Diameters Offered: 27.5’’ and 29’’
Stated Widths:
- Butcher Grid Trail 27.5’’: 2.2’’
- Butcher Grid Trail 29’’: 2.4’’ and 2.6’’ options
- Butcher Grid Gravity 27.5’’: 2.4’’
- Butcher Grid Gravity 29’’: 2.4’’ and 2.6’’
Stated Weights:
- Butcher Grid Trail T9 27.5 x 2.2’’: 1000 g
- Butcher Grid Trail T9 29 x 2.4’’: 1048 g
- Butcher Grid Trail T9 29 x 2.6’’: 1110 g
- Butcher Grid Gravity T9 27.5 x 2.4’’: 1260 g
- Butcher Grid Gravity T9 29 x 2.4’’: 1307 g
- Butcher Grid Gravity T9 29 x 2.6’’: 1330 g
BLISTER’s Measured Weights:
- Butcher Grid Trail T9 29 x 2.4’’: 1048 g
- Butcher Grid Gravity T9 29 x 2.4’’: 1307 g
MSRP:
- Grid Trail casing: $70 USD
- Grid Gravity casing: $75 USD
Diameters Offered: 27.5’’ and 29’’
Stated Widths:
- Eliminator Grid Trail 27.5’’ and 29’’: 2.4’’
- Eliminator Grid Gravity 27.5’’ and 29’’: 2.4’’
Stated Weights:
- Eliminator Grid Trail T9 27.5 x 2.4’’: 975 g
- Eliminator Grid Trail T9 29 x 2.4’’: 1004 g
- Eliminator Grid Gravity T7/T9 27.5 x 2.4’’: 1240 g
- Eliminator Grid Gravity T7/T9 29 x 2.4’’: 1330 g
BLISTER’s Measured Weights:
- Eliminator Grid Gravity T7/T9 27.5 x 2.4’’: 1240 g
MSRP:
- Grid Trail casing: $70 USD
- Grid Gravity casing: $75 USD
Intro
Specialized has been invested in tire development for a long time, but their refresh in 2021 marked a new and more serious chapter in their tire development. The Butcher, Eliminator, and Purgatory saw the addition of their new T9 and T7 compounds, along with the addition of the Grid Trail and Grid Gravity casings. Specialized released their first true Downhill tire, the Cannibal, just a year later in 2022. Developed with the likes of Loic Bruni and Finn Iles, it again demonstrated their commitment to making competitive tires.
We’ve spent a lot of time on those options along with the more recently updated Hillbilly in recent years, and while our experiences varied, the biggest takeaway was that the rubber proved to be miles ahead of their prior attempts — it was a real competitor to other heavyweight tire manufacturers.
Specialized’s tire development team clearly hasn’t let off the gas, and their learnings over the last few years are on display with the new Butcher and Eliminator tread patterns. The Butcher and Eliminator have gotten some meaningful revisions to increase grip and improve performance across a wider range of conditions. Let’s see how they went about doing that.
Butcher
Let’s first talk about the changes to what is arguably Specialized’s most popular tire for Trail and Gravity pursuits, the Butcher. While the tread pattern still looks quite similar to the old one, with an alternating dual block pattern down the center, those knobs have gotten reshaped a bit and now are a bit longer and less ramped — the inspiration from the Downhill-focused Cannibal is hard to miss.
The side knobs have gotten a considerable update over the old ones, gaining some breadth and now featuring more distinct L-shaped knobs that also draw some comparisons to the Cannibal. The cornering knobs appear to have gained a little bit of height over the old Butcher too, and overall, Specialized says that the new Butcher has 12% more block surface area. A closer look shows that Specialized has also staggered the center and cornering knobs a bit more dramatically, such that the cornering knobs align a bit more with the gaps between the center knobs, and vice versa.
I’m excited about these changes for a couple of reasons. First, the old Butcher was a decent tire in mixed conditions, but the side knobs weren’t quite as stout as I’d like under high cornering loads, leading to a bit less overall cornering grip than some other tires. The Cannibal addressed this complaint with its much chunkier and supported side knobs, and the Butcher appears to have moved in that direction.
Secondly, and relating to cornering performance, the old Butcher’s knobs weren’t adequately staggered in my opinion (i.e., the center knobs were’t cleanly positioned at the gaps in the cornering knobs). Staggering helps create more consistent knob contact, and the old Butcher’s design led to some unpredictable cornering behavior at times, particularly on uneven surfaces. The inclusion of more defined L-shaped side knobs (rather than the older serrated-looking ones) are also cause for optimism, as I find that they tend to aid braking grip as well as consistency in the transition area between the center and side knobs.
Of course, those changes don’t guarantee performance gains, but it’s exciting to see the updates. The other big change is that the Butcher now only comes in the stickiest T9 compound, but it can still be had in the lighter Grid Trail casing or stout Grid Gravity one. The Grid Trail casing also offers the option of a tan wall casing.
Eliminator
The Eliminator gets a more dramatic overhaul than the Butcher, and I, for one, am glad to see it. The old Eliminator had a fairly low profile tread pattern with small, fairly widely spaced knobs that were heavily siped and ramped. The new Eliminator undoes basically all of that, and while it keeps the same 2-3-2 knob pattern down the center, the knobs have gotten a bit taller, more square, and have less siping. The knobs are also a bit more closely spaced down the middle, with the middle row of three knobs in the 2-3-2 pattern creating a more consistent and straighter braking edge. The side knobs are still similar to its partner, the Butcher, but like its sibling they’ve been updated to include more angular L-shaped knobs which, like the center knobs, follow a 2-3-2 pattern.
I frankly didn’t get along with the old Eliminator all that well — despite rolling quite quickly, its braking performance left a lot to be desired, and while its side knobs suffered some of the same lack of hold that the old Butcher had, the cornering grip was made worse by the lack of a meaningful channel to allow the knobs to bike into softer dirt.
The new Eliminator is quite a bit more aggressive all around, and while I’m guessing it won’t roll quite as quickly thanks to the chunkier knobs, I’m guessing it should still do fairly well — but between the much more substantial braking edges and more supported side knobs, I’m expecting better grip in all conditions. The taller knobs should also give it more bite in soft conditions, where the old one struggled a bit, though the relatively tightly-spaced knobs will still likely mean it won’t be a great wet weather choice.
Like the Butcher, it comes in both Grid Trail and Grid Gravity casings, with the option for a tan wall casing in the Grid Trail variety. 2.4’’ is the only width available across the board, though interestingly, the Grid Trail casing only comes in the sticky T9 compound, while the Grid Gravity option comes with a dual compound T7/T9 combination that uses the firmer T7 rubber on the center knobs and T9 on the side knobs.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) First and foremost, how differently do the new Butcher and Eliminator feel from the old ones, and how do they balance the tradeoffs between rolling resistance, grip, and longevity?
(2) How do the new tires stack up to some of the others in the market that they share some design traits with?
Bottom Line (For Now)
The updated Butcher and Eliminator still look a lot like their ancestors, but the changes are substantial. Both tires seem to have gotten a bit burlier, with blockier and better supported knobs, and the revised side knob pattern is quite a bit more aggressive and should yield some gains in cornering grip. Of course, it’s hard to say anything about performance until we’ve logged some miles on them, and fortunately, we’ve started to do just that.
BLISTER+ members and those who purchase our Digital Access Pass can check out our initial ride impressions in our Flash Review below, and we’ll be sure to report back on our findings in a Full Review in a few months.
Flash Review: Our Initial On-Trail Impressions
BLISTER+ members and those who purchase our Digital Access Pass can check out the Flash Review below to read our initial on-trail impressions. Get our Digital Access Pass to view all our Flash Reviews and Deep Dives, or become a BLISTER+ member today to get access to that and a LOT more, including the best worldwide Outdoor Injury Insurance, exclusive deals and discounts on skis, personalized gear recommendations from us, and much more.
Flash Review: Specialized’s Updated Butcher and Eliminator
Specialized’s changes to the Butcher and Eliminator are a case of incremental improvement, but those updates are ones we’re awfully excited about. Do those tweaks add up to upgraded performance? Our Flash Review covers our initial impressions after some on-trail time.
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