Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Complementing its titanium counterpart released last month, the new Esker Smokey is a long-travel 4130 Chromoly steel hardtail with clearance for 29 x 2.6″ tires and aggressive trail geometry. Find photos and specs here…
Last month, Esker Cycles released their most aggressive hardtail to date with the new Smokey Ti. The Smokey Ti is a long-travel mountain bike that’s optimized for a 160mm suspension fork, has clearance for 29 x 2.6″ (up to 2.8″ with some tire/rim combinations) tires, and is, you guessed it, longer, lower, and slacker than the Japhy and the Hayduke. The downside? Titanium costs a pretty penny, so we’re excited to share the steel version of the Esker Smokey that drops today.
The steel Esker Smokey shares all the same features as the titanium version but is built around a double-butted, heat-treated 4130 Chromoly steel tubeset. Like its titanium sibling, the Smokey has accessory mounts under the top tube, three-pack mounts under the downtube, two bottle mounts (all sizes except small/S1), and external cable routing with internal dropper post routing. The frame has Esker’s adjustable UDH Portage Dropout for chainstay length tweaks and singlespeed setups and is optimized for 29 x 2.4-2.6″ tires.
The steel Esker Smokey shares the same geometry as the titanium version and is clearly designed for rowdy, steep descents above all else. It has a 64.5° head tube angle, a 77° seat tube angle, and 440mm chainstays across the entire size run, with a long reach and 60mm bottom bracket drop. Dig into the complete geometry chart below, shown at 30 percent fork sag.
Esker Smokey Geometry
| Size | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Tube(mm) | 375 | 410 | 440 | 475 |
| Eff. Top Tube (mm) | 571 | 609 | 639 | 679 |
| Head Tube (mm) | 90 | 100 | 127 | 174 |
| Chain Stay (mm) | 440 | 440 | 440 | 440 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 1178 | 1217 | 1254 | 1304 |
| Bottom Bracket Drop (mm) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| Head Tube Angle(°) | 64.5 | 64.5 | 64.5 | 64.5 |
| Seat Tube Angle(°) | 77 | 77 | 77 | 77 |
| STACK (mm) | 612 | 622 | 646 | 688 |
| REACH (mm) | 430 | 465 | 490 | 520 |
The Esker Smokey comes in three color options: Raven (dark blue-ish), Gold Bar (gold), and Lichen (light teal/green). Frames start at $1,000, with the option to add a RockShox Lyrik Base fork for $600. Complete builds start at $3,000 with your choice of Shimano XT 12-speed or a SRAM GX mechanical drivetrain, SRAM DB8 brakes, Stan’s wheels, and a PNW cockpit. Esker offers drivetrain, fork, wheel, and other component upgrades for an added cost.
Head over to EskerCycles.com to learn more.
Further Reading
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