Will you have a support car or so? The best choice clearly is a road bike an an MTB for the gravel. The gravel is super steep and deep and loose. A gravel bike can of course work, but it is clearly a compromise.
You can do it anytime of the year, but in winter (December to February) the top can be closed due to snow or storm.
But the weather on the island, especially on the west coast is great year round. When I wanted to do MK, it was closed due to snow. I did Mauna Loa instead. Not nearly as challenging and I had a spare MTB on the back of the truck with no use.
But it started to snow at the peak once I arrived, so better bring a warm jacket, arm and leg warmers.
Here is my full experience:
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To give yourself the best chance at good weather, Summer time(May-September) is the ‘best’, IMO.
It can and has been done any time of year, but winter is a roll of the dice due to road conditions above the visitor center. Fall can be tricky due to increased storm chances.
When I did it this winter(February 2023), we were visiting the island for 9 days that I could have rode. The day I went ended up being the only day during our time there that the road was open.
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I will, but only want to bring one bike. It seems like gravel conditions are pretty variable. Wonder if this deep sand is a summer phase, and during the winter is a bit more packed.
How did you like the support from Hawaii Epic Cycling? I’m planning a Mauna Kea attempt this summer and was looking at them and Big Island Bike Tours. Have watched youtube videos with both of them.
Still need to get in touch with each to get more details, but Hawaii Epic Cycling website says they don’t support you above the visitor center. Which seems like a big downside - that’s the hardest part, plus I was hoping to have a ride down to avoid descending the gravel section. From what I read it seems like most people don’t descend from the top. I know you didnt end up doing Mauna Kea, but if you did, were they only going to support you to the visitor center?
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I used Hawaii Epic Cycling(Chris DeMarchi) Great service, picked me up at the condo, transport to the start, provided bottles at my desired frequency.
The problem with support above the Visitor center is that commercial operators aren’t allowed to operate above there. Anyone offering a service that says they will/can, are either lying or skirting the regulation.
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Given the frequency the road gets graded in the winter, I would expect the fair share of deep and loose sections on the gravel section.
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Thanks, didn’t know that about commercial operators above the visitor center. My main goal of hiring a company was to get support above visitor center without the trouble of renting a jeep and having family help out. Might reconsider now, but still need to talk to some of the companies that offer support and see what they can have.
Given that I have a pair of almost new 42” pathfinders and I want to test the RH 44” slicks this year, my MK tire will be one of these two.
Well, Mr. Drake Deuel is likely to take the KOM in the next few days and he’ll be using 32mm slicks.
I don’t think I’d base my tire choice off of what ‘pros’ use on this.
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I have done the climb from the Hilo side back when it was the Sea to Stars race, which ended at the visitor’s center. When I went up the to observatory after the race the road was very washboarded and had lots of loose dirt.
Honestly, I would hate to ride some 42mm tires and something like a gravel bike on the paved road section. Bike Works in Kona used to rent race wheels, so my suggestion would be to rent a set of wheels and swap at the vistor’s center. The top part is going to be a clog no matter what you do, but you don’t have to make the first 90% of the ride a miserable experience riding some tractor tires on the pavement.
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Pls elaborate. My thinking is: If he can do it, (he is very much a roadie, with limited off-road skills), anybody can do it….
It’s the line between comfort and speed and fatigue.
He is going to be doing it significantly faster -and can therefore run a more aggressive tire choice. The gravel section isn’t even remotely technical.
Someone slower(pretty much everyone) is going to spend a lot more time getting beat up by the washboards and justifies a different tire choice, IMO.
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Well if you’re in good shape, you can get the KOM with 25mm tires a 25t big cog…
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Great. I’m going to leave my 32mm Schwalbe tires on Zipp wheels. I have a 34 small ring in the front, and 40 as the largest cog in the back. That’s plenty to spin at a reasonable cadence and ~200 watts in the steep sections.
I’m 4.2 w/kg at 9k feet.
More importantly, I’m staying in Kona, so this route you posted from the west side of the island is more convenient than driving 1.5h to Hilo.
Does anybody know what are the main differences between the two routes?
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Yeah. Hilo route is shorter, steeper and likely wetter. Kona route is a little longer, flatter and likely warmer. Hilo side is considered „the world‘s toughest climb“ but that makes no sense to me. The climb up to the visitors‘ Centre is not the challenging part, but everything that comes after. Since this is likely a 6 to 8 hour ride either way, I would not complicate things by getting to Hilo in the morning… long drive and there is not much of a difference in difficulty in my opinion.
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From Hilo, it’s steeper(6.1 avg vs. 4.4 avg). In late February from Hilo, you would likely be riding in the rain.
From Waikoloa, there is a significant descent(part of the reason for the big difference in average grade). The saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea peaks at ~6600 ft IIRC, you then will descend for about 3 miles at ~2-3%, before turning onto the access road and starting the main event.
I had fantastic weather until that descent, looking forward to a 10 minute break from pedaling. What I got was drizzle and a fierce headwind(The Big Island has some insane wind patterns!). Instead of the coasting I was looking forward to, I was pedaling like I was still going up hill 
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The other note is that there is a nice WIDE shoulder from Hilo to the turn off for the visitor’s center. the road from Kona to the “T” where you hit Saddle back can be a narrow sketch fest i a lot of places.
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@Aeroiseverything @Cory.Rood @webdev511
Thanks a lot for your input. You guys gave me good elements to make a decision.
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