Aggressive trail and enduro riding punishes tires that skimp on grip or protection, and the Butcher from Specialized is built to hold its line when the trail turns loose, rocky, or wet. It's the tire Specialized pairs with the Eliminator as a front-and-rear combo, and if you spend most of your time pointing downhill through varied conditions, this is the front tire doing the heavy lifting on grip.

The tread uses a Block-in-Block layout, where smaller leading-edge blocks bite in for initial traction while larger base blocks stabilize the tread and resist squirm under hard cornering loads. The revised pattern puts 12% more compound in contact with the ground, which is where the extra cornering and braking confidence comes from. If you've ridden an older Butcher and found the shape good but the rubber wanting, this is the version that fixes it.

That rubber is GRIPTON T9, Specialized's softest durometer compound with slow-rebound characteristics that let the tire settle into and stick to the surface rather than skittering across it. The trade-off is what you'd expect from a soft, damp compound: it's not the fastest-rolling tire in the range, but that's the point when grip is the priority. If you want a faster-rolling rear to pair with it, the Eliminator in a firmer T7 compound is the natural match.... Read More