Breckenridge gets my vote. I like their downtown. It’s bougie in terms of price for sure, but still more mountain town-feeling compared to Vail & Aspen.
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i took my wife to Vail after SBT in 2023. we had such a great time that we live in Telluride now… lol
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Vail has some nice riding too. It has been a couple years but went mid-week and a lift pass was $50 all day and no lines. Downhill trails were fun!
Chainrings
Looking for advice - targeting 9 to 10 hour finish based on 5:50 finish at Sea Otter. I run a 34 - 10/52.
Any thoughts on this setup for Leadville. I am on the heavier side - 180lbs, FTP 300w.
My thought is that the bigger chainring will help me take advantage of the flatter sections.
All input welcome.
Thanks.
Whatever you run, you’ll almost certainly be wishing for an easier gear for significant stretches of the race. I’ve gone under 9 a few times and have always run a 32. Right around 4w/kg and 300+ FTP (sea level). Have considered a 30 and I’ve never been spun out in a way that I think is costing me time.
I’ve finished twice in the same time window as you with a 30T. The only place you’ll feel spun out is on the initial pavement descent out of town. After that, it’s generally better to just freewheel on the steep descents and save some energy.
You’ll spend probably 50x more time pedaling up steep hills than you will pedaling on sections where you feel spun out. Optimize for the climbs. I’d recommend 30T.
Im bigger w higher FTP, sub 9 and ran 32. 34 will be too big.
Last year was 175 ish for race day. Finished in 8:43 last year on a good day. FTP 335-340 ish at Sea Level. I used the 34, and am going to again this year, but I’d call it even a little borderline and have thought about going down to a 32. I still may for this year as I don’t have a problem spinning.
The reason I do like the 34, I’m moving just slightly faster when I’m in my bail-out gear, and the sections I walked I would have walked with the 32 too.
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The last point you make is what I was thinking. When I am going as slow as I can I would be going slightly faster with the 34.
The other points that folks raised resonate.
Thanks for all the responses.
Yes, but I think at your weight and power, 32 is the better choice unless you’re an absolute low cadence grinder. And in that case, you should probably work on spinning more anyways.
I would go 32. Last year I had a 32, weighing 175 with an FTP of 325 living at 6k. The first time I pre-road Leadville I was surprised at how steep some of the climbs are…specifically St. Kevins, Goat Trail at top of Columbine and Powerline on the way back. I think the 32 (or even 30) will outweigh the benefits of having a 34 on the flat sections based on your information.
Chainring size, follow up. Well, this is embarrassing. In my post yesterday I asked for advice on chainring size thinking I had a 34 tooth chainring. I actually have a 32 tooth chain ring. So … I plan on keeping it. The issue with a 30 is I would need new cranks and then I would want a new power meter.
So … my plan is to keep the 32. I might test a 30, but thinking I will hit my goal (sub 10) with a 32.
Thanks again for all the advice.
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ran a 30t last year and did a pre-ride of every sector. Only place I spun out is parts of Pipeline. Was thankful to have that 30t on the first pitch at Saint Kevin’s, breaking the tree line on Columbine, and parts of Powerline Inbound. There were places where I was just spent and spinning a 30-51 (Shimano) was all I could manage.
Thanks for the reccomendations further up the page. She is happy with an AirBNB with a hot tub so think we are sorted now.
The plan is:
3rd August - Fly in from the UK and stay at an AirBNB in Jefferson (similar altitude to Leadville so should help). 4 days to relax, get the bike ready etc.
7th August - head to Copper mountain where we have a Condo for 3 nights to make it easier for logistics etc with heading to Leadville on the Friday
10th August - Sunday after Leadville head to a Condo in Breckenridge which access to a pool and hot tub and we can walk into town for restaurants etc
13th August - 2 nights in a cabin near Colorado Springs so nice and secluded but with access to other places if we need it
She is happy with that plan - we fly back to the UK overnight on the 15th. Lots of relaxing time with access to some other places and not too longer drives.
We just got back from a road trip to Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas with a lot of driving but a lot of the distances we have checked are a lot shorter so should be good for us. Looking forward to getting into the mountains.
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Solid Plan! I live in Breckenridge and was going to recommend coming here after Leadville. If you need recommendations for anything in Breck while you’re here don’t hesitate to reach out. Been living here for nearly 20 years.
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If you need company/guidance riding around CO Springs - feel free to ping me, I’ll be happy to show you around.
Pikes peak is nearby. A bit of a tourist trap, but worth a visit if you have time. And there is a cool hike up some crazy stairs right next to the cog railway (last chance to use those leadville legs and extra red blood cells) - Manitou Incline - Manitou Springs
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I’d beg to differ. Waste of time 
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Kinda hoping for a bit of a sanity check. I had a blast at Fuego XL, beat my target time by 10 minutes, which got me into the Purple corral for Leadville. But I know I lost a lot of time on the downhill portions of singletrack. I never had to walk anything & I definitely smoothed things out on the second lap, but how worried should I be about this for Leadville?
I’m wanting to go sub-9, FTP is over 4w/kg, I felt good on the climbs during Fuego, but I’m kinda trash (imo) on going fast downhill when things get tight & twisty. Leadville is less technical than Fuego, yeah?
Haven’t done Fuego, but the leadville descents are generally straight (except some hairpins on fast gravel road sections). I wouldn’t call any of them technical, but pretty chunky in places. The technicality comes from high speed and high consequence. You can burn a ton of time picking your way down if you aren’t comfortable riding chunk at high speed, so definitely work on that if it’s a limiter. If your 4w/kg is sea level, that is in the ballpark for sub 9, but you may not have much buffer. Hopefully someone else will chime in with a comparison to Fuego.
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