The Chisel EVO is yet another great-value XC bike from Specialized
The Chisel FS gets the Evo treatment with a burlier fork and chunkier tyres.
More News
It starts at £2k and the SmartWeld tech makes it 18% lighter than competing bikes.
The XC racer with trail flavour
We catch a new Spesh EVO in the wild and can't resist a photoshoot
Turning night into day as winter approaches
With geometry that closely shadows that of the Specialized Epic 8, the Chisel FS delivers cross-country climbing efficiency with the promise of a very rewarding singletrack descending experience, especially in the Comp EVO build kit.
- Bike check: Chris Blevins' and Matt Beers' Specialized S-Work Epic Evos
- Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper 15 first-ride review
- 2023 Specialized S-Works Levo SL Gen II first ride review
Specialized product planners have created a very convincing down-country configuration with the Chisel Comp EVO, over-forking it by 10mm and adding tyres that offer much more mechanical grip in corners.
2024 specialized chisel fs evo front.jpg, by Liam Mercer
The Chisel Comp EVO retains the same 110mm rear-suspension travel, like other Chisel FS frames, but it gains a 130mm Fox 34 Performance Elite fork up-front. Specialized Purgatory 29 x 2.4in tyre, featuring the GRID Casing and grippy T9 Compound, allow Comp Evo riders to really lean into that additional fork travel to fully exploit it on the trails, with a front tyre that is slightly larger volume, with a much more aggrieve tread pattern.
Rear-suspension travel might be unchanged between the standard Chisel FS and the Comp EVO version, but the fork specification does feature an upgrade. A ride dynamics-tuned Fox FLOAT performance shock replaces the standard Chisel FS’s X-Fusion PRO-02.
Complimenting the rear-suspension upgrade is a more trail-orientated tyre choice, too, with the Comp EVO upgrading from the standard Chisel’s Fast Trak to a Specialized Ground Control, in GRID casing with the T7 Compound.
2024 specialized chisel fs evo 3q top.jpg, by Liam Mercer
Continuing the downcountry-focused built kit, Comp EVO also features more powerful
brakes than the standard Chisel FS, which uses two-piston calipers and a 180/160mm front and rear brake rotor sizing. Comp EVO enhances rider control and stopping power with SRAM G2 RS four-piston brakes, actuating 180mm rotors at both wheels.
The mountain bike industry, from advanced cross country to enduro and downhill bikes, has broadly standardised around 30mm internal diameter rims to retain great tyre shape and casing dynamics, at lower pressures.
Specialized Chisel FS runs 27mm internal diameter rims to save a smidge of rotational
mass. To enhance the Comp EVO descending experience, Specialized with wider 30mm internal diameter rims, allowing riders to benefit from the extra grip of running lower tyre pressures, on a wider rim, optimizing the contact patch of their tyres.
2024 specialized chisel fs evo side.jpg, by Liam Mercer
There are a range of TranzX dropper post lengths, from 100mm-170mm depending on frame size, to ensure riders get in the most comfortable and confident position, during descents.
The Chisel Comp EVO is priced at £3,000 and offers nearly Specialized Epic 8 geometry,
with a built kit ready for rewarding singletrack trail rides. And logging lots of miles to and from the trailhead, too. With all the affordability and durability of an aluminium frame, and crucially, all at a sub-30lb weight, with the Comp EVO coming in at a claimed 13.53kg.
You might also like:
Author block
