When Specialized puts their mind to something, they typically come up with a winning product. With the help of their Monster Energy Specialized downhill team, they’ve created quite the portfolio of capable downhill tires that consumers can purchase for 2011. When riders like Sam Hill and Brendan Fairclough are behind helping you design tires, its hard not to come up with winning tire combinations. Inside we take a look at their Butcher, HillBilly, and Storm tires.

When it comes to tires, Specialized is familiar with what it takes as tires were the cornerstone that theystarted off with after all.

General feedback on the three DH tires we’re taking a look at:

Sidewall:

Specialized did a nice job on creating a good sidewall that provide good support for the tire.  If the sidewalls of a tire are too hard, the tire can have a hard time reacting and conforming to changing terrain.  Too thin or soft and the tire can deform too easily, causing it to feel squirmy or flat too easily.  The DH tire casing on the Storm / Butcher / HillBilly offer ample support in our opinion without being too stiff or too soft.

Tire Wear / Durability / Stickiness:

These tires have a 70a base paired with the 42a top layer. It offers a good mix for durability,  support, and some decent stickiness out of the tire.  Our tires are all wearing pretty well, so they should last easily as well or better than most Maxxis offerings.  We haven’t experienced any major chunks coming off the corner of the knobs but have seem some stressed corners under hard use (see the Butcher for visual example).  They’re not quite as soft or gooey as the competition’s softest offerings but they certainly are more than capable enough in our opinion.  It would be nice to have an option to purchase stickier options, but for right now this is what they’re offering to the public.

Butcher DH Spec’s:

• Compound: Base 70a / Top 42a
• Casing: 60 TPI, dual ply
• Weight: 1205.8g (average of 4 tires) for 26×2.3 | see verified weights in our weights section
• Size options: 26×2.3 (pictured) or 26×2.5
• MSRP: $60.00

Some Feedback:

The Butcher DH is a tire that is great for dry terrain.  It could be said that it has a resemblance to the Maxxis DHF tire but there certainly are some changes to it that set it apart.  Size wise, the 26×2.3 offering is roughly equal in size to a 26×2.5 Maxxis offering.  We ran the tire with similar air pressures to Maxxis DH offerings and had good results with the 25-30psi range.

(click to enlarge)

The tire has really nice cornering knobs that have a good supportive feel to them that helps you confidently turn on its edge.  It’s a fast rolling tire that holds speed well.  One thing we noticed with these tires is that the center knobs are a higher than a DHF in comparison to the edge knobs.  This gives them a little bit more bite in terrain when its loose but when transferring onto rocks or very dry and fast rolling terrain we felt the center knobs could’ve been a bit lower.  You could certainly cut the center knobs to be lower in these cases but overall the tires work well out of the box.  Every other block in the center knob is ramped and this helps them hold speed well as well as get on/off terrain.

(click to enlarge)

HillBilly DH Spec’s:

• Compound: Base 70a / Top 42a
• Casing: 60 TPI, dual ply
• Pinch Protection: Butyl inserts at bead
• Weight: 1236.75g (average of 2 tires) | see verified weights in our weights section
• Size options: 26×2.3 (pictured)
• MSRP: $70.00

Some Feedback:

The HillBilly DH is a dry spike tire.  While it works well in loose and dry conditions, it also works pretty well when things get a little bit wet.  The HillBilly is useful when conditions are wet but don’t quite warrant a full length spike.  Cut spikes are nothing new. World Cup racers have ran cut Wet-Screams for some time now.  Specialized has developed a tire here that is already cut and is designed to be used in drier conditions.  The knurled knob tops are designed to help the tires maintain traction on rocks, roots, and loose terrain, be it wet or dry.  Compared to full spikes these tires are definitely confidence inspiring, as they didn’t squirm on top of roots/rocks and maintained their composure better in situations where a full spike can turn rocks into an ice skating ring.

(click to enlarge)

Size wise, the 26×2.3 offering is almost equal in size to a 26×2.5 Maxxis offering.  We ran the tire with similar air pressures to Maxxis DH offerings and had good results with the 25-30psi range similar to the Butcher.  It would be nice to have a slightly wider option here as well since speeds in the dry are higher than the wet, so some additional volume in the tire could prove beneficial for riders we felt.

(click to enlarge)

The HillBilly is a winner in our book and is perhaps is a what a lot of riders will be after whether they know it or not.  It’s a great tire in the dry loam and still performs well when things turn wet.  It isn’t a tire you’d really want to run when you’re riding terrain that is exclusively rocky but if you’ve got terrain that has a good mix soft ground be it wet or dry, this tire is quite a treat to run.

Storm DH Spec’s:

• Compound: Base 70a / Top 42a
• Casing: 60 TPI, dual ply
• Weight: 1145.9g (average of 2 tires) for 26×2.3 | see verified weights in our weights section
• Size options: 26×2.3 (pictured)
• MSRP: $70.00

Some Feedback:

The Storm DH is Specialized’s full spike tire offering.  Size wise, the 26×2.3 offering is equal in size to a 26×2.5 Maxxis offering.

(click to enlarge)

The Storm DH tire has deep knobs that help it penetrate wet and muddy terrain.  The tire compound isn’t as soft as a Maxxis SuperTacky. It has a bit more supportive feel to it.  The cornering knobs are quite robust and compared to the Maxxis Wet Scream’s. We felt they offered a bit firmer knob to push against.

(click to enlarge)

The center knobs have a tapered design so if you do choose to cut the tread down, they offer a good visual cut spot. Spacing on them is ample to allow for good mud shedding to keep the tires penetrating the ground well.  We haven’t had a ton of time on these tires to provide too much feedback yet but they’ve felt solid so far in wet terrain.  The tread is centered pretty evenly across the tire. In our opinion that helps give the tire some more predictability in wet terrain.

If you’re in the market for some new tires for 2011, Specialized has a lot to offer that shouldn’t be overlooked.  Visit your local Specialized dealer for best pricing.