2023 Atherton

AM.130.2

As the best trail bikes become increasingly homogenous, Atherton Bikes’ latest short travel ripper stands out as something unique and exciting. Want to know more about Atherton Bikes? Check out our feature here Need to know  The first short-travel 29er trail bike from Atherton Bikes  DW-6 suspension delivers 130mm travel from the compact 6-bar design X-version gets a 150mm fork, standard AM.130 used a 140mm fork Frame construction combines carbon tubing with Ti lugs that are printed using an additive manufacturing process With 22 unique frame sizes and custom options, finding the perfect fit has never been easier. Atherton bikes are designed and made in Wales, and can come with a lifetime guarantee Before we dive in, I want to get my bias out in the open as it may cloud this First Ride/Review. I’m a big fan of the Athertons. There, I said it. I don’t really know them, other than to make polite conversation, but I’ve always admired their approach. And not simply because of their impressive race results, it’s more about their attitude and process that makes them standout. As world class athletes, they have never been afraid to invest in themselves, and like all true professionals they surround themselves with the best people to improve their odds of success. It should come as no surprise then that they have adopted a similar strategy with Atherton Bikes, enlisting the help of Dave Weagle, an independent suspension engineer. Weagle’s designs include DW-Link, Split-Pivot and Delta Link to name a few. And unlike most suspension engineers who claim that their design is best, Weagle is somewhat agnostic to the specifics; DW-Link is a twin-link design, Split-Pivot is a single pivot with a floating brake mount, Delta-Link is variable rate floating shock design, all with specific strengths and weaknesses.  The latest addition to Weagle’s suspension portfolio is DW-6 and currently Atherton’s use it on all of their suspension bikes. As the name suggests it’s a 6-bar design, but there’s virtually no information about how it works or what advantages it brings. On the Atherton’s website they go into depth on the 3D additive construction process used to make the titanium frame lugs that are bonded to the preformed carbon tubing. There’s a distinct dearth of information about the workings of the suspension though. No anti-squat or anti-rise curves, not even a simple graph for the progression rate. In fact, the whole suspension part on the website seems fluffy, descriptive and vague. Maybe that’s the price you pay for outsourcing the design to a third party? That’s not going to stop me inferring the possible benefits from what I know about other 6-bar designs though. The main advantage being that the suspension engineer can achieve more consistent anti-squat across the entire travel range, if that’s what they want. On a traditional four bar design if you want 120% anti-squat at sag, it will probably start out around 140% at full extension then once you pass the sag point it keeps dropping. With …Continue reading »

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The Atherton AM.130 carbon-titanium trail bike lands with a 140mm fork and 22 sizes to choose from; the AM.130.X gets a 150mm fork

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Build X has the longer-travel 150 mm fork, with a Fox 36, Fox Float X2 and Sram GX; it costs £7300 / €6935 / $6935 USD..

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