So i'm in leadville... now what

Triathlon Forum
1

long story short, i signed up for the 50 miler because i didn’t think i would get into the 100. well, i got in, so now i’m doing both.

after reading up a ton, it seems like the course is not technical, just difficult.

most suggestions is to get a nice and light full suspension, but those cost a ton of money. i’m currently riding a trek fuel ex 9.8xt. i can lock the front and rear out, and can throw in some tires that will roll better, even then the bike will be 30lbs. that’s not the end of the world, but by leadville race day, i’ll likely be 122-126lbs… 30lbs is a solid amount of weight for me to bike around.

with that said, here are what i believe to be my options.

shell out about 5k to drop 5lbs (full suspension xc mtb), or about 2k to go hard tail (doesn’t really drop more than 5lbs as well, i don’t want to drop 5k on a hard tail), that or train my ass off.

with that said, do i really need to be riding my mtb a ton for training? looking at the course, i feel i might be better off riding my road bike for long rides with tons of elevation gains…

thoughts? suggestions? oh, i want to get a buckle…

2

Full suspension will be faster.

Easily doable on lots of road miles if you’re a competent mountain biker, lots of climbing in training will help.

Recommend a lot of patience on race day depending on your start position - there are plenty of racers who aren’t even sure what bike to bring or how to train, and they’re all intent on getting a buckle.

Have fun and enjoy the views!

3

Have fun out there! Leadville is a great experience for sure. I did the 100 and 50 three times on a hard tail 29er with 100 mm fork. No problems at all. The bike weighed about 21 lbs. But I came from a long xc background. Like you said, the course is not technical but you do need pay attention with lots racers and 2 way traffic up/down the long climb at the turnaround. The 50 miler is actually rockier and a little more technical. I think what I have seen over the last 15 years or so by many mtb riders is a total disregard for bike weight, especially for trail bikes. Which still surprises me. 30 pounds is a lot for me and I would not want to pedal a bike that heavy for 100 miles above 10,000 feet elevation. At your very low body weight, it just seems a shame not to have a lighter bike. I would recommend a cheaper hard tail, perhaps add a dropper post, but of course a bike you would enjoy and keep riding. I did a mix of road and mtb in training with lots of climbing. Even on the mtb, I would find long 2-3 hour climbs to throw in during a ride.

4

Drop a few more bucks (or double) and get the Super Caliber AXS and weight goes down to about 20lbs.

Btw, I don’t know much about Leadville. Never done it but plenty of friends have. Living in the flatlands of Houston they did the majority of their training either on the road or when we did gravel rides they’d take their MTB instead of the gravel bike and do big days.

5

That’s 10 grand. I love mtb but I don’t see myself xc racing. That’s too much for a bike that’ll I’ll use for this one race.

Great tips so far. Keep em coming!

6

I am a heavier rider (200lbs) and I would not want to ride a 30lbs bike up that climb either. I think as a lighter rider the additional bike weight becomes really noticeable.

Suggestion #1:

I do a lot of mtb riding and prefer riding up climbs; my recommendation would be to look on pinkbike (lots of filters for size/travel/material/price) and pick up a full suspension 29er which you could unload after if requried.

A quick browse shows lots of very nice used bikes between $4k and $5k; these bikes will all likely be around 25lbs or less.

e.g.: 2018 Cannondale Scalpel SI (m) with carbon Enve wheels, 100/100 travel. Listed at sub 23 lbs.

Of course you would have to find something local or be ok with shipping but there are lots of options.

Suggestion #2:

If you can show up early (5+ days) and get acclimatized to the elevation. It’s crazy how much less power you will have up there. You can do some reading and estimate your approximate power losses.

7

I’ll sell you one of my buckles.

8

I only did Leadville once. I qualified for the 100 miler at one of the Leadville Series events (austin rattler) and was able to ride quick enough to be put in the Gold corral at leadville. I live at about 1000ft and only got to leadville 2 days before the race. The altitude kicked my butt, but i was able to get one of the gold buckles.

My tips (like i said, I’ve only done this once):

  • Try hard to get the fastest time you can at the Silver Rush 50. That will help you get a better start corral for Leadville. Check the times here
  • The start at leadville is downhill and paved. It felt like a road race start because the people in the first two corrals were trying to defend their position, and the corrals behind were all trying to fight their way to the front. If you think you belong further to the front, try to move up on the downhill. If you are nervous in big groups right now, do some big/fast road group rides before the race to get more comfortable. Otherwise, you’ll be a danger to yourself and others, or you’ll lose hundreds of spots and be stuck in traffic once you start to climb.
  • YMMV, but at altitude i can’t recover from anaerobic efforts well. Especially if it happens on long climbs. Pace yourself wisely to stay aerobic.
  • My bike was stolen a couple weeks before leadville, so i hard to borrow one. Thankfully i was able to borrow almost the exact same bike, but i didn’t realize until i got to CO that it wasn’t shifting well into the 50t, and the brakes sucked. Make sure your bike is performing as good as it can. I didn’t think i would need the 50t anyway, but i would have used it. I used every gear i had (10-50 with a 34t front) and could have used more.
  • A hard tail would be just fine IMO. If you get a FS, i’d suggest either having dual remote lockout or something like the Epic w/ a brain. I was on an Epic and it seemed like the right bike for that course.
  • Most of the course is non technical double track. There are some paved miles too. The last part of the climb of Columbine was the most challenging for me and i did have to dismount and hike a piece of it, partially due to gearing and partially due to lack of oxygen i think.
  • I think some Vittoria Mezcal G+ tires with the tan sidewalls (faster casing) would be my choice. There were some thumbtacks on the course my year, so make sure you have good sealant just in case some loser puts more down this year.
  • I used a Camelbak Chase from the start to Twin Lakes. I gave it to my wife at Twin Lakes to climb Columbine without it. It felt so good to take it off that i never put it back on. I just used bottles.
  • Enjoy your time out there. We stayed in Twin Lakes in an awesome cabin. I highly recommend it. It’s right next to Mt Elbert, which is a relatively simple 14er to hike up. I wish we would have gone a week or so earlier. I think i would have felt better with the altitude. You can also check out Interlaken, Hope Pass, etc.
  • Food options are slim in Leadville/Twin Lakes. Breck isn’t too far, so we went there a few times to eat.
9

I did the 100 mile in 2018. Was shooting for around 9 hours and ended up at about 11:52…thought i was going to miss the cut-off. The altitude killed me going from basically sea level.

I did most of my training on my road bike, what i didn’t anticipate was the hand position on my MTB. My right hand was numb for 2 days after the event and i thought i had permanent nerve damage. Next time i will train in that position a lot more.

10

More awesome info. I keep a better eye on pinkbike I need a small or extra small frame as I’m only 5 foot 3 and all torso.

Lucky for me I’m comfortable riding in large groups and the elevation shouldn’t be too much of a problem as I’m going to be spending at least two weeks in Leadville training on the course and 2 weeks prior to that in Boulder doing flagstaff repeats.

From the sounds of it I should be putting it around a hundred fifty miles a week on the bike between Road and Mountain with a bulk of that being mountain biking uphill and getting a light full suspension if I can.

11

Not sure where you live and do most of your riding but I’d consider selling the Fuel EX and using that money to bankroll a lighter, shorter travel FS bike. There are lots of good options in the 120mm travel range that will save you a few pounds and be nearly as capable as the Fuel EX for daily riding. The difference between a 30lb trail bike and a 25lb XC/downcountry bike is significant.

The challenge is getting exactly what you want right now as inventory is pretty jacked up.

12

Not sure where you live and do most of your riding but I’d consider selling the Fuel EX and using that money to bankroll a lighter, shorter travel FS bike. There are lots of good options in the 120mm travel range that will save you a few pounds and be nearly as capable as the Fuel EX for daily riding. The difference between a 30lb trail bike and a 25lb XC/downcountry bike is significant.

The challenge is getting exactly what you want right now as inventory is pretty jacked up.

i live close to the front range of colorado and spend a ton of time in grand junction, moab, st george and i don’t think a xc suspension is going to cut it on most of the black diamonds in that area. the fuel ex has 140 travel and i need most of it.

i’ve been watching pink bike, not a single decent fs xc bike in small or xs.

13

Not sure where you live and do most of your riding but I’d consider selling the Fuel EX and using that money to bankroll a lighter, shorter travel FS bike. There are lots of good options in the 120mm travel range that will save you a few pounds and be nearly as capable as the Fuel EX for daily riding. The difference between a 30lb trail bike and a 25lb XC/downcountry bike is significant.

The challenge is getting exactly what you want right now as inventory is pretty jacked up.

i live close to the front range of colorado and spend a ton of time in grand junction, moab, st george and i don’t think a xc suspension is going to cut it on most of the black diamonds in that area. the fuel ex has 140 travel and i need most of it.

i’ve been watching pink bike, not a single decent fs xc bike in small or xs.

What about something like a Transition Spur? 25ish lbs and reportedly a very capable descender (I’ve never ridden one). No idea about availability.

Do you plan to race more XC/long-distance stuff? If so maybe it’s worth investing in a lighter FS bike in addition to the Fuel. I’ve given up on the notion of a one-bike quiver for mountain biking.

14

I wonder if you could find one of the Yeti Beti ASCr bike they cleared out maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I love mine. Super light and I’ve gone off of the large drop at Valmont on it no problem- also ridden it at trestle, steamboat, granby ranch and snowmass bike parks- but nothing crazy- just for fun. I bet there are a bunch of very lightly used ones kicking around as they sold all of their remaining inventory locally. I’ve seen them on Craigslist a few times. I’m 5’6”
And have the small fame- it’s still big for my 5’2” daughter though.

15

I wonder if you could find one of the Yeti Beti ASCr bike they cleared out maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I love mine. Super light and I’ve gone off of the large drop at Valmont on it no problem- also ridden it at trestle, steamboat, granby ranch and snowmass bike parks- but nothing crazy- just for fun. I bet there are a bunch of very lightly used ones kicking around as they sold all of their remaining inventory locally. I’ve seen them on Craigslist a few times. I’m 5’6”
And have the small fame- it’s still big for my 5’2” daughter though.

do you know if it comes in xs? i’ 5’3" but i’m all torso, so if it’s large for your daughter, it might be a bit large for me. then again, i’m probably stronger than she is so i could probably handle the bike a tad better. i’ll keep an eye out for it.

as for future racing… idk, i really dabble in too many activities. i could see myself buying a fs xc bike and just letting my gf use that as she’ll never need more than 110-120mm travel since she doesn’t like big bumps… but that’s a lot of money to spend…

16

The Pro’s Closet is in Boulder. You might be able to buy something and pick it up when you arrive and sell it back after the race.

17

Just rent at that point… You would easily take a $1k loss with this approach

18

The Pro’s Closet is in Boulder. You might be able to buy something and pick it up when you arrive and sell it back after the race.

i’ve been looking daily. nothing in my size… xs/small xc bikes are hard to come by :frowning:

19

UPDATE:

so after searching and searching, i couldn’t find a sub 25lb bike in my size. so i just rolled the dice and went with my 34lb FS. i did switch to maxxis ikon 2.2’s, and picked up a tublito tube. i believe both of those items helped get my bike (equipped) down to about 32lbs.

day before the race i stepped on the scale and got down to 125.6. not quite the 122-123 range i wanted to be at, but it is what it is. i was living out of my van training near leadville/crested butte and was catching a ton of trout, and eating a ton of them, lol.

i raced the silver rush 50, getting 5:47, which bumped me up 2 corrals (orange, vs white). first half of the race went really well. i got in a group of 9 strong guys and we took turns pulling. i should have been smart and just rode their wheels, but didn’t want to take the free ride. the 2-3 pulls i did really burned a match. i was trying to hold their pace and they were all much heavier/stronger. i was easily doing 450+ watts during my pulls (estimate, no PM on mtb).

i also got hit at the start of the race (while in corrals) and didn’t have my 2 largest cassette rings, luckily at mile 40 cycles of life had a tent and a repair stand with a few bike techs. lost about 5 minutes, but i gained my 2 largest rings, but had to give up my 2 smallest rings. bike techs words “i did what i could, your RD is fucked, you got the 2 big ones, but lost the 2 small ones”, worth it, imo.

i stopped at the first stop since my crew was there. it was dumb, i had to burn a match to catch the group. my crew was late to the 2nd stop, so i ended up bumming some gels and water off people cheering. definitely lost 5 minutes looking around for them. again, i burned another match to bridge back up (stupid) since i burned a match to get to columbine. columbine was fine. i rode the fire road for the 5th time and this was my 2nd fastest time up. pacing felt great. once i got on goat hill it was a shit show. it was a walk fest, no one was riding, i tried to ride, but people are so tired they don’t do a great job getting out of the way, plus it felt too dangerous with riders coming down the first and last 3rd of it.

it was a hot day, my 945 registered 100, my 510 registered 95. both i think were exaggerated, felt more like high 80s, but the sun was strong and i missed my crew so i didn’t have any sun block. after columbine i saw my crew, i passed them, but rode back to change into thinner socks, dump my headband, and pick up some extra fuel. from then on, i decided to use course nutrition. i have never used a crew (9 or 10x im, 22 marathon, multiple 24 hr races), but figured it would give them a better experience (never again), it was too stressful.

the rest of the course was tough. i was told the 2nd half is easier, no way. it was way more difficult. powerline is a brutal climb. i tried to ride it, but realized it wasn’t worth it after a few hundred hards and walked with the other 200 people on it.

i finished the race 10:41 my watch time (pressed when i started and finished). 10:13 total riding time. i lost about 12 minutes looking for my crew/etc and about another 10 sitting under a tree to cool down.

it was the hardest race i’ve ever done. the last 20 miles of the race was the most difficult 20 miles i have ever ridden on a bike (even harder than riding an 100lb fully loaded bike across the country). i finished, and threw up a few times when i got back to the hotel, not being able to eat until a few hours later.

training: 1490 miles on the mountain bike, about 50 on tri bike, few short hikes, 190k vert
bike: trek fuel ex 9.8xt

after the race, i said never again. the next morning, i was like nope, that was too hard, later that day, i said i needed a lighter bike if i ever did it again. today i’m asking friends if they want to sign up with me next year.

the best endurance athletes have the worst memories imo.

thanks for all the advice, suggestions etc. i think if i race again, i’ll try to get the bike sub 20, go for 4k miles and 400k vert, hope for slightly cooler weather, and i’m pretty sure i can go sub 9 if the stars align. i’m not personally proud of the small buckle lol

20

Nice work getting it done, and a great time for a 30+ pound bike.