Leadville 100 has all the time been a curiosity on the calendar of American off-road racing.
Within the heady days of the mountain bike increase, Leadville was the race the place riders shed each doable gram, stripped their setups to the necessities, and leaned exhausting into maximising climbing effectivity over the 105 miles of high-altitude terrain.
Over time, that singular focus expanded. Aerodynamics started to creep into the dialog, with tri-bar extensions making periodic appearances all through the 2010s, an period when aero features briefly eclipsed all else. The 2x vs. 1x drivetrain debate adopted the same arc, as prime racers sought the elusive stability between sustaining velocity on the flat center miles and powering via the steep climbs that bookend the course.
Now, the subsequent frontier is handlebar alternative. Among the many pointy finish of the sphere, the query is: do I persist with conventional flat bars for higher dealing with and a extra pure mountain bike match, or swap to drop bars to squeeze out aerodynamic features and undertake a gravel-style using place higher fitted to the quick, open stretches?
Why this combine works at Leadville
Andrew L’Esperance’s Leadville 100 bike
(Picture credit score: Andrew L’Esperance)
Leadville is the most important, most iconic mountain bike race in the US. The high-altitude course sits at 9,200 ft (2,804 m) at its lowest level and goes all the best way as much as 12,424 ft (3,787 m) at its highest level: the summit of Columbine Mine.
Over its decades-long historical past, the race has seen nationwide and worldwide expertise cycle via and take a look at themselves on the distinctive course. Whereas a lot has modified within the biking world, Leadville’s course has remained pretty constant, outlined by its lengthy, powerful climbs, uncovered course and a surprisingly small quantity of singletrack path given its mountain bike title.
Due to this distinctive mix of terrain and calls for, unconventional bikes have lengthy been a part of the Leadville scene, with drop-bar builds resurfacing on occasion. All the time close by, however not often on the pointy finish of the race.
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That began to alter most notably with Cory Wallace in 2022, who completed thirteenth with a drop-bar setup. Dylan Johnson adopted that up in 2023 with a top-20 end result, earlier than Keegan Swenson rode a drop-bar construct to the highest spot of the rostrum in 2024, pushing the drop-bar subplot into the mainstream.
But, as this shift to drop bars coming similtaneously gravel bikes’ large tyre revolution, why not go a step additional and compete on gravel bikes?
“Suspension on a gravel bike is extra about consolation and vibration dampening over tough terrain to enhance effectivity, however this suspension on a mountain bike is not nearly consolation; it is extra about it making the bike transfer quicker,” Haley Smith mentioned of the important thing distinction between a gravel bike with suspension versus a mountain bike with drop bars.
Smith is an Olympic mountain biker and former Life Time Grand Prix collection winner. She’s spent the previous few months aboard a drop bar-equipped full-suspension mountain bike, and even raced it on the Migration gravel race in Kenya. For her, there’s a clear cause to decide on a mountain bike with drop bars over a gravel bike with suspension, even when they may appear related on paper.
“The [Trek] Supercaliber goes to go quicker up and down at sure factors,” she mentioned. “The highest of Powerline may be very technical. If you wish to go quicker, the mountain bike would do it higher, as a result of, if its suspension capabilities correctly, it preserves your momentum via rougher terrain.
“You want professional suspension to have that impact. It’s good to have sufficient suspension to have the rebound, the damping, and the compression all functioning so that you can maintain ahead momentum.”
With the massive rocks, dips, and excessive speeds of Leadville, momentum preservation is essential. Vast tyres thrive, full-suspension is ubiquitous, and a gravel bike isn’t fairly the appropriate device for the job. But, aerodynamics are on the opposite facet of the momentum preservation coin, and that is the place among the gravel tech is leaching over, even when the bike frames are nonetheless completely different.
The issues round making the swap
Cole Paton’s Leadville 100 bike setup
(Picture credit score: Cole Paton)
In relation to aerodynamics, drop bars on a mountain bike make a whole lot of sense, however there are downsides to think about as properly. Most notably, within the dealing with.
Mountain bikes are constructed round a brief stem paired with vast flat bars, which implies they have an inclination to have an extended attain than a drop-bar bike, making the match with drop bars a tough switch. Plus, the dealing with of a drop bar considerably modifications the traits of a mountain bike on rocky terrain, with riders and the Life Time organisation stressing that this alternative is greatest stored for the professionals. And whereas it’s but to be seen how pervasive drop bars are within the beginner ranks, what is obvious is that talent degree will affect who will make the leap to drop bars.
“I used to be fully undecided on what I’d race the evening earlier than the stage race began,” Melisa Rollins mentioned. Rollins is the defending Leadville champion and simply took the win on the Leadville Stage Race final month as properly, the place she examined a drop bar setup.
“I had two setups able to go: I had my mountain bike with flat bars, and I had a newly arrange drop bar bike as a result of I hadn’t fully dialled within the match.
“Keegan [Swenson] will snort as a result of he informed me originally of the yr I would most likely must measurement down a body, and I did not. I attempted to make it work, however on the final second, I knew I needed to measurement down. So getting the match proper was not fully simple for me.”
Rollins is a primary instance of a rider immune to the drop bar shift. She dominated the race final yr with flat bars, and her major challenger, Kate Courtney, can also be sticking with flat bars as she drops into the race from the Cross-Nation World Cup circuit. Why not simply run it again and repeat what labored so properly?
“I’ve by no means had entry to the flexibility to dive into any form of marginal features,” Rollins mentioned in response. “This yr, to be fully sincere, I’m on fully new gear, and it would not be like I am simply working issues again. Past my body, I am on fully completely different gear.”
With the shake-up got here the prospect to check the drop bars, which in the end received out.
“I am tremendous proud of my setup, and to be sincere, the drop bars are freaking enjoyable,” Rollins mentioned. “I used to be a bit scared that I’d get dropped happening Powerline, and that was my solely apprehension about working the drop bar setup, however I am the very same velocity, if not quicker, on each descent with drop bars.”
Radical departures from the norm are usually adopted final by the masters of the craft. Sean Kelly, as an example, famously raced in toe clips lengthy after the clipless pedal was commonplace within the professional peloton. In our instance, this implies the pure mountain bikers, those who begrudgingly race on drop bars when they’re the apparent alternative, may resist the decision.
“I’ve raced it on a hardtail the final three years, and I’ve simply all the time gotten to the final hour and a half, and each bump hurts so dangerous with that quantity of fatigue within the race,” Cole Paton, the 2025 marathon mountain bike nationwide champion, informed Biking Weekly. “I knew I needed to go full suspension surely. Then, the subsequent query was: Do I’m going with the drop bar or not?”
Kicking and screaming, Paton needed to relent. From his perspective, with a large financial institution of technical abilities few on the gravel scene possess, it was plain.
“The mountain biker in me was attempting to justify holding it a mountain bike as a lot as I may,” he mentioned, “I actually did not wish to construct this atrocious Frankenstein bike. However in the long run, I constructed up the drop bar out of simply curiosity, and it was identical to clearly a lot simpler to stand up to hurry and keep velocity with the narrower bars.
“It is not even just like the drop bars essentially, it is simply closing off the chest cavity in a impartial using place the place you might be simply that rather more dynamic.“
Placing the drop bars via their paces earlier than the massive dance
Haley Smith’s Leadville 100 bike
(Picture credit score: Haley Smith)
During the last month, the hypothesis over bike setups has modified from idea to follow as racing has taken a again seat to coaching camps, course previews, and high-altitude publicity. On daily basis nearer to the race, and it appears a brand new rider was teasing drop bars on the “unsuitable” bike within the “unsuitable” place.
But this has been constructing for for much longer.
“I needed to do it final yr, however I used to be too afraid,” Smith shared. “I feel I am fairly good on the drop bar bike on technical terrain. For no matter cause, I discover it straightforward to govern that type of bike and throw it round, so my fascination with it began a number of years in the past.
“I used to be set on using a gravel bike at Iceman Cometh, however I simply did not have the appropriate gearing. So I’ve needed to do it for some time, however I simply did not have the belief in myself to do it final yr. However then, when Russell [Finsterwald] did it final yr, it gave me the arrogance to do it. I needed to be one of many first girls to do it, so we made it occur.”
A lot of the drop bar discourse has been constructed round an virtually reluctant acceptance that drop bars are simply extra aero, not essentially higher. Amongst among the riders we spoke to, after testing, they’re seeing extra upside than simply accepting them as a essential evil.
“One factor I’ve realized is that the load stability entrance to again on a contemporary mountain bike isn’t essentially even,” Andrew L’Esperance mentioned. L’Esperance was one of many Life Time Grand Prix Wild Card winners and is a infamous tinkerer within the gravel world. He’s additionally Smith’s husband.
Whereas he comes from the mountain bike world, gravel has given him the license to think about issues in another way. For Leadville, the drop bar mission began as an effort to maintain issues recent, however has ended with him being satisfied of the advantages on a number of ranges.
“With the drop bars, you may get a whole lot of weight on the entrance tire and get a whole lot of grip with that weighted entrance tire. I do discover it handles fairly properly on clean, twisty single monitor as a result of you’ll be able to push that entrance tire and have a whole lot of grip.”
The selection to run drop bars in the end comes all the way down to all of those benefits and downsides rolled into one system. For Smith, that system works greatest collectively for Leadville and has only a few, if any, downsides.
“Your physique place is extra aerodynamic, and it is simply simpler general,” she mentioned. “It requires a decrease metabolic value to carry an aerodynamic place, so it is each extra environment friendly and aerodynamic as properly.
That’s the reason it excels right here since you do not actually have the identical trade-offs with the drop bar dealing with such as you do on technical trails. On these with drop bars, the steering is much more twitchy, and your drops get in the best way of your knees, for instance. You do not want to try this at Leadville in any respect.”
Are there actual features available, or is that this only a fad?
Now, when you have learn via this complete story and nonetheless aren’t satisfied, you aren’t alone. Loads of professional riders, whether or not out of precept or sensible causes, will line up on Saturday with flat bars that resemble the cockpits of the a long time of historical past which have made Leadville the occasion that it’s at this time.
However be caught within the sand at your individual threat.
“I am simply doing what I feel is greatest for me to go quicker,” Keegan Swenson mentioned. “I do not suppose drop bars are greatest for everybody. Alexey [Vermuelen] and I talked in depth about this on our podcast we did whereas we have been up right here coaching – I feel individuals can chase marginal features, however in the long run, they’ll find yourself getting slower.
“I am simply doing it for myself to attempt to go quicker and discover no matter edge I can. It is not a gimmick or a trick. Positive, it is cool to be like, ‘That is the bike that I am racing, and that is all that is happening,’ however in the long run, I am simply doing it for myself, not for clicks.
Past Swenson, who isn’t one to explode his mechanical benefit if he looks like he has one, conviction over the effectiveness of drop bars is even stronger.
“I feel within the males’s prime 10,” L’Esperance mentioned, “the bulk will probably be on drop bars.”
Curiously, on the ladies’s facet, there’s much less conviction over the drop bar development. Solely three girls have been on drop bars on the Leadville Stage Race, whereas the lads had too many to depend on two fingers. What’s extra, few doubt that Kate Courtney received’t be capable to compete together with her flat bars.
But for the lads, the tide appears to be going dramatically within the different course.
“On this bike, I am so much quicker than on my hardtail mountain bike. I do a whole lot of the identical coaching loops right here in Durango, and on all of the descents, I am quicker on this bike. Sadly, it made the choice straightforward,” Cole Paton mentioned.
“It is identical to a mountain biker delight factor in me. That is like an iconic mountain bike race, and it’s aesthetic. I want we have been all racing mountain bikes – however to be aggressive, I do not suppose it is an choice. I feel you are leaving a whole lot of features on the desk with out doing it, and my job is to be as aggressive as doable.
“I used to be simply not trying ahead to a coaching block on it trigger it is also like you need to spend on a regular basis getting used to that place using these Frankenstein bikes, and I am prefer it limits me within the locations I wish to go as a result of my mountain bike with flat bars is simply a lot extra succesful. It’s like, ‘Rattling, I’ve to journey this bike and type of mellow out the locations that I’m going.’”
Within the peloton of American off-road racing, away from the UCI’s tendency to control and crammed with aggressive riders hell bent on technical features, the Frankenstein bikes are right here to remain.
“However that is a part of the job lately – you need to journey all these funky issues.”
