For almost 20 years, as the Welsh company Atherton tells us, CEO Dan Brown and the siblings "Athy, Gee, Rach" and their mechanics have been dreaming and planning the ultimate DH bike for racing... especially a geared bike with a belt drive.
In 2024, the opportunity arose to work with the well-known manufacturer of such belts, Gates Carbon Drive, to finally make this dream a reality.
Atherton Bikes now produces its bikes using its special "Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology". This refers to the 3D printing of titanium parts, especially the connecting pieces of the frame tubes. This production method from Atherton is perfect for testing and improving things quickly. There is no need to order or build large quantities; individual parts are ready for use within a short period of time, and the technology originally comes from prototype construction.
Together, frame experts Dave Weagle, Rob Gow and designers Scott Aisthorpe and Will Carne put together the first rideable bike from carbon tubes and titanium 3D pressure mouldings within just a few months. The basis is the familiar A.200 downhill frame. The German gear experts from Pinion seem to supply the manual gearbox.
And luckily, he had a camera with him so that we could see how Atherton's dream became a rideable MTB. This film is part 1 of a series and documents the beginning of this process... from a titanium build plate to the first week of riding tests. One sentence after the first test ride is promising enough: The bike is absolutely silent! (The bike is absolutely silent).
We will of course also present the other parts in this article. So stay tuned - we are still waiting together for the finished Atherton A.200.G with Gates belt and gearbox!
Marc Strucken
Editor
