So I'm currently very tempted by a Specialised Chisel. Quite like the colours on the frame only option. Which are 1.4k. Could I get a ok bike for 3k, if I bought 1.6k of bits and built it myself. Or would the regular Chisel at 2k be a much better option? I do quite like the Red one and a local shop has them in stock.
I already have an Atherton S.170, so I'm really looking for something that's quite a long way from that. So don't really want a trail bike. More of an actual XC bike. Probably prefer FS. But could be tempted by a hardtail again. It'll mostly get ridden across actual mountains and a fair bit of FoD/Afran/Cwmcarn trails.
Would also take suggestions for other XC bikes (downcountry?) for about 2k.
edit - posted wayy before I was ready
That posted wayyyy before I was ready!
What the first post should say:
So I'm currently very tempted by a Specialised Chisel. Quite like the colours on the frame only option. Which are 1.4k. Could I get a ok bike for 3k, if I bought 1.6k of bits and built it myself. Or would the regular Chisel at 2k be a much better option? I do quite like the Red one and a local shop has them in stock.
I already have an Atherton S.170, so I'm really looking for something that's quite a long way from that. So don't really want a trail bike. More of an actual XC bike. Probably prefer FS. But could be tempted by a hardtail again. It'll mostly get ridden across actual mountains and a fair bit of FoD/Afran/Cwmcarn trails.
Would also take suggestions for other XC bikes (downcountry?) for about 2k.
edit - posted wayy before I was ready
Xc bikes are awesome fun. I snagged one of the vitus fs xc bike in the crc firesale and it gets ridden more than any other bike now.
It is good as it shows up any crap skills (of which I have many) that would be hidden a bit by a bigger travel bike.
Has been a laugh and I would def get another one
Warning rigid bikes. Not quite what you asked but have you considered a frame/fork from Stooge. Website and facebook page.
Warning rigid bikes. Not quite what you asked but have you considered a frame/fork from Stooge. Website and facebook page.
I like them, nice looking bikes. I'm definitely tempted. But I've always wanted a cotic and I think I'll eventually get a Escapade or a Cascade. Which will will that niche I think.
Could I get a ok bike for 3k, if I bought 1.6k of bits and built it myself. Or would the regular Chisel at 2k be a much better option? I do quite like the Red one and a local shop has them in stock.
As an owner of a Chisel Comp HT (Bought as a complete bike at about half price!)...
The complete bike is a chunky beast. I think at half price it's actually a decent buy but at full price it'd be quite poor VfM. The stuff on it is heavy. It's all very functional, it rides nicely. But it's SRAM NX, Judy forks and no-name wheels. It's not light!
Which is a real shame because I know the frame builds up into a real XC race machine - pop some SIDs, a SRAM XX (or Shimano XT) drivetrain and some race-ready wheels on there and it'd be brilliant. Spendy, but brilliant.
On the other hand, if (like me) you'll never again trouble the pointy end of an XC race and you're just fast trail riding then the complete bike is pretty good if you can find it on sale.
Could I get a ok bike for 3k, if I bought 1.6k of bits and built it myself. Or would the regular Chisel at 2k be a much better option? I do quite like the Red one and a local shop has them in stock.
As an owner of a Chisel Comp HT (Bought as a complete bike at about half price!)...
The complete bike is a chunky beast. I think at half price it's actually a decent buy but at full price it'd be quite poor VfM. The stuff on it is heavy. It's all very functional, it rides nicely. But it's SRAM NX, Judy forks and no-name wheels. It's not light!
Which is a real shame because I know the frame builds up into a real XC race machine - pop some SIDs, a SRAM XX (or Shimano XT) drivetrain and some race-ready wheels on there and it'd be brilliant. Spendy, but brilliant.
On the other hand, if (like me) you'll never again trouble the pointy end of an XC race and you're just fast trail riding then the complete bike is pretty good if you can find it on sale.
My vague plan is to pick on the biggest wins in terms of weight, so probably wheels or forks I guess and upgrade them with some sensible second hand stuff to drop a couple of kgs. Tho tbh if I'm honest the biggest place I could loose some weight would be on my lardy arse. Yeah, I'm aware that the cheapo one is pretty heavy, but it's still quite a bit lighter than my Athy. I'm not expecting miracles for 2k.
If you go the frame option, Merlin cycles are doing full xt group set with brakes for 400 quid, some of the cannondale carbon wheels for 500 (the rear will need a re-dish) chuck on a fox 34, nothing fancy, you don’t need loads of adjustments on short travel, ascend dropper and carbon bar and you’d have a proper fast fun bike
If you go the frame option, Merlin cycles are doing full xt group set with brakes for 400 quid, some of the cannondale carbon wheels for 500 (the rear will need a re-dish) chuck on a fox 34, nothing fancy, you don’t need loads of adjustments on short travel, ascend dropper and carbon bar and you’d have a proper fast fun bike
it’s what I’d do too, although I’d suggest the <1500g Ghost C26 29er carbon wheels at £300 on sportandleisure over the Cannondales.
I'd build one myself if I were you. Think my Spur cost around £3.5k (based on a £2k frame) and was built with XT, SID Ultimate, top end Schwalbe tyres and other decent parts. From memory I already had the dropper, bar and stem + the DT wheels were second hand. Don't think the Hope brakes were included in the original build cost, just some Deore?
Our buy one of those 50% off Merlin Santa Cruz Blurs.
I was thinking of a Stooge last year, but I'd sold anything I need to build it.
I picked up a Chisel FS Comp for a third off & I'm blown away with how capable it is.
Absolutely nothing on it needed changing off the floor.
The tyres are perfect for the job. Some lighter wheels & drivetrain wouldn't go astray down the track, but no hurry.
Which is a real shame because I know the frame builds up into a real XC race machine - pop some SIDs, a SRAM XX (or Shimano XT) drivetrain and some race-ready wheels on there and it'd be brilliant. Spendy, but brilliant.
You don't even really need to go that far. A set of 100mm Rebas is within 100g of a SID SL and significantly cheaper (£150 for new take off). Deore level drive chain is only marginally heavier than XT. The stock seat post, bars and cranks are heavy, stem is fairly light. Wheels are weird, hubs have their own gravity well but rims are almost the same weight as DT XR391's, the stock rims onto 350 hubs with sapim d-lite spokes gets under 1600g wheelset. I've posted it up before but daughters Chisel is <11kg with deore/slx mix, rebas, wheels as above with Barzos, pedals and a 150mm dropper! Total spend well under 1k (started with used bike). If you wanting a customer build there are loads of medium and above hardtail and full sus bikes for sale at significantly reduced prices in good condition.
Ok, feels like I'm buying a frame and building a bike. Never done that before, so that's exciting.
The Chisel M is up to 178cms and the L is from 178cms to 185cms. I am 178cms. So which size to buy? Normally I'd probably go for the smaller, but with modern geo, I think the wisdom is go large right?
Compare the geometry charts against what you currently ride? That's what I'd do.
As above, compare the geo but im also 178cm and definitely a size Large for Chisel FS, I've tested both sizes.
Personally I always go bigger on the xc end of the spectrum as it’s for more fast flowy stuff as opposed to steep low speed tech. For reference I’m 188cm tall, xc bike reach is 515mm enduro bike is 480mm
Pauls Cycles have the BMC Fourstroke with 60% off, youd be bonkers not to bag one
I always prefer building over buying a complete bike.
Check EliteWheels on AliExpress for carbon wheels. They're very well reviewed on the Chinertown forums and MTBR. A good set will be under £400. My mate just got some of their gravel wheels and he loves them, says the hubs in particular are amazing.
As above, compare the geo but im also 178cm and definitely a size Large for Chisel FS, I've tested both sizes.
My current enduro sled (Atherton S170), is similar geo to the Large chisel. Well the reach is the same, the Athy is a lot slacker. But other than that I reckon you're spot on there. Large it is. Now to find a large frame in pink, which seems to have sold out annoyingly.
@inky_squid https://www.cyclesuk.com/shop/bikes/sub/mountain/2025-specialized-chisel-frame-144858/option/
Slowly getting there with some kind of spec. Broadly don't know what I'm doing, so it's taken a while to put together. Feel free to suggest what I've got wrong. Managed to find a second hand frame, which is great.
As suggested going with the Ghost 29 wheels. These are (I hope) 110 and 148 boost wheels. On the front I'm looking at a Fox 34 Float Performance Elite GRIP2, which is 15x110 boost. Nearly £400, but they're 1770g so I'm happy with paying a bit extra. I think a 'tapered' fork is the right thing for the Chisel frame?
I did dither a bit over the SIDs, but figure I as I'm not exactly dainty (90kgs) a more 'trail' fork would be better. Tho my riding could best be described as 'wimpy' and 'slow', so I probably don't need to worry about breaking the forks...
That XT groupset has sold out sadly. But there is a SRAM NX Eagle Dub set. Which at 250 seems ok and around 2000g. BB is 73mm BSA, so to go with the SRAM stuff, that's a SRAM Dub BB. Banana industries are selling the very cheap SRAM DB8, probably not going to be ideal, but I eventually want hopes, so don't mind lumping cheap brakes for a few months.
The rest is broadly as suggested. Think I've got the spec for the dropper sorted out. The Chisel manual is pretty useful there. Going for the Ascend one as everyone has said.
Really no idea about bars and the like. So gone kinda middle of the road with a DMR bar with a 35mm rise. £50 and 335g. I could get lighter, but I think that's ok. Spesh recommend a 70mm stem. 16 year old me really loved hope (still do tbh), so I'm getting the Hope 70mm stem. Same with the headset, it'll be a hope something (once I can figure that out!)
Pedals and saddles are all sorted. I actually have some spare DMRs, so that's a small saving.
No idea about tyres, so picked Schwalbe Racing Rays out of a list, £110 and 1400g. Seems ok. Suggestions welcomed.
Think I've probably got most of the tools I need. Allen keys, chain tools and a decent selection of spanners.
All comes out at 1500 and around 12kgs. Probably missed something in all that, but I think the weight will be fairly accurate.
Questions:
Hope headset - Spesh say the upper and lower cups are Zero Stack Press fit. With 44mm and 55.99mm respectively. Any idea what that translates to? I think it is top ZS44/28.6 and bottom ZS56/40. Also am I going to need a fancy tool to fit this?
Upthread people were talking about re-dishing the wheels. Can I do this myself? I'm reasonably handy, but would I be better off getting the local bike mechanic to do this?
Feel free to make any more suggestions/catch my total imcompatible purchases. Otherwise I'm going to sleep on it and the splurge tomorrow!
The Ghost wheels won't need re-dished, that was the Cannondale offerings.
The NX cassette won't work with the wheels either, they don't have
Unless you have particular components in mind I’d seek out a full bike. Easy, ‘cheaper’, and you’re not fully to blame for some of the economic but OK components it’ll have.
I sought a new hardtail after getting an A150 and feeling that my ~10 year old Orange crush was too small and felt too weird and twitchy by comparison. Plus, small (27.5”) wheels and ‘skinny’ tyres.
I fancied a Cotic BFe but bike or frame + own build ended up about £3700. Spec-wise I’d have built it up much the same as my A150 - Renthal, RockShox, SRAM GX, Hayes … Figured I was overthinking and overindulging when in most cases I’ll ride the Atherton and went lower in spec and shorter in travel and am thinking of a Whyte Secta in shiny red.
I can see the appeal of a shorter travel FS as an alternative to an S170 for some riding. Chisel sounds good. Scott Spark? Trek Procalibre (maybe too pricey)?
Edit, reread the entire thread. You’re building a Chisel up. Cool. Enjoy choosing the bits and putting it together!
If you are buying new the frameset might come with a headset. Yes is a ZS44/ZS56. You will need a press to fit it properly as both top and bottom have inserts. You can bodge but it's not a great idea. You can get cheap tools however for a one off just get a shop to do it.
The ascend posts work fine but they are heavier than others. My preference there would be a oneup but they are more expensive.
As you've gone the the ghost wheels you need a microspline cassette as that is the only freehub available. I would go for a Shimano drive chain because of this.
SLX 10-51 cassette £59.99 from Merlin.
SLX shifter band on £15 sport and leisure
Deore rear mech £25 (sport and leisure)
XT 175mm 52mm chain line cranks £30! (Sport and leisure). 52mm version is fine on a chisel and gives a better chain line.
Shimano direct mount ring of your choice as crank above is arms only. Just need a Shimano chain and brakes of your choice.
I love my Cannondale Scalpel HT 3, it is so much fun.
I bought it second hand though. However, they can be bought reduced online.
The only thing you'd need to budget for is a dropper post, and with it being 27.2mm, they're not the cheapest to get a decent one with a decent drop.
I did dither a bit over the SIDs, but figure I as I'm not exactly dainty (90kgs) a more 'trail' fork would be better. Tho my riding could best be described as 'wimpy' and 'slow', so I probably don't need to worry about breaking the forks...
I was 90kg's-ish when I got a Chisel with SID and its been fine and I like hard charging
If you are buying new the frameset might come with a headset. Yes is a ZS44/ZS56. You will need a press to fit it properly as both top and bottom have inserts. You can bodge but it's not a great idea. You can get cheap tools however for a one off just get a shop to do it.
The ascend posts work fine but they are heavier than others. My preference there would be a oneup but they are more expensive.
As you've gone the the ghost wheels you need a microspline cassette as that is the only freehub available. I would go for a Shimano drive chain because of this.
SLX 10-51 cassette £59.99 from Merlin.
SLX shifter band on £15 sport and leisure
Deore rear mech £25 (sport and leisure)
XT 175mm 52mm chain line cranks £30! (Sport and leisure). 52mm version is fine on a chisel and gives a better chain line.
Shimano direct mount ring of your choice as crank above is arms only. Just need a Shimano chain and brakes of your choice.
You're an absolute star!
I had found this on ebay:
Which looks like an ok deal, but I'll go for your suggested and much cheaper SLX/XT mix. Thanks!
No problem.
I'd stay away from the ebay deal. That's from china and while it might be ok it might also not be (fake, seconds etc).
For the chainring you will need a special tool (Tl-FC41) to mount it. Just get a cheap one (though bikeparts.co.uk do have the official one cheap). You can fit deore, slx or xt rings to that cranks, the difference is just weight. Or your choice of aftermarket ring.
Don't forget the bcr10 code for sports and leisure for even cheaper!
The Ghost wheels won't need re-dished, that was the Cannondale offerings.
The NX cassette won't work with the wheels either, they don't have
You're a legend! Great spot about the shimano microsplines, I'm now switching to Shimano bits. Didn't want that smelly SRAM stuff anyways 😉
You can get carbon bars for around £60 so that's what I'd be going for. Something like this
I usually fit my own headsets with a tool I made but didn't fancy it with my carbon Spur so got a local shop to supply and fit a Hope one. They charged very little for the fitting IMO and it was well worth it.
I went for a Nobby Nic / Racing Ralph combo on my XC build and they're just the job. Can be had slightly cheaper than your option from Merlin too in the decent compounds.
I fitted SID's to my bike. I'm heavier than you and they are plenty good enough.
Oh, and I think my mate still has some SRAM G2 RSC brakes with rotors for sale, one ride old. They'll be cheap!
A 35mm carbon fatbar is overkill for this application. Look for something 31.8 or something more forgiving (e.g. one up carbon even though its 35mm).
Assuming you can still buy it the bird headset (for their alloy frames) is a great option and much cheaper than hope for the same function.
Good choice on the fork I'd say, I have a 34 Performance Elite and a SID Select. The SID is very good but if the 34 was the same price (or a decent bit cheaper in this case!) I'd definitely go with that.
As mentioned the frame might well come with a headset, worth finding out before splashing out on one? Although if it doesn't it obviously stops you finishing the bike so maybe worth the risk.
I buy complete and build my own.
Quite often the cheapest way to get a good frame is a on a low spec build of the best (or better) frame. And if you can bear to be seen on last years colours, do that too.
Regularly end up with a lighter, cheaper, better equipped bike than the brands top offering on that particular spec frame. Not only is it generally better equipped on paper, it's kit I like/get on with/have tools to service as well.
Means i fairly regularly have to stick SRAM stuff on the local equivalent on eBay though.
Good choice on the fork I'd say, I have a 34 Performance Elite and a SID Select. The SID is very good but if the 34 was the same price (or a decent bit cheaper in this case!) I'd definitely go with that.
As mentioned the frame might well come with a headset, worth finding out before splashing out on one? Although if it doesn't it obviously stops you finishing the bike so maybe worth the risk.
Good shout. I just checked and it does indeed come with a headset, along with rear axle, hanger, seatpost, stem and bars. So that's saving me at least 100 or more considering I was going for the s****y hope stuff.
However now I'm saving a bit, I'm tempted to go for the SID that I found for 700.
not sure why you wouldnt by that bmc for 2 grand.....
Is it a SID Ultimate? I'd like to try one, but I'm not sure I'd pay nearly double the cost of a Fox 34 PE.
Having said that I don't think I've ever regretted going overboard cost-wise to get a good fork, and would always prioritise that over most other things.
not sure why you wouldnt by that bmc for 2 grand.....
I like the pink. Never owned a Spesh before and that appeals as well.
merlin have stepcast 34s for just shy of 400 quid. https://www.merlincycles.com/fox-34-float-performance-sc-grip-boost-mtb-forks-29-336494.html
i would defo look for a good price on an XT shifter rather than that suggested above - greater functionality.
personally i'd go XT for mech and cassette too for the weight saving, but appreciate that may not be an option.
slx cranks inc. chainring: https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-m7100-crankset-with-chainring-12-speed-180723.html
chain? cables?
i'd think about that stem. you're on the lower end of the sizing for the frame. maybe try a cheapy 50mm or something and see how you go? easy upgrade later.
merlin have stepcast 34s for just shy of 400 quid. https://www.merlincycles.com/fox-34-float-performance-sc-grip-boost-mtb-forks-29-336494.html
i would defo look for a good price on an XT shifter rather than that suggested above - greater functionality.
personally i'd go XT for mech and cassette too for the weight saving, but appreciate that may not be an option.
slx cranks inc. chainring: https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-m7100-crankset-with-chainring-12-speed-180723.html
chain? cables?
i'd think about that stem. you're on the lower end of the sizing for the frame. maybe try a cheapy 50mm or something and see how you go? easy upgrade later.
Yup, those are the ones that I found and I'm going with them. I like the fork and the crankset looks good as well. Don't want to go nuts on the groupset for now, it'll get upgraded soon enough I'm quite sure.
Yeah that slx crank is a better option than the xt I posted, and also 170mm available.
Only reason for an xt shifter is dual release, otherwise even deore is plenty good enough.
For the price difference xt Vs slx cassette weight saving is negligible. Same for the mech. You could save more weight for similar extra spend on lighter stepcast forks, a lighter bar or lighter dropper.
If looking at stepcast forks MTB classic parts in Germany have great prices. Yes there is tax to pay but the set I bought were cheaper than Merlin.
I’d make sure it’s a 170mm or shorter set of cranks personally. Almost no weight difference at all between slx and XT cranks. Deore is heavy though. The slx chainring is fairly heavy vs better ones but it’s cheap and does the job.
I’ve found the XT shifter is much nicer than slx ones. Lighter action / nicer feeling levers and you can shift up a couple of gears at a time which you can’t with the slx. Not much price difference.
Would avoid a cheap chain - they just rust easily.
what did you buy and how much did it work out to in the end Nixie?
2024 FOX 34 Float SC Performance Elite 29" 120mm 44mm FIT4 3-Pos Remote. £319 shipped. I think tax was £80. So basically the same as Merlin but newer model year and 'better' damper. They had a 10% code at that time, currently there is a 15% and I've twice seen 20% since ordering in July. They also have a 26 34 SL model (new wider lowers) for around £100 more (if ordering now I'd get these).