First Ride: Atherton S170 - Long Travel & Lugged Aluminum
Atherton Bikes recently celebrated their fifth anniversary, a notable milestone given the tumultuous state of the mountain bike industry during that time period. Up until today, all of their bikes used carbon tubes bonded to titanium lugs created with additive manufacturing, a process that allowed them to create a vast array of size options even for riders that didn't go the full-custom route.
A new model has been added to the lineup, the S170, and there isn't any carbon (or titanium) to be seen. Instead, the bike is built with tubes of 7075 aluminum that are bonded into lugs, no welding required. The S in the model name stands for Subtractive (as opposed to the A series frames, where A stands for Additive); it refers to the machining used to remove material during the frame's creation.
A new model has been added to the lineup, the S170, and there isn't any carbon (or titanium) to be seen. Instead, the bike is built with tubes of 7075 aluminum that are bonded into lugs, no welding required. The S in the model name stands for Subtractive (as opposed to the A series frames, where A stands for Additive); it refers to the machining used to remove material during the frame's creation.
S170 Details
• 7075 aluminum frame
• 170 mm rear travel, 180 mm fork
• 29" front wheel, 27.5" rear
• Head angle: 63.6°
• 12 sizes
• Weight: 37.5 lb / 17 kg (size 8 )
• Price: $5,199 - $6,399 USD / Frame w/shock: $2,985
• athertonbikes.com
• 7075 aluminum frame
• 170 mm rear travel, 180 mm fork
• 29" front wheel, 27.5" rear
• Head angle: 63.6°
• 12 sizes
• Weight: 37.5 lb / 17 kg (size 8 )
• Price: $5,199 - $6,399 USD / Frame w/shock: $2,985
• athertonbikes.com
The S170 is billed as a mini-DH bike, and with 170mm of travel, a 180mm fork, and a 63.6-degree head angle it certainly qualifies. The steep seat angle and good pedaling characteristics make it possible to skip the lift or shuttle and get to the top under your own power, although it's not the lightest thing out there – my test bike checked in at 37.5 pounds.
There are three complete models in the lineup, ranging in price from $5,199 USD to $6,399 for the bike shown here. The frame only with a Fox DHX2 coil shock is $2,985 USD.
No welds here - theS170's 7075 aluminum tubes are epoxied into the head tube lug.
Frame Details
I'm a big fan of the S170's look – it has sort of a retro-futuristic thing going on, like a very modern version of the Iron Horse 6Point. The front triangle is constructed from 7075 series aluminum, with the tubes bonded using a double lap shear joint into lugs at the head tube and seat tube junctions. The swingarm consists of two machined segments that are bolted to the two short links that make up the DW4 suspension layout, and there's a brace bolted on at the front of the chainstays for additional stiffness.
The S170 has passed the EFBE Tri TestCat 4 (Enduro) and Cat 5 (Downhill) tests, and is covered by a lifetime warranty.
There's room to mount a bottle cage inside the front triangle, but there aren't any other accessory mounting points or in frame storage. Well, technically there are a bunch of potential storage compartments – check out the underside of the swingarm. There's also a hatch on the top tube that's used to help with the internal cable routing, but I bet at least a gummy worm or two could be stashed in there.
The seat tube is uninterrupted, which means there's plenty of room for running dropper post with lots of drop. My test bike showed up with a 170mm dropper, but I was able to swap that out for a 210mm OneUp and still have plenty of room to spare.
They aren't officially marketed as storage compartments, but I bet there are some clever uses for these voids.
The underside of the chainstays.
The S170 uses a DW4 suspension layout rather than the DW6 configuration found on the carbon Atherton models.
Geometry
There are a total of 12 different frame sizes to choose from, which could potentially lead to some riders succumbing to analysis paralysis when faced with all of those choices, but it's great to see such a wide range of options.
The reach starts at 405mm and goes all the way up to 515mm in 10 millimeter increments. The chainstay length and seat tube angles vary depending on the frame size. The smallest size has a 430mm chainstay length and 76.6-degree seat tube angle, while the largest measures 440mm and 78.6-degrees.
Builds & Pricing
Build 3 $5119 USD
Build 2 $5865 USD
Build 1 $6399 USD
Dan Atherton logging those frequent flyer miles. Photo: Dan Griffiths
Ride Impressions
I only have one ride in on the S170 so far, so this truly is a First Ride article. I built up the bike, installed a longer dropper post, and hit the trails. The ride ended up being a touch under 5,000 vertical feet of climbing over the course of 28 miles, so it was a decent initial outing.
There were some singletrack climbs in the mix, but the vast majority was done on logging roads, followed by steep, rough descents, which happens to be the type of riding that best suits the S170. At 37.5 pounds it's no lightweight, so it's best to get to the top as efficiently as possible, rather than meandering around on twisty singletrack.
If that number on the scale is taken out of the equation, the S170 is a good climber, at least on logging road grinds – it's responsive under power, and doesn't bob or wallow wildly, even with the shock in the fully open mode. The seat angle is quite steep, which works great when you're actually climbing, but it's something to keep in mind for riders that regularly find themselves on longer, flatter sections of trail, since it does put extra pressure on your hands in that situation. Overall, the S170 is the type of bike where climbing is simply the toll to pay before the fun begins – at the end of the day its main focus is on smashing out downhill laps.
'Smashy' is a good way to sum up how the S170 feels – it's the sort of bike that encourages letting off the brakes and plowing through whatever's in the way. That 180mm Zeb up front is there to absorb the initial blow, and then the SuperDeluxe Coil takes care of the rest. The weight that slows it down on the climbs translates into a solid, planted feel for the descents – the mini-DH term really is appropriate here. Even thought crushing everything feels like its main modus operandi, hitting jumps and natural doubles doesn't feel like a chore – the overall wheelbase is long without being outlandish, and the suspension design provides a good platform to push off of from any part of the travel.
The S170 isn't the quietest bike – the chainslap protection could use some refinements, and there were a few other noises that I'll need to try and quiet down (the brake pads on the Hayes Dominions were another source of rattling), but hopefully that should be a fairly simple fix. We'll be putting in more miles on this aluminum beast over the next couple of months and report back with a full review.
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The whole damn thing is 7075.
Huge,fat, beautiful welds.
Man, you people need to look things up.
As you can see, making a definitive , incorrect statement, full of hubris, compels me to state that now that YOU are wrong and question your intelligence and possibly your lineage in the most demeaning way.
Sleep tight
But you are also correct that you can't practically heat weld (e.g. TIG) 7075. FSW is unique in that it takes the metal up to it's precise phase change temp and not a fraction of a degree beyond. Very cool process. But very challenging to get the internal tooling/anvils needed to back the material to complete the FSW weld. You end up with such compromised structural geometry that it negates the benefits of being able to use 7075.
Sure it's almost $1k cheaper if you want a Domain up front which uses an ancient damper and heavier casting.
The HD6 has full factory level spec at $6100 USD. On a carbon frame. It's $6300 for that here.
Atherton logo frame only $2985
You can buy the A150 frame and shock for $4,762.50. A Yeti SB160 is $4800 for the frame and shock.
It blows my mind that the Atherton is cheaper, despite being offered in 22 sizes, and being "super boutique". While the Yeti is mass manufactured in 5 sizes, and is somehow more expensive.
I said "sort of true" at the beginning, because the A170 frame/shock combo is $5,027, which is more than the Yeti. Still though, not a bad deal.
For the S170 frame, its fairly competitive with other high end aluminum frames. Banshees are $2600, Raaw Madonna frames with shocks are $2600 without a shock, and $3000-3200 depending on the shock. Kavenz is similar at ~$2650 with no shock.
Want is maybe the wrong word.
But 38lbs for an aluminum park/enduro bike, is very normal/fairly reasonable.
For perspective, thats 2lbs lighter than a Privateer 161 gen2, and my personal bike (Banshee Titan), with one DH tire on it.
So 38lbs is still fairly heavy, but not really compared to other big burly aluminum bikes.
Some people aren't worried about weight, especially if the trade off is for downhill speed and a planted ride.
Metallic pads are noisy as always in the wet or certain dust (been this way on Shimano, SRAM as well). If you want super quiet without losing wet control the Galfer greens (Race, I think) are the way - but they wear out faster than OEM metallic pads. I need to try Galfer purple (e-bike compound) next.
Atherton S170, RAAW Madonna v3, Airdrop Edit MX.
All of them in Mullet config, comparable weight, same usecase ....
I'd absolutely LOVE to read that one!
If you're capable of giving a first comparison between your winter test Madonna v3 and the S170, this would be awesome too!
And, by the way, which size did you go for on the Atherton?
This seems to be missing in the article?
AirDrop Edit MX
Atherton S170
Banshee Titan
Kavenz VHP 16 (or 18…)
knolly Chilcotin
Nicolai nucleon 16
Privateer 161 gen 2
Pole Vikkela
Raaw Madonna v3
I’m sure I forgot some, but a good selection from that list would be a great read.
I’ve got a Titan, and live a bit south of Kaz, and could let him do some rides on it if that helps.
Gah, knew I'd forget one or few at least.
I always forget they are available for sale. But I'd love to spend some time on one.
1) it allows them to use 7075 aluminum which is stronger but cant be welded
2) it allows them to leverage their processes for frame building that they developed for their carbon bike
It allows them to use 7075 Alu which can't be used for welding
It allows them to use different lugs and tube lengths to create loads of sizes. There's nothing stopping welded frames from doing this, but inventory can be a problem when predicting sales and welding overseas. This allows them total control.
3) you are bringing basicly no heat into the frame so theoreticly(if the tubes are straight) its easier to build a straighter frame)
4) Its simpler labour to bond the tubes in then to weld aluminium well(hard to find good aluminium welders in youre area which are looking for a job). The cnc machines require a litttle more skill but ones set up its not that big of a deal.
Its a solution to problems everyone has who wants to manufacture bikes outside of Taiwan.
Its not youre problem as a customer but its the reason why there are not many bikes build in the west.
Point 3 is also good for the customer as bad alignement f*cks up all kind of thinks and most users dont notice it (they just feel that the bike isnt good, needs to much Bearing services, has Suspension performance which is not as it should be, Joint pain for the rider....) so its not a sexy point for marketing but its very important(and one of the best indicators for quality)
Not a real solution
Does he want to weld allhis bikes?
How many can he weld?(i think Atherton is trying to sell some more of the affordable alloy bikes)
There a reasons why not manny Alloy bikes are made in the west and lack of available skillfull welders is on of the biggest and hardest to solve(other then giong to taiwan)
PS not even every welder is able to become good at welding aluminium (in my field of work we say rougly 1/10 welders is good with aluminium). Its a real skill and thats one of the reasosn why ther are much more small frame builders doing steel then aluminium(becasue its much easier(they hide it by steel is real and other phrases))
I’m also not the target customer but those are a non-starter.
Something about solid rear triangle FS just also ticks the boxes for me don't know why.
I imagine a few folk will be trying to cancel orders of other frames to get their hands on one of these.
Stick on a raw intend usd fork and loads of silver ano bling you’d have a very sexy bike.
Banshee Titan owner here
With one DH tire, and one trail tire + insert, deore 11speed drivetrain, coil shock, 2kg wheelset, and a light fork for its category (Mezzer), is almost bang on at 40lbs. I could drop some weight with fancy drivetrain and lighter wheels, but a burly aluminum bike with real tires, is going to weigh a fair bit.
38lbs for a 170/180mm travel, aluminum trail bike with a coil shock, seems pretty normal.
Does anyone have an idea of the mechanical properties of their bonding agent? I've been thinking of machining my own lugs for a gravel bike for my girlfriend, but I don't have an oxyacetylene brazing setup, and JB weld would be... convenient
www.wirelock.com
That being said, if you're offering to donate an oxy setup, just let me know
@pbuser2299 more than Pivot likes Kerr?
It’s full circle the Alan aluminium bonded Road frames are still beautiful to this day and many are still on the road today nearly 50 years on, so it’s a proven technology!
No tack welds needed, I’ve seen many a welded aluminium bike fail on the welds!
Modern epoxy has to be stronger and more fail safe than a weld!
Go Athertons
Would be cool to see this with a dropout sort of rear end (like Banshee, and Kavenz), this way you can get adjustments in length, or axle spacing, and still keep your UDH compatibility if that is what they want.
I'm here wanting Kavenz to offer a +30mm length on theirs, so the VHP18 on the XL/XXL sizes is more balanced
Especially for those of us who're right in between modern T-shirt sizes that 95% of manufacturers have settled on.
Frame only (to Australia): $1,397
Chain Reaction charged me AU$200 for a complete bike. Even RAAW only wants €106 for a frame.
(Ghost Riot Enduro FYI)
youtu.be/ckaCt5n4dtU?si=NP9CF9Sf20Jb7ftc&t=145
Some of the wording on here is funny....
Could still be an endmill though, looks bigger than 2mm, more like 3-4mm, one of the machines we have could eat that as it has 26k RPM available.
Don't want to be blunt, but you don't know a lot about this kinda stuff, do you?
One being used: www.bigdaishowa.com/en/blog/cutter-change-reduces-process-time-75
Care to tell me how you run a finish pass on a 3mm groove with a 3mm endmill? Or would you undersize the endmill then finish both walls separately, for a 25mm deep groove that will be quite some cycle time, not to mention horrendous chatter and surface finish.
“For those shopping on a budget, we made a bike that only costs $5000 and weighs 40lbs”
All good if you cant Ride bikes well and need that chainstay to keep balance.
and longer wheel bases require larger movements from the rider to shift weight... movements that take more time.
all good if you cant hammer down in the rough/ steep/ fast and you need that long front end as a crutch so you dont otb
Riddle me this.
Whats the difference in a 1250mm wheel base bike with a 475mm reach but more importantly 820mm front center and 430mm chainstays
And a bike with 1250mm wheel base 465 reach 810mm front center, and 440mm chainstays?
When standing... your feet are 10mm further forwards on the second bike... thats it! For some its importat to get the feet mote under the hips than having them way back behind when trying to load up the front end....... much harder to perfom the ol pull out manuver with your feet too far back when you need to quickly shift weight back.
Get yourself a bike with 1 1/2" cups for 12mm reach adjust and 20mm chainstay length adjusment and perhaps you might arrive at similar conclusions
I've ridden bikes with 430's and bikes with 450+ chainstays.
The most sketchy bikes i've ridden are medium reach bikes with long stays, They often pitch you very far forward on steep stuff and you wear the tyre in your rearend often.
the worst thing about long CS bikes is how lazy they feel, especially long travel bikes.
I wont be reading anymore replys because either your just talking rubbish or you just suck.
Ill nose manual switchbacks you dab on.
We think frames/bikes with numerous sizes that scale up uniformly is a really cool idea for getting fit dialed -
Check out the "effective top tube" numbers here and look how they scale
We think the lugged frame has a unique esthetic - the look and the construction carries allot of brand identity, perhaps the Atherton organization should develop their own suspension to truly make this bike theirs?
The big question mark here in our minds is "how durable will the glue really be after years of hard sendy ridding?"
before you say "they glue airplanes" try to remember that high strength to weight ratio aerospace vehicles often have rigorous inspection schedules , they track "flying hours", and things like wings or rotor blades get replaced over the useable lifetime of the aircraft- would this frame/bike get that same level of inspection attention? -- The lifetime warrantee is a good sign, but only time will tell --
\m/
Dear bike industry haven’t we learned to quit trying to glue frames together?!?!?
Im ok with certain places being glued together… places that make sense… but the head tube…. NO
And if Deviate cycles manages to read this, i know you guys are experimenting right now with gluing carbon tubes into ti lugs…. Fwiw i think the prototype short travel rig that you gave a sneak peak of with the carbon seat tube and ti top tube and down tubes welded to the head tube is the way to go
Polished lugs will have nothing for the glue to stick. Rough clean surface is the best, and looks like the inside of the pivot's lug is polished. hit with 180 grit sandpaper, glue it back and send to me, I'll hapily use that frame.