I’d like to build an XC Hardtail for my teen who is joining the high school NICA team. The Specialized aluminum Chisel framesets look great, a few on our team have them, but there is no stock available. Any idea when / if Specialized might have new inventory? Are there seasons when new bikes are released / available?
you might consider the ibis dv9 frame as an alternative, when I bought mine it was barely more $ than the chisel. Some of those chisel colors are really nice though.
Great bike. I loved mine - regret letting it go.
The Chisel is often available via BikeInn. They have the awesome pink 2025 model in stock at the moment. I’ve been tempted a number of times!
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Look at a Cannondale Scalpel HT. I’ve seen a few around recently and it’s a brilliant bike. Small sizes are tough, they are popular and often sell out quickly during sales, but you’d probably have good stockists in SF who could sort you out
Thanks all for the suggestions!
I don’t see the Scalpel frameset on Cannondale’s site. I think the simple answer is that it is cheaper to buy a complete bike and upgrade around the frame. Not many companies are offering framesets any longer.
Apologies I thought I had expanded that thought in my reply! You’re correct, it is always cheaper to buy whole bike than from a frameset. The manufacturer gets cheaper groupsets, wheels, shocks etc. than your local bike shop and that reduced price is built into the whole bike. But it means that very few members of the public are willing to spend the extra money to build up from scratch. They don’t see the value in the way that we might! I’d spend that money on upgrades, especially when it is going on a teen’s bike.