AMEN to all of this 🤘🏻

Cheers mate

@@01riccard yeah I’ve switched to Fidlock on pretty much everything now for that exact reason.

Sorry not sorry Paul 😂 Hopefully see you out on it locally

I got the same set up on my BMC two stroke, how much did you get your bike down to? Weight wise.

There’s nothing super techy, so those tires would be fine if you’re steady on the obvious rocky bits. The lower the gearing the better though as there are some long steep hills.

Not ridden the Canyon, but I do love my Chisel. I've so far upgraded to some lighter wheels and it flies!

Exceed is a great bike but it’s pretty stiff. On One whippet and Sonder Dial are really good for that sort of money but the Chisel is really special

The Giant Xtc SLR also sits around this price. Is the Giant quite similar in nature to the Canyon Exceed (i.e. stiff) or the more compliment Chisel? Thanks, Rob

I’d probably stick with a basic SID or Fox 32. The frame is so fluid it’s not going to make much use of anything heavier. The skinnier forks do a great job of adding some extra fatigue reduction while flex. I wouldn’t bother going expensive on the damper either as the nuances of finer control will be lost once you’re loaded. Plus most of the fancy XC forks have downsized dampers to save weight when you want more oil for long term reliability

Buy one. I bought the frame, same as Guys ( but red) before I saw his videos, 21 model, hope wheels n hubs, Judy gold forks and XT group set....11.5kg, but climbs and rolls so easily, totally impressed. Done several off road sportives including HONC dropped curly bar groadies on steep rough ground ascents and down hills with ease. Obviously not on the flat road sections. Would like to get a Kg of weight off to do Dirty Reiver , perhaps SID fork ? Otherwise doesnt need to be über light r to tackle most stuff, and to be honest having the ali wheels and heavier forks gives it that robust security on rocky descents / bloody potholes!. Get one you wont regret it.

Yeah, you live and learn eh 🤣

Why not go tubeless, the Chisel is set up for it?

@@robhines4537 still should take a tube

Thanks Adam, I'd love to be able to help but unfortunately I've not ridden the most recent Epic HT. All I know is it's about a kilo lighter in the frame so I'd have loved to switch the kit across from the Chisel to see if I could have gone sub 8kg but in terms of ride feel I'd just be guessing. Sorry.

@@GuyKesTV thanks for the message back on this. Yeah that would be a great comparison for sure. I had a Ripmo AF and normally ride much lighter 120mm carbon bikes and was surprised how little different the aluminum weight made. I also had a sworks M5 aluminum hard tail in the mid 2000s and that road beautifully. I wonder I Specialize will do a geometry update to the Epic HT soon... Feels like it may be coming

@@adamcoppock5018 M5? Now that was a peach. We used to sell the original M2 in the shop I worked in during uni and we used to sneak them out for a test ride whenever possible 🤣

@@GuyKesTV Thats awesome, yeah such a great bike. I still have it on my wall of glory! 🤣 I wish there was more of the 2021 LTD available of the Chisels, they look sweet. Do you think they will do any more LTD colors?

Yep, it outrides every Ti frame I’ve ridden, even the ones that felt lovely until they tore apart. I’m struggling to think of a comparable 853 bike outside custom builds too as most are ‘trail geometry’ which tends to also mean larger gauge tubes and a more solid ride. If you’re already on a dream build Chisel I genuinely can’t think of a way to scratch that shopping itch without potentially going backwards 🤷‍♂️

@@GuyKesTV thanks so much - that's great information. I am super happy with my bike and will stick with it ( and save money!) based on what you say. Especially given that a really nice Ti frame would cost me almost $4000 (Australian). cheers

@@GuyKesTV one more quickie - how does the chisel compare to the Sc highball you previously tested?

@@stanrobert7755 Chisel is obviously a lot cheaper and about 700g heavier but actually a very similar ride feel from memory. HB is probably a little less fluid up front but both have noticeably smooth rear wheel / in saddle experiences

Chisel is way smoother for long days out

Awesome thank you

Yes it’s the SL and those are 2.35 but they’re pretty wide at 63mm. That’s the official limit for the forks is 2.35in but most 2.4s are fine as they’re undersized.

@@GuyKesTV thanks for taking the time to reply. Long believed what you said recently on bespoken word that xc / hardtail is more suited to majority of Uk gravel😂. Most of gravel is not about speed but adventure so why not do it in comfort

Hi Claire, I used Specialized Renegade S-Works but I’d have been better off with Specialized Fastrak Control. They actually feel quicker but they’ve got more grip and the Control carcass gives more rock protection. Plus Specialized tyres are excellent value ATMO

It's been a long time since I've seen a frame fail just through riding rather than crashing apart from titanium ones. Steel used to be bad too but they've got a lot tougher since the CEN standards were bought in. I've certainly not heard any stories of Chisels failing and the bike still rode as well as it did when my friend Graham bought it as it did when brand new. I'll obviously update if Graham does have an issue but I'd be surprised as most frame failures happen early as they're due to manufacturing defects not fatigue.

@GuyKesTV thank you so much for replying. I completely agree with you. Frames are not like the old large tube aluminum Cannondales of the late 80s. All these people are writing articles like they are experts in metallurgy. I still have not seen anyone race on Titanium, but I have seen them race on Aluminum. I never see these guys complain about its aluminum frame, and it's not as good as carbon or it's so uncomfortable. The Chisel is ungodly fast, stiff where it should be but comfortable for your rear end. The technology and time they put in this frame are very obvious but may not know because their eyes only focus on carbon. Has carbon failed? Oh, very much, yes! Is it weak? Maybe we need to address that elephant in the room. I say yes. Is it impact resistant? Absolutely not! That top tube has folded up on itself many times. It might be light and stiff but durable? Engineered for obsolescence? Maybe. But metal in manufacturing has become so amazingly good. No metal is like it used to be 20 years ago, and to judge metal, like is at the same standards is just disinformation. It's not just what metal it is, but how they work with it and keeping its metallurgical properties or even changing them for the better. I think no one writes on this subject for fear of hurting the carbon frame market. Sorry for the typos, but I wrote all this with my fat thumbs. Thanks for your replies.

I’ve just stuck a rigid fork on this bike and so far I’m not convinced. It’s 500g lighter than with the SID but I have to really back off in technical situations. Maybe I’m just too clumsy though 🤷‍♂️

Specialized gifted me the frame as a long term test rig just to see what I’d do with it, but they only had an XL left. Hence the super short stem/bar combo. Handling is definitely ‘lively’ at times 🤣

@@GuyKesTV ah...I see....thanks for the reply. Was interested to sell my trail bike for a chisel....I'm 6"1. It's I interesting as the size chart puts me in an XL but when I do the measuring guide and measure my shin size it then refers me to the large, I've never come across this method of fitting before

Im really keen to ride an Alma as I’ve heard they’re great but the Chisel is way more silky than any other carbon frames I’ve ridden.

No but I’m a massive fan of the Transmitter

34. It’ll take a 38 but TBH I rarely spin out the current one and it was welcome on the climbs

Thanks Guy, I have a Chisel and live in flat East Anglia, I think I’ll change to 34t. Fantastic channel btw.

Sorry you are right it is 68. I’ve always presumed it was still 69 as TBH with the lack of stem it feels more like a 71 😬

Scalpel is a beaut, you could go proper light on that.

It’ll be lighter in the smaller sizes but pretty sure that’s what it was on the scales. It was about three years ago though so I should probably check my notes

34

Crud XL fender. Just fix on with o rings 👍🏻

Hopefully, be great if Calibre returned to form

@@GuyKesTV it sure would,the line 10 was awesome,my brother had one and my grandaughter has a triple b pro.