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First Ride: Specialized Hillbilly reinforces tread for the wet and loose

specialized hillbilly mtb tire for wet loose condtions
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Specialized has updated the Hillbilly mountain bike tire, their answer to the steepest and softest, or loosest conditions offered up by mother nature. It maintains the widely spaced tread block pattern of the previous iteration, the most notable alteration coming in the form of block-in-block transition knobs at the edge, said to add reinforcement and stability when plowing deep into soft loam or railing rock slabs. Available in Grid Trail and Grid Gravity casings, its tread pattern is made up of Specialized’s stickiest, lowest rebound T9 rubber, prioritizing out-and-out grip over rolling resistance and durability. Sizing options include 29″ x 2.4″ and 27.5″ x 2.4″.

specialized hillbilly detail tread pattern updated wet loose conditions
The Specialized Hillbilly’s center-tread now has more uniform square-shaped blocks with siping. The side knobs are now staggered, with the more inboard of the two types featuring inboard protrusions that serve to transition grip from the center to the edge knobs, while also providing additional braking surface area.

While the super soft, slippery trail conditions we’re accustomed to have been absent for many months, they have given way to some of the loosest, marble-like conditions I’ve ever seen in this valley. Here’s how our first ride went.

New Specialized Hillbilly

specialized hillbilly 2022 first ride impressions enduro trails crankbrothers synthesis wheel rockshox zeb fork

I tested the 29″ x 2.4″ Specialized Hillbilly in the Grid Gravity casing, with a tubeless setup, on the SCOR 4060 LT I’ve been testing for the last few weeks. After wrestling the tough carcass onto the rim of a Crankbrothers Synthesis aluminum wheel I struggled to get rapid enough inflation to seat the tire with a Topeak Joe Blow Sport pump. I resorted to the use of my trusty Air Shot, and was successful thereafter. With sealant injected via the valve core, and pressure adjusted to 17 PSI, I was good to go.

Yes, 17 PSI is low. Much lower than that recommended on the tire casing. Here you’ll see a warning not to ride the tire below a minimum pressure of 25 PSI. Weighing just 61.5 kg in a full riding kit, and given the GRID Gravity casing of the tire, I wasn’t at all concerned. Besides, I find most tires, particularly those with a tough casing, perform best at pressures considerably lower than the manufacturer’s minimum recommendation.

new specialized hillbilly 29" x 2.4" actual width
The Hillbilly 29″ x 2.4″ is true to size, measuring up bang-on 2.4″ at 30 PSI on the 31.5mm internal rim width of the Crankbrothers Synthesis wheel.

My experience of the new Specialized Hillbilly is limited to one short ride, so I’ll keep this brief. Also, I’ve no previous experience of the former Specialized Hillbilly, so can’t provide a comparison.

In the loose, marble-like conditions of some of the over-ridden, over-baked trails, the Hillbilly’s connection with the terrain was confidence-inspiring from the off. Though you’ll see the marketing weighted heavily toward, slippery, loamy conditions, my experience is that it deals very well with loose-over-hardpack conditions. I’ve not yet been able to test it in the aforementioned quagmire.

specialized hillbilly widely space tread pattern bites into loose terrain

The Hillbilly seems to perform as well as the 29″ x 2.4″ Goodyear Newton MTF tire I recently tested, but with more of a damped ride feel. I haven’t carried out a back-to-back test between the two, but my memory tells me the good level of grip provided when leaned over in loose, gravelly corners is comparable. The tire felt calm and collected over the rough, shifting surfaces of steep chutes, transferring that sense of calm and confidence onto the rider. Because of that, I was able to build trust in the tire’s ability to grip at speed over the course of a single descent, the kind of trust that can often take multiple laps or rides to build up.

specialized hillbilly block in block

The Specialized Grid Gravity casing lacked the wooden feeling I’ve come to associate with some other manufacturer’s tough casing tires, tested at that same low pressure of 17 PSI. It has a supple yet supportive feel to it that translates to good overall control when ploughing at speed over rubble. All that said, the damped ride feel could equally be attributed to the soft, low-rebound T9 rubber that makes up the tread pattern. Either way, the two combined seem to make for a good partnership, and I’ll be happy to put in many more miles on this tire to find out how it performs in the impending wet, greasy conditions that lie in store.

specialized hillbilly mtb tire wet slippery greasy conditions
The Specialized Hillbilly’s intended conditions…

Pricing & Availability

Pricing for the new Specialized Hillbilly is as follows:

  • 27.5″ and 29″ x 2.4″ Grid Gravity T9 will retail at €70 or $75 USD

  • 27.5″ and 29″ x 2.4″ Grid Trail T9 will retail at €60 and $70 USD

Specialized.com

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6 Comments
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Joenomad
Joenomad
1 year ago

Specialized marketing folks should know that the term Hillbilly is typically considered a derogatory word.

Vince E.
Vince E.
1 year ago
Reply to  Joenomad

Specialized should bring back the Naughty Nurse campaign.

Jason D West
Jason D West
1 year ago
Reply to  Joenomad

The derogatoriness is okay considering the type of stereotypical people they’re considered. Its ok for some.

TheKaiser
TheKaiser
1 year ago
Reply to  Jason D West

I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or serious. It sounds like you are saying that derogatory terms are OK to use as long as your personal value judgment says that the people are of a low value, deplorable, etc…I shouldn’t need to explain where that sort of thinking leads.

Joe Bond
Joe Bond
1 year ago
Reply to  Joenomad

Appalachian American instead?

Andreas
Andreas
1 year ago

I don’t really get why Specialized introduced a new iteration of the Hillbillys. The existing version was almost perfect. All they needed to do was to bring out the only missing version in their lineup: a 2.6″ Grid Trail T9 Hillbilly in both 650B and 29″. Specialized, why are you still sleeping on this? Why cut down the knobs and launch this weaksauce nonsense? You already have the Butcher for that.

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