I tried specialized tires this last year and just fell in love with them. Easy to get on a rim, holds air great, great mix of tire compounds, their trails casing are very durable, and loved the butcher front and eliminator rear. Currently running butcher front and rear, great for straight lining and chunky lines. Loose over hard pack the eliminator as a rear is more predictable and re-grabs quicker with all those little knobs it has. For context I live in SO CAL.
I am loving the new version of the Ground Control Grid T7 29x2.35. It has more volume than a Maxxis Rekon 2.4WT, and just as good if not better grip and trail feel and better wear life too, all for $15ish less per tire.
@@dandemore8057 I'm in the SoCal high desert area and run GCs front and rear on my Chameleon and literally could not be happier. I used to run Rekon 2.4WTs front and rear for comparison.
I have been riding the same combo: Butcher T9 29x2.3 in the front and Eliminator T7 29x2.3 in the back both in Trail casing. I am loving this combo. I can totally recommend it.
I tried out the Butcher T9/Eliminator T7 combo on a Stumpy Evo demo bike. Wasn't bad, definitely wouldn't be replacing immediately, The Butcher felt more like a DHF with the "hook up" sensation, though not sure it is quite good enough to get me to ditch my Assegai up front, they did seem to fix the previous issue with the last generation Eliminator where it had poor traction on off camber, especially off camber rocks. The Eliminator T7/T9 is probably a very viable competitor to a Dissector. The new Butcher is hands down better than a DHR2 or DHF, though the Assegai's level of control especially in really steep terrain is still untouchable. This would be in Colorado conditions, which is a lot of rock and loose over hardpack, and generally dry and dusty
Got some speci tires a while back since everything else was out of stock and honestly loving them so far. Running a butcher up front and eliminator out back (dual comp in gravity casing). Happy to see a channel finally talk about them! Quality tires for a good price!
I'm in the same boat with Butcher T9 in the front and Eliminator T7 in the rear. Seems to be the best traction for our PNW area with the wet mud trails around Tiger, Raging and Tokul.
Great tires as you say but that T9 compound will not last through summer. Not a knock on the tire - it's fantastic in fall/winter/spring - just not the right tire for summer trails.
@@jimdaniel5769 Totally agree, summer time I did not use these tires. Luckily I have a 2nd set of wheels with Maxxis tires for the dry loose stuff. Obviously trails and area plus the season folks need to take into consideration for their tire choices.
Hillbilly is an amazing tire. I run them front and back on both Stumpy's. Stick like glue through the fall leaves and pine needles. Won't go back to magic mary. It's that good. 2.6 width and you won't be disappointed
Running as an allrounder in UK as front tyre (mostly wet or semi-wet conditions) Very grippy and gravity casing is very thick - 0 punctures. Durability has been great. Rolling resistance is quite high tho and pretty heavy as well. Needs a bit faster tyre in the back, buther rear did the job well.
Specialized tires are some of the best tires I've ever ridden on a MTB. I swear by them, especially when people are on a budget. I run butcher grid gravity front & eliminator dual compound on the rear and its a great combo. Better than minion dh's for the money.
My go-to setup is Eliminator grid gravity T7/9 2.3 in the back and butcher grid trail t9 2.6 in the front on a switchblade with Cush core XC and its my favorite combo! Sometimes I’ll mess with a assegai 2.5 EXO+ Maxx terra up front but the grip isn’t as good as the t9! And QC issues with Maxxis tires is annoying as well.
I had the older Butcher and Eliminator (before they switched to T7/T9 compound) and I was generally pretty happy with the traction they provided but then I got a new bike that came with Maxxis Minion DHR/DHF and I was pretty happy with those too but I did feel the lack of transition knobs, especially on hard packed or slightly dusty terrain. They can feel a bit unpredictable. Then I tried a Vittoria Martello when the DHR got old and while it rolls fast, it does skid easily on most terrain so it's not my fav tyre. Now I just bought a new Stumpjumper 15 and it came with Butcher T9 and Eliminator T7 and man, I remember how good these tyres are now. I honestly think these are underappreciated tyres. People overlook them because they are made by Specialized so they think they're just a budget OEM tyre but that is far from the truth IMO.
I’ve been running the Tan wall Soil Searching on my bikes with great success. Running a combination of Butcher/Eliminator/Ground Control combos in 2.6/2.3 & 2.35 with CushCore inserts in the rear. I find them to be predictable and have saved my wallet compared to Maxxis or Kenda that I’ve also tried in the past. They are sometimes on offer too 👍
@@alexkeyes1706 No, haven't ridden the new one yet. I am contemplating ordering. Grid Gravity T9 for the sloppy winter months. The older one I have ridden is good. It reminds me of the magic marry with a bit more predictable steering. I never had the feeling it squirms around the corner in the dry also.
You'll love em! We've got the all black ones www.fanatikbike.com/products/specialized-butcher-grid-trail-t9-2bliss-29-tire Or if you want to add a little flair we have the skin wall Butchers as well! www.fanatikbike.com/products/specialized-butcher-grid-trail-t9-soil-searching-29-tire
I'm on the previous gen hillbilly on the front now, grid trail 2.6... has to be my favorite tire thus far for PNW conditions. Butcher and eliminator in the rear do their jobs... Can't tell much difference
Great video. You've cleared all my doubts. I'm a big specialised tyre fan since 2007 or so when I had the butcher on the rear and it lasted for about 3 years even riding on the streets and downhill situations. Now getting back to mtb looking for some enduro/street and trails I'll know what to get.
Just ordered a set of Eliminator T7 GRID TRAIL Tires for my Santa Cruz Nomad for Under $70 SHIPPED !!!.Heard that its more effective as a rear tire but gonna see how they perform. If they don't work out on the Nomad I can use them on my Specialized Fuse 6Fattie !! thanks for the video
Ive been running the Butcher T7 29x2.3 in the front and Eliminator 29x2.3 T7 in the rear. Cant ride in the winter her in the interior of BC Canada but I put them on my New trek Slash in the fall of 2020. I have really enjoyed them and coming from DHF/DHR s in the past i really cant tell much difference. The Grid trail casing is more than enough for big days and the occasional bike park. I will probably move my Butcher T7 to the rear here soo as my Eliminator is quite worn and get a butcher T9 for the front. Great video guys!
MAXXIS DHF/DHR II was my favorite setup for YEARS. Last Spring, I bought a new Specialized Enduro and the shop let me upgrade to 2.6 (from 2.3) Butcher Grid Trail T9 and Eliminator Grid Trail T7, in Tan wall, and mounted them tubeless for a total upgrade charge of $25. Going MAXXIS would have been around $200 all in, so I thought I would live with a little less performance and save the $$. I was wrong. These tires are awesome., and even full retail, are at least as good value as the DHF/DFR II. They grip like crazy and inspire confidence in every thing I've ridden except deep mud.
i have a specialized and a orbea both full sus, let me say that the specialized tires compare to my orbea maxxis tires are way better in every aspect out in the trails, the look a lot wider holds air way better and grips so good. Going to replace my orbea maxxis tires for some butchers
Ditched maxxis dhf when the butcher and hillbilly came out in 2012… won’t ever go back to the big M. Have rode every hillbilly made over the years. 2.6 t7 hillbilly kills it on the ebikes
I got an eliminator in T9 cause it was all the shop had, that thing feels SLOW on the back. I actually just swapped it out for the old Butcher I had on the front and went back to a forekaster in the rear. Really fast setup with good cornering. I know people don’t think the eliminator is a viable front tire, but I’m liking it so far.
Rode Specialized tires for years on the Specialized bikes I owned. My current Intense Carbine came with DHF/DHR tires which I feel roll to slow but grip really well for SoCal conditions. Been considering Specialized tires when the DHF/DHR expire. Not sure what direction to go but need the same grip and durability with less roll resistance. Recommendations?
I run the Butcher Grid T9 and the grip has been fantastic, I tried the Eliminator is felt good but unfortunately delaminated and the side lugs started to come off.
Two thumbs up! They are noticeably better than the previous generation Specialized tires, and on par with Maxxis 3C rubber for those conditions. - Dan at Fanatik
You mentioned better support for the cornering knobs. The problem I have is I quickly destroy the cornering knobs on my maxxis tires. Probably because I'm a big guy. Would the specialized tires work better for me? My trails are dry.
Again , too open channels in Butcher , just like the DHF , I don 't like that strange gap feeling , here comes the Magic Mary's , they provide a consistent grip in any situations . IMHO
Been searching for maxxis assegai maxx grip exo 3c. How would you compare the hillbilly to them. Most of my rear tires are going to be eliminator. I'm very picky about front.
Haven't been able to try the Hillbilly out yet but with its blocky knobs it looks like a tire that would be great in softer conditions. Similar to a Schwalbe Magic Mary
@@FanatikBikeCo Thanks Dan. I've been using t9 butchers up here in vancouver for the past month or so and really liking them. Maybe i'll switch to maxxgrip maxxis for the winter months but so far these have been great in mixed wet/dry.
Check out Wolfpack ... awesome stuff. Specialized cannot even make the sidewalls of their tires the same color. Therfore you can only mix front and rear tires which are black.
Hi Otter, Assuming it was me that you were asking to get a haircut, I've gone ahead and scheduled one for April 5th. You can tune in for our videos filmed after that date to see me with less hair. As for my voice, I have been making efforts at making my voice less scratchy. Check out our latest video (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gyCSRI6QskI.html), it is my hope there's been some improvement. Thanks for watching! - Dan at Fanatik
@@BryonWilliams88 Hahah it's all good. You're far from the only person to have mentioned that (I am making efforts to try and minimize it), and I kinda like to have fun with the comments about it. It just gets that way when I talk for a while. Cheers - Dan at Fanatik
He is super professional and a great source of information. I guess you have a few RU-vid channels covering hairstyles if that’s in your interest. For the record I am bold and would cut a finger for a hair cut like that.
