Dual Aspen ST 2.25s. Just slip and slide on those columbine descents. Well worth it!
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I’ll be at the camp too! Looking forward to trying to keep up with you
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Camp is fantastic - such a great little midsummer break for those of us dealing with the heat an humidity at home, and you get to ride the course, have all the meals, and hang out with everyone else in the same boat…
As of right now I couldn’t keep up with myself as I was on race day. Would have helped if I didn’t put on the 5-10 pounds that I swore I wouldn’t!
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Unfortunately I didn’t make it in via the lottery for the fourth year in a row. Seems like volunteering is a good way to go, but it’s hard for me to justify traveling across the country and spending so much time and money just to then spend more time and money on the race itself. I’ll probably keep putting in for the lottery and see if maybe a 5th or 6th time is a charm! I get excited every year and start thinking about tires until I get the sad email and then curb my thoughts for another 12 months haha
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I’m in via the lottery! I finished the Austin Rattler this year in 6:17 so I’ll assume I’ll get placed in a corral based on that. Not the time I wanted but it’ll have to do. I’m doing the Leadville camp to get some experience on course.
I was thinking of running mezcal race but after reading everything, it sounds like dubintal is the tire of c
I was already signed up for the whiskey 50 so will use that as a training race.
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In the past, they have bumped the camp attendees up to an earlier corral (blue maybe?). Not sure if that is better or worse than your Rattler finish, but a nice perk for folks doing the camp who can’t make a qualifier. My understanding is that it’s not guaranteed, but something they have done in the past.
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Per current corral table on the LT100 site, 6:17 puts you in Blue.
I signed up for the Silver Rush to get the right corral placement. Past results would have me in purple, but I’m 5 yrs older and slower, so we’ll see where that lands me.
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I was in Blue last year and didn’t have any problems with traffic on course until the last 2 miles of Columbine (and walking was as quick as riding). Even then on the goat trail it wasn’t so crowded that you could t remount and ride the last bit
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Hardware questions: I’ve been running Hayes Dominion T2. They’re ok, maybe a little sketchy on some decents. Are 2 piston good enough for Leadville or should I bulk up to 4 piston? Servicablity is also on my mind.
I don’t know those particular brakes, but have ridden most years with 2 piston shimano brakes without issue. But a lot of it depends on how you ride. A few of the descents have long stretches where you could be on the brakes for extended periods, especially if you are a cautious descender. Heat build up can be a challenge if you are on the brakes a lot. Fresh bleed is a must, very common to have issues if you have the smallest amount of air in the system coming from lower altitude. And fresh pads as well, particularly if you run organic.
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And Columbine backs up for everyone but the pros and maybe the head of gold/silver.
I was in red and was at the mercy of those in front of me most of the goat trail. It’s just not worth the risk to you or others to try and pass for probably 1/2 of that section.
In my experience, what limits your stopping capability on the fast downhills is your tire grip on the ground. On Powerline and Columbine, you can get going very fast. You need to start braking well in advance of your target to slow down - more than you might think. It’s very easy to lock up the wheels and skid on the loose-over-hard surface.
In general, I would say 2 piston are fine at LV. Might depend on how much one weighs, how they ride, tires, etc. though. So, will they work? Yep. Will you be bummed out if you swap to 4 piston for extra piece of mind? Nope.
Great recommendations.
If money is at all a concern, I wouldn’t spend money upgrading to 4 piston brakes. But yes to the fresh bleed and pads before race day. The descents are long, I would not define them as “brake heavy." Silver Rush on the other hand is very "brake heavy.
Spend the money on something with a higher race day ROI.
2 Piston are Fine, but I’m also one of those people who did lose his rear brakes on Columbine and still has that in the back of my mind, so I do have 4 Pistons on my current bike, albeit probably the same weight as most 2-piston setups. (I did not have fresh pads, fluid, and had not yet bled my brakes - see below)
100% bleed your brakes once you are at altitude. Air in the brake system can expand as you go up in altitude and cause more sponginess and more of an issue. Even flushing with fresh fluid could be a good idea if it’s DOT and older as DOT Fluid is Hygroscopic (absorbs water) and boiling point drops over time as it does (That’s what causes fade and brake loss - boiling the fluid). 100% fresh pads - I like sintered / metallic as they hold up better to heat and extended braking. And, the mass of more pad helps deal with heat better. Larger Rotors in the Back also add more leverage and less braking force required which will generate less heat. But, can give you less modulation too.
And, try not to ride / drag your brakes all the time. Columbine and Powerline especially this can be hard though and it’s not always practical.
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I was in Brown 1 last year, and short of maybe two times on St. Kevin where it was bunched up, I was able to pass whenever I needed to. Goat trail was a conga line, but it wouldn’t have mattered much as I would have burned every match in my book trying to ride it. I was chasing 12 though, maybe chasing 9 from the back is a different story.
I’m heavy, but I will bump up to a 200mm front rotor (without the step cast, since 180 is max) when I race this again. My 180 was pretty colors at the finish line 
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I’ve been in Green the last couple years, and while you do get a line for parts up top, I wouldn’t say that it impacted my overall time very much vs what I would have done with no traffic. Maybe not at all.
Maybe the only impact at all was last year when I had someone force me off my bike briefly on that steep section below the cabin where I’m normally riding through. Above that - I can walk as fast as everyone’s pedaling.
I’m based out of the SF Bay Area, so 5 mile dirt descents are easy to find. I got some VERY concerning fade on the 160mm / 2 piston XT setup on my Scalpel came with. I moved to 180mm and 4 piston XTR calipers. The calipers added 30g to my build and the combo a lot more confidence that the brakes will be there when I need them.
When I did my pre-ride at Leadville in 2024 I had zero brake issues on any of the downhills.
First Leadville, also doing it via the camp this year!
I was thinking of staying in Frisco during the camp. How many days ahead would people go up ahead for the race? I’m a working stiff in Denver, so it involves taking time off.
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You live close enough, I’d feel it out yourself. Pick a random weekend, go up Thursday Night, Ride Friday and Saturday, Come home Sunday. Could even do day trips if you wanted. That’ll tell you a bunch about how you deal with alititude.
First camp rides I think are Thursday afternoon, so you can use that as a test trip too for the race.
Camp I’ll tough it out and probably fly in to Denver Wednesday and go straight up. But, normally I’m feeling better as of day 3, but that is pretty individual. There are people that prefer to arrive and just go.