Atherton Bikes Release First 50 Bikes for Early Followers of the Brand

 I want an Atherton fatbike that Gee has personally developed by sessioning the Fort William DH track.

 Oooooo I like stonerduro

 Dan is pretty excited about their BMX. I don't know. If they've been able to make one, they have already got the program so they can make you another one if you really want it. That is, even though BMX has been relatively unaffected by changing standards until recently, Ruben Alcantara may just have pushed the industry (and the social media driven general public) into something new that would send everyone back to the drawing board.

 Stonerduro? Do tell!

 @pakleni: The bikes have a bong holder instead of a bottle holder.

 @excavator666: Sooo, Specialized without misspelled name?

 @excavator666: and the chainstay length will be 420mm

 @pakleni: With addictive manufacturing and hemp-reinforced carbon.

 Stonerduro?? Типа как дх за пивасиком?

 What about Groad?

 @excavator666: what if they have a herb grinder mounts on the frame and the downtube is a bong with the headtube being the moutpiece snd the seatube as the bowl piece

 Freecountry is only available from the US (if you happen to have oil)

 @blob425: Grinder integrated into crankset?

 Stonerduro = swat box with weed stash, pipe, Zigzags and lighter.

 @Dropthedebt: and a 69 degree head angle

 @vinay: the only thing changing is bmx race bikes. Street/park frames have not moved a half a degree since 2005.

 @fruitsd79: Yeah, I was referring to Ruben because he started experimenting with suspension forks and wider knobby tires on BMX bikes to do more bikepark kinda riding. As for Dan, if someone would be willing to change the geometry of BMX bikes it would be him. He obviously has some solid experience riding mountainbikes and despite his BMX background the Athertons always kept pushing for longer and slacker bikes, even back when they were riding for Commencal. And yeah, it is their brand so why not? Even though I would definitely not be in the market for one of their bikes (I'm just shopping at a different pricepoint) I do think there is a place for longer and slacker BMX bikes. Obviously BMX race bikes got loads longer, I don't know about the angles. I've only got an old street BMX but now only use it on the pumptrack, which can be tricky because of the loose top layer. I love the small wheels on the pumptrack but a mellower (or more aggressive/progressive/whatever they call it these days) geometry wouldn't hurt.

 @vinay: OH snap they made a full sus bmx....... looks dang good.

 @RyanShreds: and 420mm stays

 Hard to disagree when you look at the price of a Bronson or Yeti SB and consider economies of scale / place of manufacture / complexity etc.

It’s a niche bike for those that can afford it, but plenty of people have the money and want something exclusive.

 I get the posh crowd buying high-end road bikes, but who is actually buying these elite £6000+ DH bikes?

 @SvenNorske: The posh crowd?

 @justanotherusername: At the high end of any market, it's not just about performance and it's definitely not about value in quantifiable terms. As you said, exclusivity is a major part of it, including a desire to be a part of the project and working with a certain group of people. It's the product, the experience, and the identity.

It's nice to have a few small companies making innovative products for those who value - and can afford - such things. For those who don't or can't pay for it, there are plenty of nearly-as-good bikes for a fraction of the price.

 @R-M-R: I think you are agreeing with me cause I’m on the same page - my posh crowd reply was an answer to the question of who can afford them - the same crowd exists in road, mtb and every other imaginable hobby and it’s nice to see, I can’t afford a McLaren but I’m glad they exist.

 @SvenNorske: You're absolutely right. "Clean and classy" sports are usually more appealing to people with money. "Mud and blood" sports tend to not attract the same kind of money, especially if the fancy products inevitably get damaged - doubly so if the expensive *rider* is also likely to get damaged!

 @justanotherusername: Yes, exactly. Building on the ideas you set out. As I said to SvenNorske, though, some activities are more appealing to the posh folks than others. Dirt and damage to the gear and the user are big turn-offs to the posh demographic. There will be some exceptions, of course, so that's a broad statement.

 @justanotherusername: Probably been binging the Great British Baking Show.

 You don't have to come up with the geometry. There are few options. Give them your body dimensions and their computer algorithms create a customized geometry for your body specs. You can also buy pre-set geometry frames. I'm guessing they will also allow you to create your geometry as well.

 A good custom builder will have a great deal of patience to work through it with the customer. You know how you want it to feel and the builder - hopefully - knows how to create a product that delivers what you want.

Some customers will have specific numbers in mind; this can be either a very good thing or a very bad thing!

 @tacklingdummy: Lol. Computer algorithms. Give them your body dimensions and they go read the body size to frame size conversion chart.

 @Whatajohnny

Well, every PB review of a new bike comes with free feedback for the manufacturer from the comments section about why they made their bike wrong.

At least all these people will no longer be held back and forced to ride badly-designed bikes and they can show the industry how it's supposed to be done by comissioning a bike with their own geo.

I mean seriously all you need to make a good bike is:

- chainstays the correct length.
- not that brand of componentry, the other one.
- less travel but more travel but not too much.
- steep, slack, tried and tested, progressive angles.

 @Bob-Agg: This is straight from their website:

"Submit your personal specs

​The first step is down to you. Input your height, arm span and inside leg measurements to the website (coming soon). Our "algorithm" will deliver two options, the closest fitting stock size (we have 3-4 times more sizes than other bike companies) or an individualised option where your frame is customised to fit you to the millimetre."

www.athertonbikes.com/technology

 Totally agree and I’m surprised this POV doesn’t come up more

 Unless I'm mistaken they just took over the robot bike co business (maybe they had financial issues) and renamed it.

 Exaclty, if I suddenly buy Santa Cruz and slap my name on it. Will Pinkbike give me credit for developing the brand and creating the bikes? One thing I did hear is the box the bikes ship in double as a safe space for when you are offended.

 The CEO of Atherton Bikes was a founder of Robot - or at least there from near the beginning - so it may be more like a resurrection of the company. Not sure how the other two Robot founders made out ... hopefully they were treated fairly.

If Robot didn't succeed, has Atherton really removed all the barriers that held back Robot? Or maybe Robot was wildly profitable and they sold the company for a tidy profit ... ?

 I think the initial announcement of Atherton bikes made it quite clear that this was a colab with members of Robot bikes. That, and the fact that Robot was a startup that disappeared along with the Atherton announcement, should give you all the info you need to stop shouting.
www.pinkbike.com/news/athertons-launch-atherton-bikes-with-robot-bikes-founders-and-dragons-den-investor.html

 Sure, it is easy to create custom lugs. However, you will also need a CUSTOM jig to assemble it. If you are going to be building more than a single bike at a time, you will need many assembly jigs. Sorting that process out is not straight forward. Robot Bikes was doing it before, but it is we do not know if they ever got much past the one bike at a time stage. Doing this style of manufacturing at scale might not have been done before by them.

 @aelazenby: Perhaps this is not intended to be scaled up a great deal with the current techniques.

 "The Athertons met Ed Haythornthwaite, one of Robot’s founders, when he was Dan’s World Cup mechanic in 2006 and their ongoing friendship was the catalyst for this venture. Ed’s understanding of what works on a bike and his passion for improving a rider’s experience underpins the development of the entire range. Ed’s co-founders, Ben Farmer and Andy Hawkins both come from an aerospace and Formula 1 background. They are experts in composites and additive manufacturing (metal 3D printing) which allows for full customisation of every bike frame."

From their launch article. It's getting more attention because they're marketing it more aggressively and they are the most famous and successful family in mountain biking.

 I think the thing is they have designed a new bike, as in geo suspension etc. They do not claim the tech is new, just that it has helped develop the frame design by quick turn around of prototypes. I suspect if you rode a 'Robot bikes' version and and an 'Atherton bikes' version you appreciate they are different bikes, same production method. Just like every manufacturers aluminium or carbon bikes, same production, different bikes. The production method is different so it seems sensible to highlight the benefits and USPs. It's not clear if the Robot bikes brand stalled or was going well, but either way the Athertons had an opportunity and it makes sense to me for the brand to be developed this way, given their experience and fame. Nothing here really to get upset about.

 @Braindrain: To me, I think it's pretty clear that Robot is no longer in operation. You used to be able to access a website for info and ordering, and now there isn't one.

When Paul Aston got a Robot and reviewed it for pinkbike, he spec'd his own geo (which is the whole idea), so yeah, the bike would ride differently than an Atherton Bike.
www.pinkbike.com/news/robot-bike-co-r160-custom-review-2016.html

In that article, there's a link to the Robot website. That website is now an Amazon related advertising platform for bike and moto products. The focus for those folks now is now on Atherton Bikes.

 Mike Levy could build you that one.

 @Deadclmbr: design? ok
build? you first.

 Stonerduro FTW!

 yep. glad i got my 1200s back in the (inexpensive) day!

 People always complain

The new “1210” mk7 technics are better quality than the old ones. There are a new one 1200Grand. thats 5k each

They have updated chassis, feet, platter and power supply.
www.mixfoundation.co.nz/products/1561?_pos=29&_sid=ccd049a18&_ss=r

You would still want an originlive tone arm good needle amp speakers to justify the expense and of course records.

 @savagelake: is MTB a natural progression from 1200s cause I know this journey....

 Na. It’s a Logical Progression @Jaykobjay:

 Disadvantages seem to outweigh advantages.

 Woah!!! How have I never seen ur site before?! Amaze balls!

 That's a relique, I wish I could have one, keep yours for life ! I also got a Candida Meno Ti, totally worth it !

 @qreative-bicycle: Hadn't heard of those so looked them up. Looks very clean. I was tempted to remove the stickers from the Commencal...then had a word with myself.

 @glasvagas: You were right about the decals, keeps the value and looks very cool !
I built the Meno to 8.86kg tho www.vitalmtb.com/community/qblambda,44173/setup,39851?ptab

 @qreative-bicycle: Nice project dude. And 24" too!

 It will be released unfinished and they will never patch it.

 Weeeeell...I guess at this price, and given that the geometry is effectively infinitely tweakable, this can be any bike you want. Apologies if that was the joke you were making.

 Cheaper than a Yeti...

 An ebike

 Cheaper than the latest Jamis

 So Santa Cruz, Ibis, Yeti, Trek and any bike you want will build me a custom frame?

 @tomhoward379: you don't even know the spec yet. You think they have volume to get deals on Shimano or sram low enough to pass savings?

 @Jcolis1904: the 150mm 29er frames are £3400. An SB150 frame is £3600.

So, cheaper than a Yeti.

 Marino bikes are like $250 for hardtail and like $500 for full suss. And custom geo. Might have enough change left over for a month long mtb trip.

 @vapidoscar: thanks for the info! Thats pretty cool. They are welded in peru?!

 I did wonder if this was a means of making sure they were able to race them as they now have products available to buy...

 Dan, Rach and Gee, duh...

 COULD look like a session.

 Starting a company and supporting a World Cup race team isn't cheap! It's also an expensive manufacturing process, though it does have the advantage of reducing initial tooling costs. Still, I don't think anyone will say it's the best value in the bike world. Thankfully, there are plenty of good bikes for a lot less.

 Based on what, the cost of the first fifty frames? Tooling is stupid expensive. And you get custom geometry.

 @gkeele: The lugs are 3D printed, eliminating the traditional tooling costs of creating molds. Lots of manufacturing engineering, of course, but reduced tooling costs.

 @R-M-R: Presumably they still need to tool for all the carbon fibre layup?

 @gkeele: My understanding is Robot used off-the-shelf tubes, much like a custom builder of metal bikes might choose existing tubes, then cut to length and weld them together. Their tooling was mostly to hold the printed lugs when machining was required, such as for BB threads and bearing surfaces.