Hambo
"I did a lot of very fat people"
Try the Specialized Fastrack! I had one on the back of the Spectral and it was hilarious but precarious..
Specialized Chisel FS
- Thread starter Justin Fox
- Start date
Try the Specialized Fastrack! I had one on the back of the Spectral and it was hilarious but precarious..
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
I have a Fast Trak Flex Lite T5/T7 TLR 29x2.35 (615g) and Air Trak Flex Lite T5/T7 TLR 29x2.35, (585g) sitting here lol. Just not sure what I want to do with them! Either put them on my Starling Murmur to make it roll faster, OR, put them on my lightweight carbon 29" DT Swiss 1200 wheels (which I can put on either the Starling or the Chisel).
Hambo
"I did a lot of very fat people"
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Skinny Minnie.
WEIGHT: 11.66kg
Original Weight: 13.51kg
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Got to take 2 of my bikes out today as I introduced my cousin Adam to mountain biking. I had plans to bring the Torrent hardtail out as he had been thinking about buying a hardtail, but I woke up this morning to a Facebook message from a guy who wanted the Torrent and was willing to come and pick it up at 12pm. I decided against taking it out for one more ride just in case, so brought the Starling Murmur out to play instead.
Adam is hooked. He's got $1K to play with so the hunt is on for a duel suspension bike (probably a 2nd hand Polygon T6?). We both swapped bikes a lot today and man, nothing quite like having another bike to swap between to really identify the differences hey? The Murmur is just such a super plush and stable bike, it's amazing. The Chisel really felt a lot smaller (it is a size smaller) and more rigid. It felt older/simpler/stiffer/snappy, more involved and most of all it felt fast.
All my thoughts about the 27.5" wheelset feeling more playful, or the 29" wheelset feeling more sluggish just kinda faded away today. Just enjoying both bikes for different reasons and happy they're both so radically different to each other.
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Trickstuff Ultralight rotors.
Procraft PRC Carbon 31.8 x 760 mm 9° handlebars are insanely light at 136g.
Procraft grips feel comfortable and super light too at 19g a pair.
PRC seatpost clamp. Was a little lazy to remove the dropper to install this as it’s only 4g lighter than the OEM Specialized one, but got it done after a couple of glasses of wine.
Updates specs list:
2025 Specialized Chisel Size S
Fork: Fork: Rockshox SID Ultimate RLC with 120mm 51mm offset (1612g)
Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select+ 190x40mm (340g)
Shifter: NX Eagle shifter (112g)
Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle (300g)
Chain: GX chain (244g)
Crankset: SRAM XX1 Eagle Carbon 170mm (358g)
Chainring: Race Face 30T (63g)
BB: SRAM DUB (76g)
Pedals: HT Components ME03 Alloy (263g)
Brakes: SRAM G2 RS (260g/280g)
Brake Rotors: Trickstuff Ultralight 180/160 (119g/87g)
Rotor Adapters: Chaser 6-bolt to centrelock (8g/8g)
Rotor Lockrings: Craft Racing Works (9g/9g)
Seatpost: OneUp Dropper 120mm 30.9mm (374g)
Seatpost Clamp: Procraft PRC Carbon (11g)
Dropper Lever: OneUp (24g)
Saddle: WTB Volt Carbon (161g)
Handlebar: Procraft PRC Carbon 31.8 x 760 mm 9° (136g)
Grips: Procraft Superlite (19g)
Stem: Kalloy UNO 80mm (90g)
Spacer: God & Famous 10mm (4g)
Top Cap + Bolt (4g)
Front Wheel: DT Swiss XMC 1200 Spline, DT180 (650g)
Front Tyre: Specialized Fast Trak Flex Lite T5/T7 TLR 29×2.35 (633g)
Rear Wheel: DT Swiss XMC 1200 Spline, DT180 (835g)
Rear Tyre: Specialized Air Trak Flex Lite T5/T7 TLR 29×2.35, (617g)
Cassette: ZTTO SLR Gen3 Ultimate 10-50T XD (297g)
Valves: CushCore 44mm (20g)
Sealant: Silca Ultimate (90g)
Bottle Cage: S-Works Carbon Zee Cage II Left (24g)
Pump: OneUp EDC + OneUp inline mount (250g/27g)
WEIGHT: 11.17kg
Original Weight: 13.51kg
27.5″ Setup:
Wheelset: Roval Traverse SL Fattie, DT240 internals, 54T (1690g)
Brake Rotors: SRAM Centreline 180mm/160mm (141g/114g)
Front Tyre: 27.5 Plus 2.8 Butcher Grid Trail T7 (1100g)
Rear Tyre: 2.6 Purgatory Grid (970g)
Cassette: ZTTO SLR Gen3 Ultimate 10-50T HG (292g)
WEIGHT: 12.36kg
ibc
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Impressive weight for an alloy frame, can't really see any areas you can easily drop more weight! How does the ZTTO cassette shift? Tried one back when I had the Niner Jet 9 built up but it shifted like crap, eventually settled on a XG1195 cassette (262g) with XTR derailleur (222g) and shifter (118g w/cable). Found I didn't need the 51t with the bike only weighing 10.5kg.
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Yeah super happy with the weight to be fair! I could definitely get it down to the high 10kg's, probably 10.8kg's or so if I put on one of my weight weenie saddles, Ti bolts to replace all steel bolts, lighter fork, brakes and rear derailleur.
I've put so many ZTTO cassettes on bikes over the past few years and it's a bit hit and miss sadly. On mountain bikes it's been perfect so far with 11-Speed cassettes and 12 speed too, but on the road bikes it's been a mixed bag with shifting being AOK but definitely not as good as Dura-Ace and also quite a bit louder too.
With some ZTTO cassettes it'll shift fine in the stand, but IRL it'll shift a bit shit in some certain gears, suggesting it's not perfect in some parts of the cassette. You really need to muck around with the B-Tension screw and get the pulleys as close as possible to the cassette teeth to make these work.
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
27.5″ Conti Trinotal and Dubnital tyres came in the mail. Was really hesitant to put them on initially as the fat 2.8 and 2.6 Specialized tyres look so rad, have so much traction and felt so cushy out on the trails in comparison to the thin 29″ Specialized Fast Track and Air Track tyres, but since I had them in my hands I thought I might as well at least give them a go.
Turns out what sealant was in the tyres had turned to water and man, just like the super wide Roval CLX II front wheel on my Tarmac SL8, the tyres were near impossible to get on and off these rims. I got the front tyre on AOK, but the rear was a prick and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get the bead to sit so I put the rear Dubnital (which was even harder to get off the rim than on) on a ZEN Carbon Bike rear wheel I had in my parts bin and voila! Went on easy as.
Turns out the ZEN rear wheel is way lighter than the Roval and it’s brought the total weight down to 11.1kg’s. The Conti tyres also don’t look as anemic as I thought they would look with the front Trinotal looking quite round and chunky.
I’m happier with the bike with the smaller wheels. Excited to feel the difference in weight and rolling speed with these vs. the Butcher and Purgatory setup. Still waiting on some much needed shorter cranks to claim back some of the -18mm BB drop.
27.5" Setup:
Front Wheel: Roval Traverse SL Fattie (773g)
Front Tyre: Continental Trinotal 27.5 x 2.4 Grip Trail (702g)
Front Rotor Bolts: Deermount Titanium (7g)
Rear Wheel: ZEN Carbon Bike 27.5" (689g)
Rear Tyre: Continental Dubnital 27.5 x 2.4 Rapid Trail (647g)
Rear Rotor Adapter: Chaser 6-bolt to centrelock (8g)
Rear Rotor Lockring: Craft Racing Works (9g)
Brake Rotors: Trickstuff Ultralight 180/160 (119g/87g)
Ratchet: Goldix 60T helical ratchet (14g)
Cassette: ZTTO SLR Gen3 Ultimate 10-50T XD (297g)
Sealant: Silca Ultimate (90g)
WEIGHT: 11.12kg
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Took the bike out to Loftus today with my cousin who was on my Starling Murmur for most of the ride (his second ever MTB ride). He's hooked and has been sending me links to bikes for sale all week lol!
These tyres definitely pick up speed and roll faster than the fat Butcher/Purgatory setup but 100% they're nowhere near as cushy as the fatter tyres. IE: I can now feel every single root and rock (26" vibes!) and have to ride with my ass floating off the saddle rather than fully seated like I do on the Murmur or Amflow.
With these tyres it's now a much more radical difference between the Chisel and the Murmur. It's sketchier on stuff which is too easy on the Murmur (super fun!), and at speed on smooth flow it feels even faster, but at speed over easy rock gardens I felt like being clipped in might be worth thinking about. IE: I didn't get bucked off the pedals, but it crossed my mind a few times.
Grip in corners is great and standing up to mash up tech is great too (had to time the pedal strokes but shorter cranks will sort that). Really happy! Such a fun little bike that's involving and connected to the trail. Borderline demanding to ride, but it gives back what you put in.
These tyres definitely pick up speed and roll faster than the fat Butcher/Purgatory setup but 100% they're nowhere near as cushy as the fatter tyres. IE: I can now feel every single root and rock (26" vibes!) and have to ride with my ass floating off the saddle rather than fully seated like I do on the Murmur or Amflow.
With these tyres it's now a much more radical difference between the Chisel and the Murmur. It's sketchier on stuff which is too easy on the Murmur (super fun!), and at speed on smooth flow it feels even faster, but at speed over easy rock gardens I felt like being clipped in might be worth thinking about. IE: I didn't get bucked off the pedals, but it crossed my mind a few times.
Grip in corners is great and standing up to mash up tech is great too (had to time the pedal strokes but shorter cranks will sort that). Really happy! Such a fun little bike that's involving and connected to the trail. Borderline demanding to ride, but it gives back what you put in.
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Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Can't remove the brake pad pin (hits the frame) without removing the brake caliper. Nice work Specialized!
MTX Gold pads seem to be the most commonly recommended pads for SRAM G2 brakes. I doubt they'll make that much of a difference (the Hope brakes on my Starling are just so damn powerful) but it's worth a shot.
Also replaced steel caliper bolts with Ti bolts (Wanfiya bolts from AliExpress), seatpost bolts too. 28g saved all up so bike is now sitting at 11.10kg.
My 155mm cranks from the US were apparently delivered at 10:50PM the other night. DHL/DAI did not ring my doorbell. Email said they left it in a safe place outside of public view. I ran downstairs in the morning, and nope, not in my apartment foyer, and nope not out on the street either. I live on a very busy road so I have to assume the parcel was left outside, and stolen. Quite pissed off, but I did buy it through eBay so I expect a refund, hopefully.
Jpez
Washed up zwifter
Can confirm the MTX pads are pricey but excellent. Made my Dominions from excellent to moar excellenter. They are pricey though. Galfer pads come a close second in performance.
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Clown bike is getting silly now.
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Still the best grips I've ever tried.
Probs won't stay white for long, but... YOLO!
Asininedrivel
caviar connoisseur
36 SLs on an XC bike. Love it.
beeb
Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Definitely a bit fancier than my de-stroked Fox 36/Z1 bitza fork (It's still going strong though...
).
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Samox Platinum TM-1 Carbon Crankset.
AliExpress crank arm boots to cover up the ugly "platinum" logotype and graphical stripes.
The first set got lost in the mail, well… stolen as DHL’s final leg partner DAI left it out on the street at 11pm at night. I got a full refund from eBay though, and thought I’d try to buy them again through a different eBay store which, after some convincing, agreed to send them via FedEx for signed delivery.
Cranks are 155mm, carbon and made by a Samox. I appreciate that the graphics aren’t over the top, but to make them even more subtle I tracked down some longer crank arm boots from AliExpress and they cover up the “platinum” logotype and graphical stripes which I’m really happy about.
Went out to Loftus today for a shakedown ride and MAN! It’s such a fucking relief to be able to pedal up tech now without pedal strikes. MTX Gold pads are definitely an improvement to initial bite. The new fashion saddle is a pain the ass and I could probably raise it up a little, but apart from that the bike is now super dialled in! I love it!
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
Man SLIK Graphics makes it SO easy hey? Legit you can choose the EXACT same coloiur your bike is via their pulldown menus. In this case, Specialized ION to match my Chisel.
Justin Fox
pedal porn peddler
All this rain has got me going bat shit crazy, but the sun was up so I just had to ride. I went out to Loftus to see how the Chisel would go on Holy Trail. Sadly the trail was pretty damn wet, rocks and roots were slippery AF on these XC tyres and one part of it was 1ft deep. Confidence to do some of the more rocky techy stuff kinda went out the window, but happy to have cleared at least some of the janky features on this trail.
By the end of the ride I was just so happy with the bike.
My cousin who's new to mountain biking and just bought a second hand Polygon Siskiu T8 came along so it was awesome to swap bikes throughout the day. He commented that my Chisel felt like riding a road bike haha, and yeah for sure his Polygon felt much more planted and confidence inspiring, mainly because of the higher and wider bars + slacker front end, but the Chisel feels so much lighter, it climbs SO good and accelerates so much faster. Over the janky tech stuff I can actually control, lift and push the bike around so much more, something that I don't even bother to do on my Amflow e-MTB or Starling Murmur (which is more a case of just commit and plough over shit).
I did get hung up on a rooty section where the front wheel got caught up and shot the rear wheel up in the air. Wouldn't have happened on a 29er or mullet setup, but that was just one bit of the trail so I think I'll stick with the smaller wheels front and back.
It's a confused build for sure. If I put the fat plus sized tyres back on it would have been way better on Holy Trail, but I didn't build the bike for trails like this! That said, it's a capable bike and clearing some of the more janky features on it felt so much more rewarding than clearing them on the Amflow.
I think overall the bike has well and truly done what I hoped it would do; and that's to forever replace a hardtail.