Specialized Butcher tires... any good for a hardtail?

[Baker]

So I'm still running the 29er ground control tires that came with the bike (levo ht) but finding I can't push the bike as hard as I want to. They're great on hardpack trails and fast rolling but I need more as I'm sliding both front and rears in the loamy forest stuff. Will the Butcher grids 29x2.6 help my case? I'd normally go for something like a Maxxis HR2 front and Aggressor on the back but wanted to stick with Specialized Grid as they seem pretty robust.

 

[paquo]

it's a trade off , the butchers stick better when it gets looser and dryer but they roll slower on hard pack and maybe not so precise in the front

 

[khorn]

it's a trade off , the butchers stick better when it gets looser and dryer but they roll slower on hard pack and maybe not so precise in the front

I have been riding Butcher 2.8 in the front for the last 14 days in extremely loose conditions and they are scary and slide all over the place. I wanted a bigger footprint compared to my 2.5 DHF as I knew it would be very loose but big mistake in the end.

Karsten

 

[paquo]

I have been riding Butcher 2.8 in the front for the last 14 days in extremely loose conditions and they are scary and slide all over the place. I wanted a bigger footprint compared to my 2.5 DHF as I knew it would be very loose but big mistake in the end.

try that with rekons or the ops ground controls, that would be scary, i'm not a big fan of butchers but they stick better than xcountry tires

 

[StuE]

Hillbilly grid, on offer too
Clearance | Specialized.com

 

[khorn]

try that with rekons or the ops ground controls, that would be scary, i'm not a big fan of butchers but they stick better than xcountry tires

I haven’t and and will not. Just saying that Butchers are very scary in very loose conditions and to be honest the slaughter I run in the back have not performed significantly worse.

Karsten

 

[snowbro]

I rode the same trail back to back on the levo with butchers and on my new santa cruz bronson that has maxxis dhr/dhf. I had rode the maxxis tires down first and didn't think anything of the track. I then rode the butchers down and it actually was quite scary. I had to go much much slower and I was still slipping off of rocks and when braking, it seemed to just skip across stuff instead of grip hard and stop. The butchers are also known to get sidewall punctures easier.

Personally, not a fan.

 

[Baker]

Well I'm glad I asked the question then as I thought Butchers mimic the DHF tread. Maybe I'll play it safe with a high roller 2 on the front as they do dig in hard, back not such an issue. The DHF/DHR might be a bit overkill for a hardtail in summer, I dunno... I'd prefer not to run fat tires so 2.3 width is fine for me.

Appreciate the feedback, tires a very subjective issue.?

 

[Kave]

I have the Butcher Grids on mine as standard, don’t like them. Inprecise, slids on tarmac even.