Many riders may not realize this, but the very first Specialized branded product that ever saw the light of day was the Specialized Touring Tire that founder Mike Sinyard launched in 1976. Ever since that time, the company has dedicated a lot of time and resources to its tire line-up across both road and mountain disciplines, and they really took a big step forward in 2021 when they brought out a whole new range of tires produced by their own, in-house tire lab in Germany. At the time they also moved production to a new factory, and the results were very impressive – we’ve really been getting along well with these tires ever since. Today, Specialized is unveiling the latest iteration of the Butcher and Eliminator models, with some key updates to tread design and construction that seem on track to make these great tires even better. Read on to learn more!
Specialized Butcher (2025) Highlights
- New tread height & volume for traction in loose/wet trails
- 12% more block surface ground contact
- Alternating Block-In-Block shoulder knobs for easier roll off center
- GRIPTON T9 compound for maximum grip
- 60TPI Grid Trail casing with bead-to-bead protection plus sidewall protection
- 60TPI Grid Gravity two-ply downhill casing plus sidewall protection
- 27.5x2.2 Grid Trail T9, 1000g
- 29x2.4 Grid Trail T9, 1048g
- 29x2.4 Grid Trail T9 TAN, 1048g
- 29x2.6 Grid Trail T9, 1110g
- 27.5x2.4 Grid Gravity T9, 1260g
- 29x2.4 Grid Gravity T9, 1307g
- 29x2.6 Grid Gravity T9, 1330g
- MSRP Butcher Grid Trail T9: $70 USD / €60 EUR / £50 GBP / $90 AUD
- MSRP Butcher Grid Gravity T9: $75 USD / €70 / £55 GBP / $100 AUD
Specialized Eliminator (2025) Highlights
- New tread increases grip in loose terrain
- Non-ramped edges dig in on climbs
- Increased shoulder knob volume & height boost cornering stability
- GRIPTON T7 compound on Grid Trail & dual T7/T9 compound on Grid Gravity
- 60TPI Grid Trail casing with bead-to-bead protection plus sidewall protection
- 60TPI Grid Gravity two-ply downhill casing plus sidewall protection
- 27.5x2.4 Grid Trail T7 TAN, 975g
- 27.5x2.4 Grid Trail T7, 975g
- 29x2.4 Grid Trail T7 TAN, 1004g
- 29x2.4 Grid Trail T7, 1004g
- 27.5x2.4 Grid Gravity T7/T9, 1240g
- 29x2.4 Grid Gravity T7/T9, 1330g
- MSRP Eliminator Grid Trail T7: $70 USD / €60 EUR / £50 GBP / $90 AUD
- MSRP Eliminator Grid Gravity T7/T9: $75 USD / €70 / £55 GBP / $100 AUD
Initial Impressions
The tread patterns of these revised models look familiar at first glance, but closer inspection reveals quite a few changes. First of all, Specialized added some meat to the bones of the Butcher with slightly taller and more voluminous knobs, said to produce 12% more block surface to ground area. They also added little sipings in several areas and changed the placement of the knobs to provide smoother transitions between the center and the shoulder knobs and increased braking bite. The Butcher is only available with the T9 compound, which is the softest and grippiest compound in the catalogue. Sizes range from 2.2 (27.5 only) to 26 (29 only), with a choice of either Grid Trail or Grid Gravity casings. Note that the previous 2.3 width has now been replaced by 2.4.
The Eliminator also sees its knobs beefed up, with the intention of providing better braking grip and improved cornering stability. The Grid Trail version of this tire uses a straight T7 compound, while the Grid Gravity versions get a dual compound T7/T9 combo for a little extra bite on the side knobs. Both the Eliminator and the Butcher retail for a very reasonable $70 USD in Grid Trail or $75 USD in Grid Gravity.
Specialized mountain tires come with different types of casings depending on the application. Grid Trail and Grid Gravity are the most relevant for the trail-to-gravity MTB crowd. Both feature a 60TPI thread count, with different degrees of sidewall cut protection and reinforcements. The Grid Trail is a single-ply layout, while the Grid Gravity is a dual-ply.
On The Trail
We’ve only just taken delivery of these new tires, so we’ll keep this section very brief (although we did also have the chance to ride the new tires at a recent press camp that we can’t give too many details about just yet, so that’s another day to add to the tally). We started our testing with the Grid Trail Butcher/Eliminator 29x2.4 combo on a trail bike. Mounting up the tires they are pretty sturdy under the fingers, even the lighter Grid Trail version required semi-spirited work with a tire lever to get them onto the rim. Comparing them to a Maxxis EXO+ casing they “feel” a bit more stiff in the sidewalls. Once inflated and seated on the rims, the tires spun perfectly true with nary a wobble in sight.
On the trail, we first noted that these tires roll quite fast indeed for such a beefy tread pattern. Whether it’s the new tire effect providing a little extra tailwind we don’t know, but it certainly didn’t feel as though we’d given up any rolling speed compared to the Maxxis DHF/Dissector combo that we had just replaced on the bike, quite the contrary. The tires roll fast on hardpack and do a great job of digging in for technical climbing.
On the way back down, we appreciated the very calm demeanor of the new tires. Specialized put a lot of effort into tuning these rubber compounds to slow down their rebound characteristics, and that translates to a very muted feel on the trail. You get good support from the casing, but without any skittishness whatsoever. Pick a line and hold it, and you’ll get where you want to go without any extra drama. We found the previous generation of these tires very confidence-inspiring and the same holds true for the updated models. There is good support available in turns, you can get a bit of squirm out of the Trail casings if you drop the pressure but the overall sensation of sturdiness remains.
As we previously alluded to, we’ve also had the chance to spend a day riding the Grid Gravity versions of the new Butcher, in much softer and steeper conditions. We came away well impressed that day, the tires did a great job of dealing with deeper dirt and some pretty slick rocks and roots. Early days yet, but we’ll keep testing and we’ll get back to you with a more in-depth report later this year.
What’s The Bottom Line?
We have been well impressed with the current generation of Specialized trail and gravity tires ever since they came out, the Gripton compound has proven itself in a variety of riding conditions and we’ve always felt very confident aboard these tread patterns. The updated generation takes all that was great about them and improves further in a couple of key areas. It’s not a night and day difference, but the extra block height and tire volume will help them perform better in looser conditions as well, without giving up much on the hardpack side of things. The competitive pricing is the cherry on the cake!
More information at: www.specialized.com.
About The Reviewer
Johan Hjord - Age: 51 // Years Riding MTB: 19 // Weight: 190-pounds (87 kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)
Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.
Photos by Johan Hjord
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Free shipping on orders over $50 (continental U.S. only).
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3/9/2025 12:18pm
View replies to: First Ride: Specialized Butcher and Eliminator 2025
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