Often times carbon gets all of the attention but as our Senior Advanced R&D Engineer Chuck Teixeira says " If you havent ridden an aluminium bike lately you havent ridden an aluminium bike." & with its DAluisio Smartweld frame the Chisel Expert with one-by gearing is no exception. Traditional welding methods create frame joints by connecting tubes to cylinders leaving the performance & security of the connection up to the skill of the welder. DAluisio (DSW) however allows us to move the joint away from the area of the highest stress making for a lighter frameset thats stiff compliant & incredibly strongthe optimal characteristics of a hardtail XC rig. So what does this mean for you? Youll be powering up climbs shredding singletrack & everything in between on a bike that has you questioning why alloy as gotten such a bad rap. And to further improve this feel the Chisel also features our XC 29 geometry which took our previous XC race geo & added some trail DNA to the mix. This equates to a longer top tube a shortened head tube & a slacked out front end the result of which is a tremendous increase in downhill stability plus a wider range of fit. & just as importantly this doesnt require any sacrifice of climbing proficiency. The build on this Chisel features a mix of SRAM GX & NX one-by components for efficient shifts & added protection against dropping the chain. Youll also find powerful SRAM Level TL hydraulic disc brakes a dependable Rock Shox Reba RL fork with up to 100mm of travel (size-specific) & 25-millimeter-wide alloy wheels that are optimized for weight & traction. Given its lightweight & ultra-stiff characteristics M5 aluminium was the natural choice for the frames construction. & when complemented with our speed-focused XC 29 Geometry DAluisio Smartweld technology & internal cable routing you get a bike that compromises nothing in delivering explosive speed confident handling & hassle-free maintenance. A custom Rock Shox Reba RL 29 fork offers up 90/100mm of smooth travel (size-specific) while an easily accessible compression & rebound adjusts permit you to customize the feel according to the terrain at h&. SRAM GX handles one-by shifting duties practically eliminating dropped chains & reducing overall bike weight.FRAMESpecialized DAluisio Smartweld M5 Alloy XC Geometry internal cable routing BSA BB 12x 148mm rear end triangulated post-mount 160mm brake FORKRock Shox Reba RL 29 Solo Air 51mm offset 15x 110mm thru-axle (S: 90mm M-XL: 100mm of travel)FRONT HUBSpecialized disc 15x 110mm spacing torque caps 32h REAR HUBSpecialized disc alloy sealed cartridge bearings 12x 148mm thru-axle 32h SPOKESStainless 14g RIMSSpecialized Alloy 29 25mm internal width INNER TUBESStandard Presta valve FRONT TYREFast Trak GRIPTON compound 29x 2.3" 60 TPI Aramid folding bead 2 Bliss Ready REAR TYREFast Trak 2 Bliss Ready 29x 2.3"CRANKSETRace Face Aeffect CHAINRINGSSteel 30TBOTTOM BRACKETRace Face Threaded BSASHIFT LEVERSSRAM GX trigger 11-speed REAR DERAILLEURSRAM GX long cage 11-speed CASSETTESRAM NX 11-speed 10-42t CHAINKMC X11 11-speed w/ Missing LinkFRONT BRAKESRAM Level TL hydraulic disc organic pads 160/180mm rotor REAR BRAKESRAM Level TL hydraulic disc organic pads 160 rotor HANDLEBARSSpecialized Mini-rise 6000 alloy 8-degree backsweep 6-degree upsweep 10mm rise 720mm width 31.8mm clamp GRIPSSpecialized Sip Grip half-waffle S/M: regular thickness L/XL: XL thickness STEMSpecialized XC 3D-forged alloy 4-bolt 6-degree rise SADDLEBody Geometry Phenom Comp Adaptive Edge design Hollow Cr-Mo rails 143mm SEATPOSTSpecialized alloy single bolt 27.2mm SEAT BINDERSpecialized Alloy 30.8mm PEDALSSpecialized Platform 9/16" spindle