Glad you enjoyed the videos. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks! Pacing is everything in Leadville. That year I think I went about as well as I could go. Good luck in your race for 2021. I'm going to help crew if someone needs or to volunteer. Hopefully the race goes off as planned.

Thanks!!

That's awesome! Hopefully you get the chance!

Thanks! Congrats on finishing. That's an awesome achievement.

Thanks 👍

Good luck!

@@jeffironlegs I’m Kelly’s and Eddie’s friend

@saprissa26 Nice! Definitely a small world. I really hope you get in.

Thanks Kenny! Glad you enjoyed it.

@@jeffironlegs More! I’m a fully average MTB guy, so when I found myself wanting to take-almost without exception-the same lines you took, it just felt good. I’ll watch that a lot. Well done (Although you can skip most of the rollout stuff). Thanks again for posting.

Thanks! I was in great shape that year, that's for sure. Being able to spend more time at altitude really helped a lot.

Awesome! Thank you!

It's hard to get into these days, especially when outside the continental US. Colorado is an amazing place. Hopefully someday you'll get there.

Thanks! There are some other videos of different parts of the course as well. Those I took while out training and should give you additional insight.

Thanks Tony! Hopefully you'll be able to make the trip. It's an amazing adventure.

Good luck!

I started in the red corral; right at the front it.

Thanks Robert!

Thanks Dave!

Thanks!

Thank you for that awesome comment! I used Maxxis Aspen 2.25 tires and they were perfect. I would use those same tires again if I ever decide to try for another buckle. I was waffling between the Aspen and IKON and decided that the Aspen was going to be more durable. They roll really fast and had good traction. I can't recall what air pressure I used, probably between 23 - 25 psi. It's going to vary anyway because of the temperature changes and altitude.

@@jeffironlegs I've had Ikon durability issues out here in the Phoenix desert so usually use the Ardent Race model. Find the Aspen an interesting tire but haven't used it yet. Thanks for the response. Watched your entire video for the intel it provided, so thanks again!

Thanks!

I don't train with a power meter so I have no idea what those numbers would be. Given at that altitude my HR was going to be the limiter that's what I concentrated on. I was between 157 and 155 for weight. I had hoped to be a little lower but that's what I could manage. 😀

Thanks David! You got the buckle and that's a great accomplishment.

@@jeffironlegs 2021 goal is sub-9...big buckle

@@DavidF510 Good luck! Put in the work and don't blow yourself on the way out.

@@jeffironlegs Definitely putting in the work...no shortcuts to that:) My first Leadville was 2016. I was given similar advice to get to the top of Columbine and ramp up from there. I finished with too much left in the tank. In 2019 I stopped eating going up Powerline...rookie mistake and suffered the rest of the way into the finish. I used TrainingPeaks for the last several years, but decided to try TrainerRoad this year. Interested in hearing about your training if you are willing to share.

@@DavidF510 I didn't use a cookie cutter training plan. Leadville is a strange beast and for me anyway, required some different training. I'll give you the highlights here and if you want more detailed info you can PM me; email or FB. I knew it took about three weeks for me to recover from a Leadville prep ride so I planned backwards from three weeks prior to Leadville. What I found worked the best was to have my longest ride with the most climbing at the end of my training cycle. That was a 10 hour ride with about 12K' of climbing if I remember correctly. Lots and lots of speed work. A majority of the was riding my mtb in roady group rides. Those were KILLERS. In 2019 I was lucky enough to spend three week in CO to acclimate.

Thanks!! 100% the support crew are amazing and have a tough job. So much of your success depends on your crew. Mine were awesome.

I did that on a hardtail. The first two years I did it on a fully which was ok. The HT was definitely faster and is the way to go if you can find one to ride. I never trained with a power meter so I don't know what my numbers are. The thing about Leadville is that you have to limit your heart rate. There is going to be some BPM that is the max you can do before starting to spike. It will be pretty obvious. I made sure I never went over that for any extended time. You have to be really disciplined. Remember the race starts at mile 80 at the base of Powerline. People lose hours on that climb. All that being said, I'm going to guess about 5 watts/KG.

Watched this for 3rd time. I’ve raced triathlon 12 years. People look they are full on sprinting in first few miles. Seems like an extreme amount of wasted energy for little return

@@dcasandman You 100% need to ride like that at the start if you're able to. Remember the first miles are all downhill. Lot's of riders are not riding a bike geared to ride at those speeds. That makes it look like they're sprinting but really just spinning out on the downhill.

I rode a Trek Pro Caliber HT with a Fox 32SC shock. You take a bit of a beating on some of the downhills but a good light HT is definitely the bike to go with if you want to maximize speed.

Good luck!

@@jeffironlegs great Job !!!

@@ebhkkc1 Thanks bud!

@@jeffironlegs do you mind me asking how old you were when you did this and what your weight was ? Your columbine climb was awesome. hardly anyone there. I lose 60 minutes walking up it due to my corral position. I will fix that for sure !! once again, very impressive ride. I will use this for motivation as I am in again for 2022

@@ebhkkc1 no problems! I was a couple months shy of 57. If I remember correctly my weight was 155 - 157. Luckily I was able to spend about three weeks in the Copper Mt and BV area. That helped a lot.

It was! Still steep AF on the way back. LOL

100% a hardtail is faster. Some people will struggle with the harshness on the decents but the speed gains are worth it. Also, 29er is the correct wheel size.

@@jeffironlegs are most riding carbon?

@@doztacos8913 75% I would guess. My 1st two times were on an fully that was half carbon, have aluminum and aluminum wheels. My third time was full carbon everything. I have three big buckles so the motor counts.

@@jeffironlegs thanks Jeff for the insight. I want to do this next year.

Gary, I don't believe that was a dropper post malfunction; though I did see some! I rode with that person until the next feed zone and he didn't have any bike issues that I remember. Ironically, after that crazy descent, he fell right before the feed zone on an simple left hand turn. Go figure.

Mostly because there is very little advantage to using one. Some of the terrain is just too steep and rocky to easily ride on a gravel bike. The tires you would need to run would be just about the same size as a mtb tire. Also comfort plays a large part in how well someone does. By the end of the race, your back would be in rough shape.

@@jeffironlegs Everyone is obsessed with gravel bikes. Let the mtbs do their thing ffs lol

@@hiranom20 Hahaha

I rode with a guy on a gravel bike on that section and he handled it pretty well. That top part was still same but yes, that bottom section was a whole new experience. The new danger was going WAY too fast and not making the corner. You could smell a lot of brakes burning.

Thanks. I used a GoPro Black 7 and mounted it on my handlebars upright. That way it cleared the the number plate and cables. My computer was mounted on my stem so it was out of the way. Since being comfortable is important I didn't want it mounted on my helmet or chest. Also with the 7 GoPro added some auto smoothing so its almost like the camera is on a gimbal.

@@jeffironlegs : Thanks Jeff. I’m in the same age group of yours but never ridden this race. Debating on racing either this or Breck Epic. Leadville MTB requires you to be qualified to get a spot and Breck is 6 day race. Do you have any thoughts or advice for me ??

@@canmtb4676 Leadville is an amazing race and I loved doing it every time. That being said, given all the deferments from 2020 I think it will be really tough to get into the race for 2021. If I had to pick one for 2021 I would do the Breck Epic. What you might want to do is volunteer during the 2021 race so you get preferential treatment for the 2022 lottery. That's how my friend got in back in 2019. Hope that helps.

@@jeffironlegs Thank you Jeff .

@@jeffironlegs : Jeff, Your 8:13 finish time is very fast time. Are you a semi pro rider ? What training you had done ? And lastly you’d never got off bike and walked on a steep hill to achieve this time ? Sorry asking bunch of questions.

I think I was running between 21 and 24 psi. I can't remember exactly now. It's tough to get that right. The air pressure is going to increase throughout the day so you don't want to start too high. Basically I rode different sections at different pressure until if felt about right. Definitely go higher than normal.

I ran a 32x50 setup. I trained with a 34 on the front and decided last minute to switch to the 32. It was the right choice, especially coming back on Powerline.

@@jeffironlegs nice video and what % are the climbs? they look tough

Thanks! The grades range from 5% to 27%. On average they are ~8% and 5+ miles long. The top of Columbine and the bottom of Powerline are exceptionally brutal. If I remember correctly Colombine is 18% on the goat trail at 11,500'. The bottom of Powerline is a steady 25% with a short section at 27%.

@@BradandJess61106 Thanks! I don't think I could have gone any faster. To borrow from Deadpool, it was a maximum effort.

LOL. I'm old, that's as good as it gets.