Tire Picks for Leadville Trail 100 MTB

Published: 8/20/2025

Tags: leadville 100, tire pick, race setup, colorado, tire

Crossing the finish line after 100 miles — 9:14 later, same air in the tires I started with.

🛠 Updated August 2025
I raced and finished the Leadville Trail 100 MTB in 9:14 (dry, loose, smoky, and very chunky conditions). My Aspen ST setup was fast, durable, and confident for 105 miles. Here’s what I ran, how it performed, and what the pros chose.

Best Tires for Leadville Trail 100 MTB

If you’re lining up in Leadville this August, what are you rolling on for those 105 miles? You need something that:

Rolls fast at high altitude
Holds up to sharp fire-road granite
Keeps air in your tires when others are flatting out

This is a race defined by flats, fatigue, and altitude-induced carnage. Putting some thought into tire choice can go a long way.

My Recommendation:
Maxxis Aspen ST 2.4 ↗️ front and rear, run low with Vittoria Airliner Light inserts ↗️ .

Race-Day Setup (What I Ran)

Front & Rear: Maxxis Aspen ST 2.4 | 120 TPI / EXO / MaxxSpeed ↗️
Pressure: 13 PSI front / 14 PSI rear (at ~10k ft, ~85kg system weight)
Inserts: Vittoria Airliner Lights ↗️ (front & rear)
Bike: Specialized Epic 8 (120/120mm, RockShox Flight Attendant ↗️)
Result: 9:14 finish, no flats, no rim strikes, no tire drama.

Aspen ST 2.4s — my race-day pick for Leadville.

I rolled into Leadville confident in this setup, but as it goes with racing, feeling the nerves at the start.

Confident in my tires but looking angsty and feeling some nerves at the start line.

How It Rode at Leadville

Climbs

Plenty of grip on the punchy, loose sections — I just made a conscious effort to keep weight on the rear tire when accelerating. The STs felt secure, even on the steeper bits of Kevins, Columbine, and Powerline.

On the way out to Columbine — the STs felt great on both loose climbs and chunky descents.

Columbine Upper

The rougher rocky stretches near the top were where the 2.4s shined — just point them and they track straight.

Columbine Lower Descent

It’s steep, smooth, and full of loose-over-hard corners. Riders were washing out.

The STs gave me plenty of braking traction, but you had to respect the speed.
Because of two-way traffic, you can’t hit perfect lines, so carrying momentum safely was about braking hard into corners, then accelerating out.
If it had been just a little wet, you could’ve ripped these corners with a lot more speed. This was the only place I thought, “a Rekon Race ↗️ or Kenda Rush ↗️ would be nice.”

Other Descents

On chunky fire roads, the tires felt predictable — I stayed relaxed and let the 2.4s soak up the hits.

Conditions

2025 was reportedly the driest, loosest, and chunkiest Leadville in memory. While the race is known as “not technical,” at speed these conditions made it feel technical in places. You certainly couldn’t just switch off — especially on Columbine and Powerline.

Cold morning light at the bottom of Powerline.

Results

Time: 9:14 - just outside the big buckle cutoff, but on a day with smoke and loose, and chunky trail conditions, I’m proud of the ride.
Tire Outcome: No flats, no rim strikes, no plugs. Tire choice played a role here — Maxxis casings may not always win on rolling resistance charts, but they hold air and avoid race-ending issues.

Outward Bound return — looking/feeling a little cooked.

Leadville Tire Lessons from Keegan

Lots of riders base tire choices on hardtails. I was on a full suspension 120/120mm Epic 8, which gave me margin to run lower pressures.

In 2024, Keegan Swenson ran Aspen STs front and rear (170 TPI) on a Santa Cruz Highball hardtail with a drop bar. He still won — but he flatted on the rear bombing a descent. That’s the tradeoff: the fastest tire at max speed, but razor-thin margin for error. This year Keegan opted for a full suspension Blur and ran narrower (2.25) Aspen STs.

👉 For mortals: run inserts and err on the side of more puncture protection and wider tires. The few watts you “lose” are nothing compared to the time lost fixing a flat at 12,000 ft.

Should You Use Tire Inserts at Leadville?

Yes. Leadville has a reputation for flats — especially on Powerline, Sugarloaf, and the high-speed fire road descents.

I run Vittoria Airliner Lights ↗️ in both tires. They weigh almost nothing, don’t affect feel, and add peace of mind at low pressure. There’s really no penalty in my book.

What the Pros Ran in 2025

Seeing the mix of setups was fascinating this year:

Kate Courtney: Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.25s ↗️ — FS, flat bar, Allied BC40 — won and broke the course record.
Russell Finsterwald: Continental Dubnital 2.4 Race Rapid casing ↗️ — FS, drop-bar, Trek Supercaliber.
Alex Wild: Specialized Air Trak 2.35 (Flex Lite casing) ↗️ — FS, flat bar, Epic World Cup
Keegan Swenson: Aspen ST 2.25 ↗️ — FS, drop-bar, Santa Cruz Blur. Narrower tires than prior years.

Kate Courtney — Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.25s — FS, Allied BC40 (broke the course record).

📸 Trabold Photography

👉 A lot of pros went full-suspension this year, reflecting how chunky the course was. Widths ranged from 2.25s (speed) to 2.4s (security). My own 2.4 STs with inserts fit right into this trend.

Alternatives I’d Consider

Kenda Rush 2.4 ↗️ — honestly would’ve been awesome for 2025’s loose/chunky conditions. Fast + grippy, but I don’t have as much casing experience with them.
Rekon Race 2.4 ↗️ — more braking confidence on Columbine descent, but overall probably not faster.
Aspen 2.4 ↗️ — better mud shedding if it ever rains.

TL;DR: My Leadville Setup

Tires: Aspen ST 2.4 (120TPI, EXO, MaxxSpeed) ↗️
Pressure: 13/14 PSI
Inserts: Vittoria Airliner Light F/R ↗️
Bike: Epic 8 ↗️
Finish: 9:14 — no flats, no regrets

Aspen STs ↗️ at low pressure with inserts ↗️ are what I trust for Leadville 100. You get the speed of a race-day tire, the comfort of low-pressure volume, and the protection you need to avoid race-ending flats.