Long chainstay content: Esker Hayduke LVS review at The Radavist

[Jeremy Till]

I thought some on here might be interested in The Radavist's review of the Esker Hayduke LVS, which they posted last week. The Hayduke LVS is a new titanium hardtail mountain bike with long (600mm) chainstays. 

I though it would be of interest for a number of reasons: 

1. Another company (aside from Rivendell and Jeff Jones) thinks long chainstays are a good enough idea to build a production model around them.
2. The reviewer, John Watson (owner of the Radavist), gives Grant his due credit for some of the thinking behind long chainstays, although it's unclear to me if Esker themselves credit him for influencing the design. 
3. The review is favorable (to put it mildly) and everything John says about riding the Hayduke LVS reflects my feelings about riding my 59cm Clem H (with 56cm chainstays) off-road. I don't do it much anymore, but back before I had a kid I did a fair amount of mountain biking on it and I loved the sure-footed feeling on climbs and the long wheelbase stability on the descents, compared to other hardtails and full-suspension bikes I had ridden with more "standard" MTB geometry (read: short chainstays). In fact, I would argue that the fact that the Esker is completely otherwise a standard hardtail with suspension fork, disc brakes, and dropper seatpost points to the fundamental soundness of the long-chainstay design, given that it seems to work even if you don't buy into all of Grant's particularities when it comes to component selection.  

I hope others enjoy reading it too! The accompanying video of the bikepacking trip they took is also fun.  

-Jeremy Till

Sacramento, CA

[Chris K]

Thanks for the link.

I saw a solo rider on a tandem the other night. Reeeeeeeeeeeeally long chainstay on that ride, haha