The Leadville Trail 100 MTB: Gravel vs MTB choice and how I got the bug

Sep 11, 2023

While the Open WI.DE. has mountain bike tires, it is still far from a mountain bike.

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After a weekend of constant Leadville updates and reflection, I think I missed what might have been the best one in years.

For those that don’t know, Leadville was the event that started my journey into endurance events. I have done countless 100-mile events, but Leadville was the first that lasted more than six hours. The best part, I found Leadville by mistake.

I have been writing about drop bar bikes for many years now. However, I have always been a mountain biker. Before writing about them, road bikes were always a tool for training and added social motivation with large group rides. Gravel is a great balance of the two, and my Leadville journey has transitioned me perfectly into the now massive gravel endurance event calendar. Plus, I love the tech that is being shared across all of the cycling disciplines.

I have been to the Leadville 100 as a crew member and five times as a participant. My first go-around was back in 2013 when my love-hate relationship with Leadville really started. Somehow, I did well enough at Tahoe that they asked me during the awards ceremony if I would like to go to Leadville.

I didn’t plan on saying yes, but a bit of peer pressure, a qualifying coin, and a 24-hour window to register got me, and the Leadville race bug as well.

Also Read: Drop bars on a hardtail: Is this the best bike for the Leadville Trail 100?

I am by no means a Leadville veteran, but I get a lot of questions about Leadville. The number one question is for sure, “What bike should I ride?” or “Is Leadville faster on a gravel bike?”

In 2019 a friend of mine, David, and I decided to put that to the test. David is younger and stronger than me but had only been to Leadville once as crew for me. David rode a gravel bike, while I decided to ride a 120mm bike to expand the difference in bike choice further. We also decided to start from the very back with only Ty Hall, the Leadville Trail 100 Dream Chaser, behind us.

While it was my slowest Leadville, it was also one of my favorites. I wasn’t pushing for a specific time and had zero expectations. I will say, having a 26-pound bike wasn’t the best choice when climbing over 10,000 ft, it sure was a lot more fun on the way down.

Neither David nor I had any mechanicals or issues, but at the end of the day, the MTB did win. David had some very fast segments, but the gravel bike was not enough when the going got rough and rider traffic limits your line choice.

David and I finished before the cutoff of 12 hours, but I felt pretty good while David was sore from a long day on a rigid.

When I am deciding what bike to pick for an event, I always consider safety. Leadville has some pretty steep climbs, and since it is an out-and-back course, that also means steep descents. Add in the traffic, and it can be overwhelming for many, even when on the ideal bike, not to mention the mental aspect of underbiking if you choose a gravel bike.

On the topic of climbing, gearing is probably the biggest factor to consider when choosing a gravel bike. The top portion of Columbine is tough as the wide fire road turns to a narrower double track. For those in the front, it gives them plenty of real estate to choose a line. But for the rest of us, it is single file as the leaders are coming down.

This means you can get stuck at the pace of the person in front of you, and having easier gears might be essential. I won’t even mention the Powerline climb since most walk a large portion of it. With a gravel bike, you will most likely walk even more.

Many gravel bikes will have the same 1x cassettes as the mountain bikes but a much larger chainring. Getting that combination correct will be the biggest limiting factor of a gravel bike.

Last and probably least important to most is comfort. Long sections of the race course are very gravel bike friendly, but the sections that are not can be very rough. I’m thinking specifically about the top portion of the Columbine descent and the Sugarloaf descent.

Those will rattle your bike and bones. Other smaller sections, like St Kevin’s, can have mixed light and off-camber. It is easy to make a small mistake when you are at altitude and exhausted. On a gravel bike, you won’t have the luxury of the bike helping correct the miss calculation.

So no, Leadville is not a gravel race. It is still a mountain bike event that is a great option for gravel riders to try on a mountain bike. The Leadville course is not all that tough when broken into sections. But when you are at 10,000ft and pushing to finish it while navigating the traffic of the out-and-back course, it gets much harder.

As a friend and very fast sub-8-hour finisher recently said, “I feel like I knock years off my life when I race it. It’s so hard.” Sure, you can ride a gravel bike there and finish, but it is far from being the most ideal bike.

After chatting with a few people about the conditions this year, I know I missed a good Leadville. Not only were the conditions cool with minimal wind, but a new course record was set in a dominating fashion. Whether you were there as a spectator, support crew, or participant, it seems like 2023 was an amazing year to experience Leadville, and I’m sad I missed it.

Starting my Leadville journey was never about getting ten finishes or even beating the 9-hour cutoff for the larger buckle. It was about trying something different. The funny part is, after every Leadville, I tell myself that it is the last one, but somehow I get sucked back in.

I’ve had a few years as a spectator, but the feeling of missing such an amazing year has left me wanting to head to Leadville in 2024. Who knows, maybe I’ll even ride a gravel bike just for the experience.