Drop-bar XC mountain bikes, road pedals, short dropper posts, 29 x 2.4″ tires, and more interesting combinations are taking center stage at this year’s Race Across the Sky.
Josh Weinberg
As we saw in Caley’s documentation of Bradyn Lange’s drop-bar Pinarello Dogma XC race bike, pros are going to extreme lengths in attempts to find the perfect bike setup for the grueling and fast racing of this weekend’s Leadville 100 race. For the ultimate in aero and ergonomic optimization in the steep climbs and fast flats – in addition to technical descents – many are opting to use dropbars on XC mountain bikes. Others, however, are sticking with traditional flat handlebars.
Leadville 100 bike gallery: Bradyn Lange’s drop-bar Pinarello Dogma XC
Drop bars, full suspension, and a Columbine descent KOM.
To be sure, racing with drop bars on mountain bikes is nothing new. Innovators like Trek’s Travis Brown were doing it in Leadville as early as 2009, and, of course, the legendary Jacquie Phelan raced her Cunningham named “Otto” in the sport’s early years, and John Tomac memorably added drops on his mountain bikes back in the 90s to maintain a consistent fit and position as his road bike while racing both disciplines.
I’ve been poking around the expo grounds in the heart of Colorado’s Cloud City, looking for a diverse selection of bikes that’ll be lining up to race in Saturday’s elite category.
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Andrew L’Esperance’s Ibis DV9
Kicking things off, let’s look at the race bike of Andrew “Lespy” L’Esperance. Lespy has raced Leadville multiple times in the past and knows what to expect, to such an extent that he believes the best build is one that combines modern XC and gravel components, designed to be both lightweight and durable.
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