Specialized Butcher and Eliminator Grid Gravity Radial

Product news: The new Grid Gravity Radial casing is designed to take Specialized's tires to the next level of evolution. The California-based manufacturer, whose first products fifty years ago were tires, is using the new construction in its Butcher and Eliminator models, aiming to combine grip and stability without requiring adjustments to tire pressure.

Specialized Grid Gravity Radial Tires: New construction for more grip

Specialized describes the underlying tire problem as follows: Trail riders look for radial flex to gain grip, but simultaneously need lateral stiffness so the tire doesn't fold in corners. In other words, we want to lower tire pressure for traction, but need to inflate them more to prevent the tire from becoming spongy. This contradiction is what the new casing with radially arranged nylon threads aims to resolve: The Grid Gravity Radial tire is designed to offer plenty of grip thanks to its suppleness, without sacrificing stability.

Specialized Radial Tires — On the left, the Butcher with the standard Grid Gravity casing; on the right, with the new radial casing. Thanks to the Sweet Ply fabric, the tire is said to offer a larger contact patch at the same air pressure – and thus, according to Specialized, 30% more grip.

The new radial casing will initially only be used on the Specialized Butcher and Eliminator, and only in the Grid Gravity version – the heavy casing for downhill specialists.

Special tire construction with optimized nylon weave angle (Sweet Ply)
Same air pressure, more grip, almost constant stability
Available now as:
- Specialized Butcher Grid Gravity Radial T9 TLR — 29 & 27.5 × 2.4”
- Specialized Eliminator Grid Gravity Radial T7/T9 TLR — 29 & 27.5 × 2.4”
Price € 69 (RRP)
www.specialized.com

On the left the Eliminator, on the right the Butcher – with these two profiles, Specialized is starting the era of radial tires.

The tires were developed here in Germany, more precisely at the S-Works prototype workshop VormWalde in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to Specialized, the special feature of the radial Sweet Ply casing is that riders can use the same tire pressure as usual – no adjustment is necessary. Nevertheless, the tires are said to generate more grip with hardly any reduction in stability. Specifically, the manufacturer states a 30% reduction in radial stiffness, resulting in improved tire compliance. Lateral stiffness has only decreased by 7% compared to the standard Grid Gravity casing.