SPECIALIZED BUTCHER

Tester: Hayden Wright

Casing: Grid Trail (1 x 60TPI) Compound: Gripton T9

Weight: 1023g (29”)

Size: 29 x 2.3” (26”, 27.5” also available) Width on DT Swiss 30mm rim: 58mm PSI for testing: 24

RRP: $90 specialized.com/au

Specialized’s Butcher was first introduced in 2010, and has been piloted by some of the sport’s best since then. While some of the casing and compound technology used on this tyre has changed in the past decade, it still carries the same 2-2 tread pattern and promises of supreme performance as a mixed terrain gravity tyre. The Butcher has ramped, siped centre knobs and tall corner knobs that alternate in their pattern - combining to make a tyre that is quite square in profile and surprisingly light given the height and size of the knobs. As is with the Eliminator tyre there is a wide variety of casings, compounds and sizes available. I paired the Butcher with the Eliminator rear tyre and as such have focussed primarily on its application as a front tyre, with the trail casing and softest available Gripton T9 compound.

This tyre blurs the lines between trail and enduro suitability thanks to its combination of a soft rubber compound and light, malleable casing. Chemical grip was impressive, as the tacky Gripton T9 rubber did a good job of grabbing on to any hard terrain in its path. While the transition from center to side knobs was not as smooth as many of the new-school 2-3-2 style tyres on test, the Butcher still performed fairly consistently as long as you were aggressive with your introduction of lean angle to the tyre. Similarly, braking performance was good but not great. The lack of an intermediate knob (the 3 in a 2-3-2 pattern) led to what I felt was a tendency for the Butcher to track in a straight line under heavy braking scenarios at low speed. In these scenarios, I felt a little like a locomotive, steaming along slowly my tracks in a straight line regardless of where my heart wanted to go on the trail.

Conversely, this tyre rolled surprisingly well given the knob size and height, and when combined with the aforementioned T9 rubber made for a fantastic hard-packed tyre. The Butcher would make a fantastic rear option on an Enduro bike in the thicker Gravity casing. The Grid Trail casing gave no issues with burping, folding or pinch flats however I did have to run slightly higher than normal pressures (24psi) to ensure I had the sidewall support and rim protection I wanted. This came at the sacrifice of some small bump absorption and tracking feel.

Riders who frequent hardpack, loose over hard and intermediate terrain should consider the Specialized Butcher. It is a veritable all rounder with a good range of braking and cornering grip for all but the most extreme terrain, with a huge range of size options, excellent availability and impressive value.