and the previous Epic EVO in terms of the overall kinematic profile. Not too race-y, not too rowdy. Just right.
