Headset and Wheels Upgrade: 2020/21 Specialized Chisel

[Lovetoclimb]

After several positive endorsements from fellow forum members, I bought a mostly built Chisel from a shop here in Germany. I had them keep them low end Judy fork and Shimano wheelset in favor of upgrading. Picked up a SID Ultimate on my last trip back to the US for a nice price. And now looking for a good XC wheelset that will help bring the overall bike weight down.

But my biggest dilemma is the headset. I cannot find solid information on which aftermarket options (Chris King, Cane Creek, Wolftooth, etc) are best suited. For sure the SID does not have a built in crown race, so that is needed. But CK’s product page for a the DropSet 5 says it is the one for “most” Spesh MTB frames, I assume independent of fork choice… given the bikepacking plans for this bike a solid worry free headset is ideal.

Do any of the fellow Chisel owners have a recommendation for a headset? I have an email out to Specialized as well but I anticipate they will just copy the text from the frame product page. It links to their own headset which is I guess the cost effective option …

[Alexi]

IIRC the only aftermarket headset upgrade for the chisel due to Spec using proprietary headsets is from Wolftooth.

My wife has a DT 350 hubset laced up to I believe XM 481s. I’ve had DT XR 391s laced to 350 hubs and WI hubs laced to LB rims.


Mine (now sold)



Hers:

[KonaSS]

Is there anything wrong with the headset now? I have been a Specialized mtb owner for the last 15 years. I only keep the bikes 3-4 years, but have never once had to replace the stock headset in that time. In my experience, they are usually FSA headsets that do what they are supposed to do.

[catchourbreath]

So the chisel's headset as sits is proprietary due to height of bearings. However the frame uses cups that can be knocked out and you can use any 1 1/8 upper/1.5 lower.

Wheels wise I upgraded to.carbon wheels on my Chisel and love it.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Lovetoclimb

After several positive endorsements from fellow forum members, I bought a mostly built Chisel from a shop here in Germany. I had them keep them low end Judy fork and Shimano wheelset in favor of upgrading. Picked up a SID Ultimate on my last trip back to the US for a nice price. And now looking for a good XC wheelset that will help bring the overall bike weight down.

But my biggest dilemma is the headset. I cannot find solid information on which aftermarket options (Chris King, Cane Creek, Wolftooth, etc) are best suited. For sure the SID does not have a built in crown race, so that is needed. But CK’s product page for a the DropSet 5 says it is the one for “most” Spesh MTB frames, I assume independent of fork choice… given the bikepacking plans for this bike a solid worry free headset is ideal.

Do any of the fellow Chisel owners have a recommendation for a headset? I have an email out to Specialized as well but I anticipate they will just copy the text from the frame product page. It links to their own headset which is I guess the cost effective option …

https://btlos.com/mountain-bike/mtb-xc-trail

[Lovetoclimb]

Originally Posted by KonaSS

Is there anything wrong with the headset now? I have been a Specialized mtb owner for the last 15 years. I only keep the bikes 3-4 years, but have never once had to replace the stock headset in that time. In my experience, they are usually FSA headsets that do what they are supposed to do.

Nothing is wrong with it. But I have experienced enough problems from OEM or entry level build kit headsets that I am fine paying $150 for something which won’t cause me a problem for years to come. As I said this bike will see some big 1-3 week tours and minimizing potential problems is worth a small investment to me. Chris King has proven exceptionally reliable and the Cane Creek Hellbender series are my current go to options for bearings for that reason. That’s not to say others are bad, just what I have experienced on my own bikes and those of good friends.

[Lovetoclimb]

Originally Posted by catchourbreath

So the chisel's headset as sits is proprietary due to height of bearings. However the frame uses cups that can be knocked out and you can use any 1 1/8 upper/1.5 lower.

Wheels wise I upgraded to.carbon wheels on my Chisel and love it.

Upon inspecting the cups in the frame I can now see that. This is great news as it opens up the possibility of my preferred options from CK and CC.

As for wheels the Roval Traverse look nice since they use DT 350 hubs and the BTLOS wheels OldPotatoe linked are all choice options.

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by Lovetoclimb

Upon inspecting the cups in the frame I can now see that. This is great news as it opens up the possibility of my preferred options from CK and CC.

As for wheels the Roval Traverse look nice since they use DT 350 hubs and the BTLOS wheels OldPotatoe linked are all choice options.

Did you ever upgrade that HS? I’m confused by the “proprietary” comment above - if you install standard ZS cups, will standard ZS bearings work?

[catchourbreath]

If you install a ZS headset (cups and bearings), yes. The headset specialized uses on a stock bike relies on a non-standard bearing that nobody but the big S offers.