AWESOME BIKE and so happy I bought this vs Trek's Procaliber....I am a roadie that is getting back into the mtb scene. Old bike was a trek 8500 hard tail 26er and been looking to upgrade for months. I live in SoCal and trails don't a lot of huge tree roots but do have rocks. My old 26er trek was great but had some issues in technical climbs as the wheels just did not like to roll over large rocks and I had to de-cleat few time on step climbs. But this new Chisel took it on so easily and I thought it was just me on the cardio but it was not. The stiffness with compliance of this bike along with the 29er wheels really makes this bike ""stick"" when you are in your saddle, even out of the saddle there was good traction. But in saddle, man you can get up some pretty steep hills old 26ers just cannot. Also, in very sharp climbing cornering maneuvers I started to prepare to de-cleat thinking ""man this XL sized machine is never going to make this tight turn"" but to my surprise it just power thru with no front wheel skid out or traction lost. I really believe this bike makes me such a better technical single track climber. I just need to work on the short burst of cardio needed for hard short mtb climbs vs the easily paced long road climbs.

Super light. Climbs super well. Super solid drivetrain. No real complaints. I only wish it had a little higher gears for the roads but I guess thats what a road bike is for.

This review is for the 2020 Chisel Expert NX groupset. This is my 4th Specialized bike (Epic, Stumpjumper,Crux) and I absolutely love the Chisel. I love how the bike handles. It seems the geometry is spot on. The bike climbs like a goat and really doesn't ride ""harsh"" like I thought it might due to being aluminum. I've used this bike on 100+ mile gravel grinders by putting on a 34 tooth chainring and 38mm gravel tires on the stock wheels. Comfortable and fast. I bought a spare wheelset to use primarily for singletrack, also. This bike is extremely versatile and I plan on using it for bikepacking as well. The paint finish on myb Chisel is incredibly sharp. Mine is the Storm Gray/Rocket Red. It's so nice I ended up buying 3M clear wrap to protect it. My bike weighed 24# with stock wheels,tires and SPD pedals. NX group

Absolutely a Great Bike I Just Bought This Bike 3 Weeks Ago An it's A Awesome Bike Both On Road and Off Road The SRAM NX Eagle does the Job Of Shifting the Bike Perfectly and the Brakes are Extremely fast If You Want To Start Going into High School and Middle School Mountian Bike Racing Especially is you're wanting to Go yon NICA this Bike would Be just like a S-works Epic overall this Bike Is Extremely Fast and I Highly recommend you getting this Bike

Just a super awesome hardtail for someone looking to re-discover a simpler rig for trail riding. The best thing about it? You can use it for a lot of different things - from rough road commuting, buff trail riding, bike-packing, or just cruising around, it will probably get more use than any bike in my garage. Oh, I wouldn't hesitate to throw it into a race also. Great handling bike, comfortable, easy to toss around and over obstacles...fun, fun, fun! Good component spec (I'm on a 2018), nothing missing here but do set the wheels up tubeless.

WOW. I'm in shock at how smooth this aluminium frame rides. I was worried that it would trash me...wrong, it's really comfortable. My old Ti frame was not this smooth. It flies up and down trails with ease and is super comfortable. I am totally satisfied with this ""budget"" rig. If I didn't know the price I'd guess 3-3.5K, at 2K it's a steal. The only thing slowing it down is the extra 20lbs I'm carrying around my waist!

After several years of riding XC full-suspension bikes, I felt it was time to add an inexpensive hardtail to the stable. After looking at several carbon options in the $2000-$2500 range, I decided on the aluminum chisel. Not only did it weigh less than many carbon hardtails, the geometry was a bit more progressive. After a couple of months on the 2019 Chisel Expert (in black), I'll have to say this bike punches well above its class. I upgraded the NX Eagle cassette to GX Eagle and tossed on a set of 1500g 30mm wide carbon wheels, and this baby rips apart any trail while weighing under 22 lbs. The slacker head angle makes the downhills a blast, yet it climbs like its on rails. I haven't been this happy with a bike since my 2005 Epic Marathon way back in the day. Thanks Specialized for a killer bike at an affordable price! I will have no reservations racing this bike all over the place!