That’s a $400 bill at my local Trek shop… lol
I’ve tried the Bont Vapor G’s and the issue I found was not that the sole was too stiff, but the sides of the shoe are also extremely stiff and unforgiving. You can heat mold them, but if your foot shrinks or expands during longer rides you may get pressure points developing.
I went back to Sidi Drako 2’s. The sole is still really stiff, but the uppers are softer and much more comfortable than the Bont’s.
Best bet is to find a shop that carries a few different brands and find one that fits you well. I wouldn’t necessarily be scared off from a stiff sole based on your Bont Vaypor G experience, but make sure you get an upper that fits comfortably.
Maybe the new Specialized Recon 3.0. A bit more flex and grip than the old S Works.
I personally use the new (last year) S Works Recon for everything. Love it. No issues doing the hiking I had to at Leadville.
I’ll be racing Leadville this year. I’ve never raced Leadville, nor any bike race for that matter. I started a structured training plan at the start of the year. I live and train in Leadville. So far, almost all of my training has been done on the trainer with TR. I’m 5’9, 150lbs, I’ve gotten my FTP up to 255 (3.75 w/kg) so I think I’m in a good place at the moment. I’m not sure how I feel about the bike I’ll be using - 2024 Trek Top Fuel GX AXS T-Type. With pedals, it’s roughly 29lbs. I’ve read a lot about people using much lighter bikes, i.e., 20-25lbs. I know it’s only about a 5-7lbs difference for what a lot of riders use, but any insight to my bike choice being sufficient for the Leadville race? My biking background is mostly enduro, so I feel pretty confident on descending and general bike handling, just a bit nervous that the extra weight will be a burden towards the later miles of the race. I’m shooting for sub 9.
In general, I think people obsess too much about bike weight. But with the numbers you shared, an extra 5-7 lbs could be the difference to get in under 9. With that FTP at altitude and your experience being local, I still think you have a good shot even on that bike, but it would likely be close. If I were you, I’d do some test runs at 9 hour race pace on sections of the course (sections where drafting doesn’t matter) and compared against strava times on those segments to see where you stand. Every pound you save is good for ~90 seconds on that course, so 5 lbs is going to save ~7.5 minutes. Also, that sounds a little heavy for a top fuel. Any chance you can cut some weight on the current bike with tires, maybe wheels, etc. Keep in mind that people also tend to exaggerate the weight of their bikes in an optimistic way. Most of the 21-23lb full suspension bikes are not 21-23lbs outfitted for race day. Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples when comparing bike weights. I can absolutely get my spark RC down to ~22lbs, but it’s about 25lbs in full race gear.
Thanks @grwoolf for the info. My bike weight is with all stock parts per Trek’s website. One thing I will definitely switch out for the race will be faster rolling tires, which I’m assuming will be lighter weight than what came stock. Not sure how much that will save me in weight. I’ve also thought about losing my dropper post, but I’ll wait until I do some training runs down Columbine, Powerline, and Sugarloaf to see how those descents feel without a dropper. With being new to racing, I’m not too sure what else would make sense to do for weight savings without breaking the bank.
My first reaction, is if your FTP is actually 255 in Leadville - that is a big difference than most of us coming from sea level. My Sea Level FTP was ~315 last year, and it was 255-260 in Leadville. So if that’s the case at 150 lbs, you are in really good shape to go sub 9, especially being able to ride the course. (I was 25# heavier than you and came in just over 9) Even with 5# more on the bike than me, you’d still be roughly the same adjusted power and net 20# lighter.
Regarding the bike though, something to consider, you might be able to pick up a used Hardtail that’s much lighter weight, and sell it after the race for less of a delta than spending a bunch on parts for your Top Fuel, which will never be as light as a true XC Bike. I think it comes down to budget, if you want a new bike, interest in XC going forward, don’t know?
At the end of the day, one option is just don’t worry about it, get lighter faster tires, and give it hell. You have a big advantage living there and getting to ride the course all summer. I’m jealous
That is a good efficient bike and I think that weight is accurate with pedals and cages on.
I have lightened my Epic Evo Pro from 25.8 to around 23.5lbs without compromising it’s ability. It was fun but costly. I found the biggest bang for buck was tyres, saddle and a lighter dropper post so you might want to start there without breaking the bank.
Thanks for your comments! It’s nice to hear feedback on a topic that is a bit foreign to me. I’m going to race the Silver Rush 50 in July to give me a better idea of how to estimate my pacing and goal time for Leadville. Once our trails/LT100 course dry out, I’ll feel better about my ability to go under 9.
You bring up a good point with looking into a hardtail. I just bought a gravel bike, so a bit tough to justify another bike in the same season, but not out of the question. At the end of the day, I like what you say by just getting lighter tires and giving it hell!
Switching from stock tires will definitely save some weight as well as rolling resistance. Wheels can save a good bit of weight as well, but can be pricey. Wheels are one of the first places people upgrade their bikes, stock wheels often suck unless you are buying the high end build. I always buy lower end builds and add good wheels and keep the stock wheels as backup (nice to have at aid stations if you have crew).
Hopping in here- 2024 will be my 3rd consecutive Leadville. 35yo male living at sea level.
2022- first year consistently riding and first year racing. Training consisted of me hammering MTB trails any chance I got with no structured interval work. Rest weeks were mostly traveling to friends weddings and treating my body like an amusement park. Somehow finished in 11:34.
2023- hired a coach in Nov ‘22 and started doing legitimate training including intervals etc. Raced more including Crusher in the Tushar(yikes) and finished Leadville in 10:13.
2024- finally caught up with the times and bought a power meter at the end of ‘23. Sea level FTP is around 260 and weighing 152(3.75w/kg) at the moment. Recently finished Sea Otter in 6:13(215 NP) and was stoked with that result.
I’m ambitiously shooting for sub-9. I’ll be in town for 3 weeks before the race and also participating in the stage race to help my corral position and gather data/course knowledge. I’m not the most powerful rider but feel strong on the endurance and nutrition pieces.
For those trying to get into the race after many tries, I’ve gone the charity route every year and never regretted it once. Plenty of tremendous organizations to raise money for and you’ll be surprised how generous your friends are when you make the ask. I ride for First Descents who requires $3500 to be raised. One email to friends/family/coworkers each year telling the story of Leadville is usually more than enough to hit my minimum.
Good luck everyone.
That’s Orange Corral if last year’s times stand. You can do a lot worse. There are three waves currently starting behind you.
Conventional wisdom to go sub 9 is 4 W/kg at sea level, which is about 3.2 W/kg at Leadville - so you are in pretty good shape there. Course, you also need to get pacing and nutrition right, but if your FTP is accurate, you’re in a good spot from a fitness perspective.
I’d say that’s a fine bike. Worth riding full sus IMO vs hard tail. It’s a long day on the bike, and a full sus is a lot more forgiving. You can do a few things to lose a lb or two.
Yup. This’ll help. Continental Race King Pros are past rolling, and also lighter than the stock tires in the Top Fuel (I believe).
I’ve ridden Leadville once with a dropper, once without. Sounds like you have good riding skills if your background is enduro, plus you are not a tall rider.
So I’d say you can definitely get away with not having a dropper. It’s pretty easy to remove - just remove the dropper, while leaving the cable installed.
The biggest risk factor at Leadville is getting up too much speed on steep descents, and not being able to stop or turn quickly enough on loose-over-hard surfaces. Riskiest spots for this are primarily on Columbine and Powerline descents, and secondarily on Sugarloaf and Kevin’s descents. A dropper doesn’t really help for these situations. (Although one thing to be mindful of is the water bars on Kevin’s - dropper does help for jumping them).
I’ve seen stats in the past on the multiplier to apply to your SR50 time to estimate your LT100 time. For the years when I rode, the multiplier was 1.7x… but the LT100 course has changed a bit since then, and maybe the SR50 course also. I’d bet you can find the current multipliers somewhere on the interwebs.
Yep I’m hoping starting in Orange is a big help. I was blue the last 2 years and started way too slow(22- mechanical on Carter, 23-rode until Powerline with my brother, who was doing his first Leadville). I paid the price both years on the goat trail conga line despite passing 200+ people on the way up Columbine. Obviously not a great pacing strategy.
Better strategy, 7lb lighter bike, + and extra year of training will be enough to give me a shot hopefully.
Anyone have advice on target times for the stage race if you’re shooting for sub 9? I’ve heard anywhere from 30-90 minutes faster than your goal time.
I can’t help with the stage race specifically, but you’ll either need to have a pretty perfect day to go sub-9, or just not be all that impacted by altitude at 3.75 w/kg. It’s been mentioned here many times, but generally 4w/kg at sea level starts to put you in the ballpark, but that is by no means a given. It’s also more than W/kg and altitude, it’s how you’re training, your volume, and your fatigue resistance at your FTP.
Are you racing with a Power Meter on your bike? If so, I’d try and dial in what your altitude adjusted FTP is while you’re in Leadville, test it on some training rides at the bottom of columbine and then I’d pace off of power targets. Pacing off of an aspirational finish time could end up being a bad idea if it’s not a realistic pace. Basically, low sweet spot (altitude adjusted, NOT your sea level sweet spot) on the climbs, and try and get in groups pushing tempo on the flats. Towards the end, ramp it up from Powerline in if you’re feeling good. For the stage race, you can get away with going harder, I’m just not sure how much.
Maybe push a little hard at the beginning on Kevin’s and Sugarloaf on the way out, but still just higher in Sweet Spot. The trick with Leadville will be if you push too hard too early and then blow up for Powerline, Carter, and the Boulevard on the way in and end up going a lot slower overall because of it.
It really depends on what kind of rider you are, specifically how good your endurance is. Can you race for 9 hours near the pace/power you race for 3 hours or is there a big drop off? For riders who drop off a good bit after 3 hours, adding 90 minutes (or more) to your stage race time is going to be pretty close. If you have really good durability/endurance, maybe it’s only 30 minutes. Adding an hour to the stage race time is a good middle ground. I did the stage race back in 2019 in 8:05 and then the 100 in 2021 in 8:49. It was a 2 year gap (covid), and I was in a little better shape in 2021, no mechanicals, and left every bit of myself on course. Check out best bike split. It’s not perfect, but can get you pretty close if you know what kind of power you can put out for 9+ hours.
BTW, I’ll be riding sweeper at the stage race all 3 days. Other than when you are coming down Columbine, I hope I never see you… The stage race is a blast, much more relaxed vibe compared to the 100. Good luck.
Thanks @grwoolf and @BCM for the feedback- all good info.
I’m certainly more tuned towards endurance vs. short term power, and I like how you think about the stage race that way. I’m getting there 4 days before which I know is about the worst thing you can do for altitude acclimation, so my expectations will be low going in.
For instance - I did Sea Otter Fuego XL a few weeks ago at an IF of .91. That tells me my FTP is probably off, but also that I can hold high(relative to me) power for an extended period.
Thanks for the info, very helpful! In regard to tires, I’ve seen a range of tires that people like. I’m ideally seeking a fast rolling tire that doesn’t skimp on flat protection. From what you recommended (Race King Pros), what’s your opinion on flat protection? Also, my Top Fuel is set up with 2.4 tires, but can run 2.2’s and anything in between. Do you recommend a size for a race like Leadville with a bike such as a Top Fuel?