Over the weekend, Life Time, the organizers of the Leadville Trail 100 and Life Time Grand Prix (LTGP) race series, made headlines when it announced that it was banning drop bars from two of its three “MTB” events. This includes the Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Little Sugar MTB, which are two of the six races included in the 2026 Life Time Grand Prix. Interestingly, the drop bar ban does not include Chequemagon, which is the third race categorized as “MTB” on the LTGP calendar.
From the rules section of the Life Time Grand Prix website: “For rider safety and course compatibility, drop-style handlebars (road or gravel bars with drops) are no longer permitted for the Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB and Life Time Little Sugar MTB. All competitors must use flat or riser-style handlebars at these events. This rule will be enforced during pre-race inspections and on course; violations may result in disqualification.”
Drop Bar MTBs
Just last week, we reported on two production hardtail mountain bikes with drop bar builds from both Pivot Cycles and Pinarello. The commercial availability of these bikes is undoubtedly tied to the proliferation of drop bars on custom mountain bike builds in the pro field of iconic races like the Leadville Trail 100. In fact, Keegan Swenson raced his drop bar Santa Cruz Blur to his fifth consecutive victory in last year’s Leadville race and his fourth in 2024 on board a drop bar hardtail.
Similar to 32” wheels and electric tire inflators, Drop bars vs. Flat bars became a hotly debated topic in 2025, and one that Life Time has abruptly put to rest in two of its premier MTB events. But despite their seemingly meteoric rise back into the cycling consciousness, drop bars on mountain bikes aren’t a new phenomenon. Riders have been experimenting with them since the 1980s, and the legendary John Tomac even raced XC and Downhill on drop bars back in 1990. More recently, some pro riders have been trying them off and on in endurance events like Leadville and others, culminating in the onslaught we saw in 2025.
The massive spike in the popularity of drop bars on mountain bikes was particularly evident at races like Leadville and Little Sugar. With off-road courses leaning toward the gravel side of the mountain biking spectrum, many pro and amateur racers alike opted for curly bars. With relatively non-technical riding and long stretches of fast-paced dirt roads, the additional hand positions and longer, lower body position afforded by drop bars were chosen by many for comfort and aerodynamic gains, while still maintaining the performance of a mountain bike.
But we also saw that although drop bar MTBs have the potential to be faster than those with flat bars, that hasn’t necessarily proven to be the case. In fact, Kate Courtney set a new course record with flat bars — and no shortage of unique aerodynamic positioning on the bike. Keegan Swenson won the race on drop bars, but was two minutes behind the course record, which he set two years prior on a flat bar bike. So, even if there are comfort and aerodynamic advantages to a drop bar setup, that doesn’t always translate to faster times.
We’re certainly fans of interesting bikes and tech, even if it is recycled ideas like drop bars on mountain bikes, so we’ve appreciated the experimentation that we’ve gotten to witness in endurance racing over the past few years. For example, at last year’s Leadville race, we saw plenty of drop bars on mountain bikes, plus other funky bits, like aero fairings on a mountain bike suspension fork and AXS blips on a fork crown.
While we’ll certainly miss the hype and debate around drop bars on mountain bikes at these races, we’re sure that we’ll see plenty of other ways that riders seek to gain an aerodynamic advantage on flat bar setups. We’ll definitely be watching, and we’ll keep you updated on the latest news and tech that we spot at this year’s Life Time Grand Prix events.
