FINAL VERDICT

We thought this was going to be a ‘paint by numbers’ test of ultimately very similar bikes that we’d probably have to judge mainly on weight and parts fit. Instead, we found we had four totally different machines that spanned pretty much every kind of character you can get from a hardtail. A brutally stiff bike that sprints like a demon up smooth climbs but beats the speed out of you even across a grassy field. An old-school composite chassis that charmed us with its smoothness. And a radical scissor-framed bike that sucks up the biggest bumps without compromising power delivery.

In terms of sheer speed, though, the bike that made the biggest impression on us was the Chisel. The way that the Specialized flexes and twists as you press the pedals or heave on the bar will make some power fiends feel nauseous, and we can’t ignore that in the score. Its lack of dropper post compatibility and its approximate steering feel mean it’s also a pure XC machine, not a bike that can do double duty as a tech trail party animal. But the way it whips along the trail with impeccable traction and stunning speed sustain over stutter bumps, roots and rocks is just blissful.

Add its super-low weight, and it genuinely felt like we’d jumped onto an e-bike every time we swapped between bikes during testing and ended up onboard the Chisel. In fact, it’s so good that we’re already searching for a race to enter on it. But for now, going whiplash crazy weaving through our local twisty singletrack is more than fun enough.