The Radavist

Tim from Esker Cycles goes over what ED coating is and why he uses it on every Esker frame…

The Lorax has been Esker Cycles‘ fabled drop-bar 29er dirt tourer since the Advocate days. It’s gone through lots of updates over the years, and this year is no exception. Esker kept the original Lorax frame and updated its fork for 2026…

Your eyes are not deceiving you. That really is a Hayduke LVS FAT!

Takashi Minamiura takes us on a ride in Japan aboard his Esker Cycles Woodsy.

Tokowaka means “forever young” in Japanese. Follow along as Takashi Minamiura takes us to a region in Japan where the passion for mountain biking is rapidly growing. As more and more riders are venturing beyond bike parks, discovering trails deep in the mountains. Yet, these mountains and ancient paths have been cared for by local communities since as far back as the Heian period. Respect for the people and the nature that have sustained this land is essential.

Now, a new culture — mountain biking — is beginning to meet and intertwine with the local community. Connections are being made, and a new dialogue is taking shape.

As this area moves swiftly toward commercialization, I can’t help but feel that conflicts may inevitably arise in the near future. Featuring Takashi Minamiura, Isamu Hori, and Zenta Watanabe.

This month, Esker Cycles sent over its founder, Tim Krueger’s personal Solitaire klunker for one lucky Radavist Membership subscriber. Today, we pulled a random email from our list and landed on Malcolm Lee’s email. Malcolm is from Portland, Oregon, and will enjoy using the bike for bikefishing on the Deschutes River Trail.

Enjoy, Malcolm! Thanks for the support, and a HUGE thanks to Esker Cycles!

If you haven’t signed up to support The Radavist via our Membership plan, we need your help to get us through the winter cycling industry slump. Sign up for as little as $5 a month here. Your money goes to keeping our staff paid and everything running smoothly over here! In return, you’ll keep The Radavist free for all to read – like NPR, Wikipedia, and other media sites – and we’ll automatically enter you for a chance to win in these giveaways.

Esker Cycles is excited to announce that applications are now open for its 2026 Ambassador Program, inviting riders from across the country to join a community of passionate cyclists who explore, connect, and share stories from the trail.

It’s a sign of the times as bike brands grapple with overstock, but now’s your chance to save big on framesets by Esker Cycles. While you can save up to 50% off on the Smokey in steel or ti, Woodsy, and Lorax frames, we encourage you to take these frames to your local bike shop and have them order your parts kit to build them up. As hard as it has been for bike companies dealing with the post-pandemic world, it has been even harder for small shops.

Roll on over to Esker Cycles to scope the size runs on these frames, marked down 50% off, and read our reviews in our Archives:

• Esker Howdy Ti Review: More Than a Feeling
• Esker Smokey Ti Review: Hardcore Hardtail
• The Esker Japhy Review: One Scrappy 29er Hardtail

Esker Cycles welcomes a limited edition hardtail to their lineup, the Solitaire. Limited to only 50 units, the Solitaire is a special project the team at Esker has been dreaming of for a long time. Now it’s finally a reality!

As the tariff drama persists, many small companies are finding ways to navigate the increase of overhead with consumer end pricing. Esker Cycles just emailed its dealer networks today, announcing a 10% upcharge for consumers as the 20% tariff bottom line hits. Read on for their thoughtful note to dealers below…

Esker Cycles‘ Garage Sale is where the brand will sell warehouse blemished frames with a small paint chip or nick. It’s also where they will offload some overstock. Currently, the brand needs to make room in the warehouse for even more exciting new products coming in the fall. So, they’re having a little overstock sale on Woodsy frames and even some Smokey steel and titanium frames! Esker picked a handful of sizes and colors and put them in our Garage sale. If you have ever been curious about what 145mm of buttery smooth Orion suspension feels like, now is your chance to find out.

Check out all the savings at Esker Cycles.

Tariffs are currently hitting almost every aspect of the US economy, but how will they affect the bike industry? Spencer Harding chatted with Mehdi Farsi of State Bicycle and Tim Krueger of Esker Cycles to hear their reactions to the tariffs and what they expect for the future of the bike industry.

After shelving their carbon-fiber suspension models a couple years ago, Esker Cycles is back with two new full-squish, full metal bikes; the Howdy and the Woodsy. Each is available with either aluminum or titanium front triangles, and each features the Dave-Weagle-designed Orion link. Oh, and each has external cable routing. We’ve got the details to tide you over until we get our hands on one… or two.

Esker Cycles has refreshed most of their hardtail lineup for 2025. Let’s check the models and their updates out below…

For the third installment of Bitesized Bikepacking, Esker Cycles traveled to Brevard, NC, to visit its friends at The Hub & Pisgah Tavern…