It may be worth creating an account with Best Bike Split. You get one course for free - and can create a plan for the Leadville route.
This will give you power targets and time splits for the entire course.
You’ll need to play around with the settings (course surface, bike type) to get reasonable estimates.
I found it instructive - as the pacing strategy it recommends is one to minimize time for the overall course. The result is an “even” pacing strategy and it’s interesting to see how “slow” the pacing appears to be for the first half of the course - it’s emphasizing what you hear people say about not going out too hard.
I’ve looked at split times of past participants whose overall time is at my target (I’m aiming for sub 10), and nearly everyone goes out faster than the “ideal” pacing would suggest. I also did this my last two times, so will aim for more conservative initial pacing this time.
Agree on the educational stuff, not a great place for training advice. But there is a some good logistical info and general “rah rah, dig deep” motivational content.
My top tube sticker (still on my bike from last year)
Crowd sourcing thoughts here. I’m getting a new rig this year and am interested in something that will perform well at long xc races (Lutsen, Leadville, etc.) but also be comfortable on ‘tame’ single track.
I’m totally confused on why Santa Cruz has a Trail and XC version of the Blur. They seem almost identical to me and I’m not sure I’d even notice a difference. Any thoughts on differences between these two builds (if any) and which may be better for Leadville?
My current bike is 100/100 travel and I think I just want all around a little more ‘squish’, especially in the front.
I’d be looking at any of the newer 120/120 XC bikes. My trail bike has been hanging from the ceiling since I got my epic 8, I seldom ride anywhere where the epic isn’t the better choice.
Yeah pretty close. It’s a somewhat “front loaded” pacing plan with the turn-around at 4:35. Since the return has less climbing, some will target closer to 4:40 or even 4:45 and still get in under 9. I like to have some wiggle room in case I have a flat or something goes sideways, so these are the targets I want to hit throughout the day and hopefully be a little ahead as the day progresses. I wouldn’t feel like sub 9 is out of reach if I turned around at ~4:40, but I’d know it’s going to be tight and things will need to go perfect the rest of the day.
Small differences when I look at them in their compare feature. 115mm vs 107mm of rear travel, trail weighs slightly more, regular has a remote lockout vs no lockout for the trail, and the rear rotor on the trail is larger.
One thing I will say about my Epic 8 with Flight Attendant. On my very first ride I PR’d a chunky downhill on my local trails that I’ve probably ridden 50 times on my Oiz. The bike rips and is incredibly capable once you get it set up.
But, just to be honest, part of me thinks it’s the Flight Attendant and setting it 25-30% sag and still able to maintain a stiff pedaling platform
Regarding the Garmin - I think that idea was better in theory than practice for me anyways
I loaded it up to see what it looked like on my 1040, but decided the last thing I wanted to be doing while riding Leadville was fiddling with my Garmin screens and trying to read small time splits like that.
Simple top tube chart for me - Sharpie, a piece of paper, and some packing tape works great and easy to see.
I rode a Blur from ‘22-‘25, non-trail version. Basically the XO AXS RSV model you are looking at. Moved to an epic WC for Leadville last year.
I wouldn’t go back to the Blur. It was fine. I love my WC, but it is definitely stiff. Ultimately it climbs like a machine, and I’m a decent downhill handler and don’t mind a little chatter. The WC suspension keeps the back wheel on the dirt.
If I were buying a new bike this year, the epic 8 would be hard to pass up. But I’d also look long and hard at the Scalpel. You can build a ~22lb race machine for less than the epic 8, and the reports on how it descends sound very convincing. Apparently a lot happens in the rear triangle with their flex pivot system that is beyond my understanding.
I just use some cheap “hard” ones off amazon, find them easy to grab and get a shot, also easy to clean. These 10oz ones actually hold about 12oz (~280g of carbs for me). I don’t typically top them off, just fill based on how much I need before next swap.
Yeah, tires would be biggest thing. Definitely a pure XC tire course. Not much “technical” turning involved, but there are a few loose over hard fast descending sections with turns that will make you pucker regardless of what you are running. I don’t consider it a course prone to flats, I think pinch flatting on the high speed chunky descents are the biggest risks rather than cuts/punctures. Conti Dubnital RR is a pretty popular option.
There are enough fast/flat road and tame gravel sections that having an alternate “aero” hand position can be helpful if you are comfortable with that. A lot of people wrap their bars near the stem for this. I’ve got SRAM blip shifters there as well.
Some people would say nix the dropper for the sake of weight savings. That’s just preference. Nothing on the course requires a dropper for most riders, but I always use one because the descents are fast and high consequence and you will be very tired on at least a couple of them.
Weight savings (dropper or other) = assume every extra pound on your bike/body is going to cost you 1-2 minutes (depending on your pace/power), so just do the math on the cost/benefit for your situation.
The biggest issue I’d personally have with that bike is I assume it doesn’t have a remote lockout for shock/fork. Lots of people don’t have an issue with that, but I couldn’t imagine racing a course like leadville without being able to lock my suspension. But I climb when standing a lot and that’s where I really find an open suspension annoying. Again, just preference and it’s not an issue if it’s not an issue for you.
Yeah, I’ve considered the fork lockout as well, but I know it’s a matter of preference, and plenty of people do Leadville without a lockout, so I’m not sure I’m going to stress out too much about it for my first Leadville. Sounds like I should swap out the tires at least. Any strong opinions on the Conti Dubnitals vs Schwalbe Ricks? Will likely do 2.4s and I’m more focused on feeling good rather than outright speed.
