Esker Cycles has a sweet new rigid steel, singlespeed-friendly bike for the discerning mountain biker looking to blend classic klunker looks with modern trail-ready geometry, plus all the good new standards. But it is seriously limited, so if this looks like your kind of ride you should probably put your chips on the table fast before they are gone.
Esker Solitaire modern 0mm travel steel MTB klunker

Think of the new Esker Solitaire as a Hayduke for mountain bikers looking for a bit more classic style in their life. Don’t be scared by that extra horizontal tube in the front triangle; this is still very much a modern, adventure-ready mountain bike.
Yes, it would probably be happy to get built up as a retro-modern single-speed cruiser to ride from café to beer garden. But with modern geometry, big tire clearance, and all the mounts you can imagine, this bike really what’s to tear up some singletrack and then head out on backcountry bikepacking adventures.
Rigid. Steel. Single-Speed. What more could you dream of?

Esker calls the Solitaire their limited edition 0mm travel single-speed. But really, it’s a lot more than that.
This is a rigid 29er with a slack 67.5° head angle, steep 74° seat angle, and a suspension-corrected steel fork (=120mm). Plus, room for the biggest 29er trail tires you could dream of. And if you want to think of it like a bikepacking rig, Esker gave it all the mounts and built it to take some serious off-road abuse.

Sure, it features long chainstays, made adjustable to tension your single-speed chain. But you could also mount one of the many great wireless rear derailleurs on the market and not have your knees suffer on the climbs. Or build it up with 1 gear now. Knowing that you can always chicken out and slap a wide wireless 1x setup & 120mm suspension fork on there when your body craps out.

It comes in just one sparkly red paint job. And it gets a lovely bronze headtube badge, handmade and numbered by the talented Jen Green.
Tech details

- limited edition steel 29er frame & fork
- TIG-welded from seamless, size-specific quad-butted 4130 chromoly tubing (just like their Hayduke)
- handmade & individually numbered cast bronze headtube badge made by artist Jen Green
- includes custom Esker Fork Yeah! tapered leg rigid uni-crown steel 1.5″ tapered-steerer fork:
-495mm a-c, 44mm offset, 110x15mm Boost, 180mm post mount, low-rider rack & 3-bolt Anything mounts - ED coated steel tubes for a lifetime of riding
- max 29 x 3.0″ tire clearance (geo optimized for a 2.6″ tire)
- bolt-on future-proof rocker Portage Dropout with UDH to fit any standard or tension a singlespeed chain (+/-14mm)
- optimized for singlespeed builds, with no mechanical rear derailleur routing
(yes, it features a geared-ready UDH, for a wireless-only rear derailleur ) - internal brake routing in the front triangle, external along the chainstay
- 2 standard bottle cage mounts (only 1 on the smallest size), plus a 3-bolt mount under the downtube
- front & rear rack (only with seatpost clamp rack mount) mounts and bolt-on frame bag mounts
- 44mm headtube for tapered forks (ZS44 upper/EC44 lower), reinforced with a downtube gusset
- threaded 73mm BSA bottom bracket
- 31.6mm seatpost with internal dropper routing (34.9mm clamp, not included)
- comes in 3 in-between sizes (SM/MD, MD/LG & LG/XL)

Esker Solitaire – Pricing, options & availability

Esker’s new limited edition Solitaire is available to pre-order now only as the Cadillac Desert red frameset. There, $1250 gets you the matching steel frame and rigid steel fork. If you want to build it up as a single-speed like they intended, Esker even gives you the option at check to have them “hacksaw off my UDH” for purity. No complete builds are offered direct from Esker. But their dealer bike shops will be happy to help you create the perfect custom build.

Act fast though, because they’re making just 50 bikes. So, ante up and start planning your build kit now, and Esker will ship your Solitaire frameset in October 2025.