Interview: Rachel Atherton & Ben Farmer on the Development of Atherton Bikes from Prototype to Production

Feb 13, 2020
by James Smurthwaite  
photo

It has been more than a year since Atherton Bikes burst onto the scene with their additive manufactured bikes and now they finally have 2 platforms they're ready to sell. They have today announced the first batch of 50 frames with a choice between the downhill bike the team has been racing on the World Cup circuit this year and a 150mm travel, 29er enduro bike.

We caught up with the brand's CEO, Ben Farmer, and Rachel Atherton to discuss the unique development of these bikes and their plans for the future of the brand.

Ben Farmer - CEO
Ben Farmer is CEO of the company and also one of the engineers helping behind the scenes to deliver the Athertons with the frames they need.

photo
Photo: Dan Griffiths/Moonhead

Why did you decide to limit the run to 50 bikes to begin with?


It was really to celebrate our first bikes going to customers. We are thanking people that have followed us from the start and came on board at the beginning. We've had people interested in having #01, obviously, and then people have been asking for their lucky numbers, someone even asked for #007! It's not too late to get involved, so if you do want to get involved just sign up to our newsletter and we'll get to you.

Another aspect is that we want to get going in a smooth and controlled way with manufacturing, so we can't just go in with a big bang. We want to get our bikes to people when we say we will.

Has there been a lot of demand for the bikes since they were announced?


Yes, the demand has been everywhere you turn - online, at the bike park and then bumping into people. We've got to the point where people really want to be able to see and buy the bikes so it was time to make that happen.

One of the options is custom fitting, how custom is that at the stage you're at now?


At the moment we take our customers’ height, inside leg and arm span and from that, we can provide the option of custom reach and custom seat tube lengths

We've got a wide range of standard sizes, wider than you might normally see, and then alongside that there's the option to go for a custom fit. Obviously we can suggest numbers or if the customer has a particular preference then that can be done as well.

We've already had some pretty wild questions about reach in particular, which is fine, we can do that, but we're sticking to our head angle, BB height, seat tube angle and so on. At some point down the line, we will be able to open up more variability but at the moment we're keeping it pretty simple because we're really confident in the numbers and we want to make sure people get a bike that rides really well.

photo
Photo: Dan Griffiths/Moonhead

What have been some of the difficulties of getting it to this stage that you hadn't anticipated?


It’s important for us to realise that, yes, it's a big name but we're a start-up company so there's a big long list of things to get through. It's as long as your arm, as with starting any company.

We were able to get a pretty decent bike together to get the race season underway but that was really the beginning of the story. The most difficult thing has been getting those bikes to a level where the guys genuinely think it's the best bike they've ever ridden. It basically can't work any other way, their name is going to be above the door for the duration and they have to really believe in what they're saying, it's the fundamental of our whole company. The starting point was a really good bike but it took a lot of work to go through various iterations and discover really where the combination of changes needed to be to get to that point.

Which platform has been through more prototyping?


One platform has informed the other so the downhill product has been the obvious one because it's been on the World Cup circuit and we've learned from that but then we've done some stuff on the back of developing the 150mm enduro bike that we thought, well actually that's probably something that we'd be interested to try on the downhill product. We've iterated between them. By having those different categories and then by extending those categories I'm sure we'll continue to do this, it's cross-pollination between them.

What's the biggest change in terms of the bikes from the first prototypes we saw a year ago?


There's no really one big change, it's really just a sequence of continual evolution. Probably something that's really obvious because it's visible is that we added a seat stay brace but there's a load of other stuff in there. We've changed the carbon layups, tweaked wall thicknesses in crucial areas, moved bearings around, changed the profile of the lugs and then looked at the lateral position of the chainstays. It's basically all in the direction of stiffness.

photo
Photo: Dan Griffiths/Moonhead

Are these bikes predominantly for racers? Is it difficult to balance the needs of pro racers like the Athertons with the needs of the average Joe rider?



There's not really a challenge to balance the needs of our riders vs our customers, it's quite the opposite - the bikes we are selling are the bikes we are providing to the guys. The main thing is the size and fit, that's what we don't have to compromise on for our athletes but equally, we don't have to compromise for customers. We've got a bike now which is being raced on by the guys and obviously they are constantly pushing things and will try things out but it's often basically from a platform that's pretty sorted. The difference is the setup, the guys run a setup that is potentially quite different to how your average rider might do it.

photo
Photo: Dan Griffiths/Moonhead


Will the bikes continue to sell direct?


Yes, we'll be selling directly for the foreseeable future. Particularly for us is that we can offer our customers the best service with the custom fit option. We can speak to customers directly and offer them guidance online or on the phone.

What's next for Atherton bikes?


We're working on a 130mm platform and, similarly to the mullet, when it's ready we can go. We're not working to any particular season or shipping date with suppliers or capacity with a factory in the Far East, we're just working on it. We're just making sure we do things in a controlled way.

The main thing is getting our capacity up. Effectively our batch size will quickly drop to 1, we're not filling containers up, we're producing to order. With that, we can be much more responsive. We're looking for a permanent location for our headquarters and with that, we need that to bring our additive manufacturing in house.

How long will the process be from a customer placing their order to receiving their bike?


It's a little bit of how long is a piece of string. The more customers we have the more we can generate the case to bring more capacity in. It'll probably go up and down, we’ve got some targets we'd like to be able to hit and they are 6-8 weeks but that right now is dependent on balancing the number of sales we make vs the capacity we have, the more sales the more capacity we can justify bringing in.



Rachel Atherton
photo
Photo: Dan Griffiths/Moonhead

As one of the main test pilots for the new bikes, Rachel has been hugely involved in the development of the bike up to this point. She may only have raced half a season last year but still picked up two victories in her first 4 races on the bike. Here she gives her experience of the testing process with the team.

How have you found the experience of starting a bike company from scratch so far?


Well, as you probably can imagine, just absolutely mad. We definitely had expectations of what it would be like and it has been all those things but it has been more of everything. Emotional, exciting, stressful, humbling, it's been a crazy whirlwind.

It's what you need to keep you pushing forward in life and keep you motivated. People definitely think we're a bit mad but we always wanted to do things that put us out of the comfort zone and make us step up to achieve our goals. Trying to race them at the same time as start the company and develop the bikes has been mad but the main thing has just been busy-ness, there hasn't been that much time to think about it too much.

It must be a big milestone to get the first few out of the door, it must feel pretty good.


Yeah, that's been amazing and we’ve definitely done it slowly and really took our time with it. The main takeaway from this first year has been the focus taken off ourselves as athletes and put on to some physical thing. It's about the bike, it's about other people's experiences and about how other people are reacting. It's amazing to have the focus on something that isn't us or our results or me as a person. It takes the pressure off me!

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Photo: Dan Griffiths/Moonhead

bigquotesThere are always going to people that prefer a Santa Cruz or a Pivot but that doesn't matter for us because we're making the bikes that we want to ride.

What's the biggest thing you've learned from the development process?


I think one of the biggest things you can learn, and that's from racing or business, is that you can't please everyone. You've just got to do what you want, what feels right for you, what you believe in, what you are passionate about and, as long as you love it, it doesn't matter what people say

I’m very susceptible to comments and what people are saying but you can't make a product that's going to please every single person in the whole mountain bike industry, it's just impossible. Take the logo, for example, there were a lot of comments when we first made it but we love the logo, it means a lot to us. There are reasons why it is how it is so it doesn't matter what people say about it because we love it.

On the physical side, we've learned a hell of a lot over this last year too. From the first prototype that we put down on the computer with Dave Weagle and Ben and everyone to what we’ve ended up with now, there have been a lot of different iterations. I only did half a race season but I don't think I rode the same bike and set up one day to the next, every single time I rode it was different.

Say, the flex of the rear end, that's something we learned about hugely because there are so many different types of riding styles and speeds and really having the one bike that suits everyone that doesn't really make sense. We've really played around with the flex and if you're not a racer, you can have more flex in the rear end, it tracks better and grips better but then for a racer, you need the other end of the scale.

People don't want to buy into the Atherton name if they aren't getting the bikes you would ride though, right?


Yeah exactly, there are always going to people that prefer a Santa Cruz or a Pivot but that doesn't matter for us because we're making the bikes that we want to ride. People are getting on board with that and that's been so humbling that people want to buy them.

We've been so lucky and we've had such incredible support from people over the years and people have really been on the whole journey with and now we've got a product that we can involve them with rather than it just being a one-way street.

How did it feel racing your own frames at the World Cups? Was it added pressure?


I thought I would deal with it pretty well but when we got to Maribor I felt so much pressure. I felt like everyone was watching the bike, how noisy it was, what it looked like riding, even on my first run I found it really difficult so that was pretty kind of eye-opening. I thought, “shit, what the hell have we done?” I was so committed and I wanted to get that first win on the bike but looking back, even that first bike that I raced in Maribor is so different from what we have landed on now. It takes at least a full year to get the right setup for racing and I'd been riding it for two months.

During Leogang World Cup DH Round 3
Photo: Sven Martin

How much of a relief was it then winning for the first time on the frame?


That's the word, relief. When people think about winning World Cups, it is amazing but the biggest emotion is relief I think. That was true for winning this year on the bike and it only came afterward.

Ben was saying for him that was just the start of it, even when you win a race, you can still learn so much. I was really keen to not get complacent and think, “that's it, we've done the bike, it's good because I won.” Having that ability to learn from anything is really important no matter what happens.

How much has DyFi bike park helped with development?


Yeah, that's been awesome. For example, when we built the rear end with the brace, Rob brought that up, him and Dan rode and I drove the uplift and immediately after two runs in two hours we could see the difference. It just makes things quicker and easier. The bike park has a different variety of tracks, there's a jump line and then technical downhill race stuff so it's easy to put the bike through most of the scenarios that people are going to ride it in... maybe not dry dust!

What can we expect in the future from Atherton bikes?


One of the hardest things is to reign in your ideas and make sure you're doing things at the right time. I was like, "when can we do kids' bikes? We need a dirt jump bike, we need a hardtail, we need a commuter/town bike for when I go shopping." It's really difficult to have that energy and passion but not be able to do it yet because it's not the right time for the business you know? And that's really been the main thing to reign everyone in and let people do what they're good at.

We've got two bikes out at the moment and then we've got another two to come as soon as we've finished developing them. What I'm excited about is to actually spend some time riding them with the people who have bought them. This is such a big opportunity and hopefully it's going to be bloody awesome.

Author Info:
jamessmurthwaite avatar

Member since Nov 14, 2018
1,770 articles

109 Comments
  • 82 12
 Say it with me:
They. Did. Not. Start. A. New. Bike. Company. From. Scratch.

I give credit where credit is due, taking the leap from being nice and comfy on Trek's factory team to buying a company and making a go of it deserves respect and praise.

But I don't understand why Pinkbike refuses to even acknowledge Robot Bike Company and continues to post articles perpetuating the idea that the Athertons built this company from the ground up. They bought Robot Bike Company and rebranded it to Atherton Bikes, bringing in some professionals in the field to help with adjusting geometry and kinematics.
  • 18 5
 Because it's pink bike! Soo shut your pie hole, get on you electric vehicle, that one they want you to consider as a "e-bike", and enjoy your trips in the most expensive and unnecessary way possible.

Normally when someone throws marketing BS in your face you expect at least some subtelness but nowadays PB goes straight with finger into you eye. Not that didn't happen earlier but now it's really hammer&fist method.
  • 12 1
 Pinkbike seems to have short term memory problems.
www.pinkbike.com/news/robot-bike-co-r160-custom-review-2016.html
  • 8 0
 They didn't buy. They are partners
  • 2 1
 @lbsteinm: Well now I don't see how anybody could bitch about the new logo, that old bike is ugly.
  • 4 1
 @makripper: Sorry, yes. That is more accurate. Nevertheless, that does not change the fact that they did not start the company from scratch, they bought into an existing one
  • 3 0
 Robot bikes was liquidated by the owners with no debts outstanding. I presume Atherton bikes purchased the ip with shares in the new company @shift9ears:
  • 1 1
 Oh Kay.... I thought so. I remember this company, and was thinking WTF happened to them. When I saw the first info on the Atherton bikes, my thought was "They got bought out." Just a re-brand then. Very cool idea (re; manufacturing method). I like the new black lugs, but have to say, I preferred the in industrial aesthetic of the original.
  • 7 7
 This is ridiculous. Saying they didn't start the company from scratch is like saying an aluminum bike company didn't start from scratch because they didn't invent welding, and bought some welding equipment from the shop next door. Pinkbike made it clear in their extensive introductory article a year ago, that Atherton bikes are collaborating with members of robot, and even referenced the technology share, just to make it clear. Nobodies hiding anything, and people who didn't pay attention the first time around are all up in arms.
  • 2 1
 @mammal: that's a stupid comparison
  • 2 0
 @shift9ears Why on earth does this matter sooooo much to you?
  • 1 0
 @shift9ears : woah bro.
  • 1 1
 Pinkbike, brought to you by the Athertons.
  • 55 2
 If anyone sees one of these out in the wild and provide proof, I'll pay you a fiver for your photo... Terms and conditions apply...as in, I probably won't pay for your photo.
  • 5 0
 Damn, there is even no proper info on their site. This is like they do not market bikes which you cannot buy, you only know that they exist Wink
  • 10 1
 @lkubica: Currently, as they mentioned, they are only sending details to those who contact them through instagram or sign-up to their e-news.

Here is the detail on their stock bikes:

documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Ab5b36ad8-7cdf-4328-a36f-e82f328070b2
  • 7 6
 Yeah, the word "production" is a joke. If anybody asks for any details all they get is "send us a DM"
  • 9 0
 @islandforlife: The first line of the press release says "We have released the first fifty build slots for our additive manufactured bikes to early followers of the brand". No sure what people are expecting here. I think the information provided by the company makes it pretty clear that this is just a very limited first run of bikes, not full blown "production".
  • 2 0
 @islandforlife: Thanks for that!
  • 2 4
 @islandforlife: This is the detail I expected to see on a site of a bike company. The fact that currently there is a limited run does not matter. I understand that they have so many inquires that they give a sh*t, but why post info on PB then?
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: Kinda like Hyper.You see it in a video but it will never be yours
  • 48 5
 Its just like Sick Bikes, except with World Cup R&D, established champions, bleeding edge manufacturing, and reliable customer service (GASP!).

It is nothing like Sick Bikes.
  • 10 0
 Oops, just downvoted by mistake ! Consider it like an upvote !
  • 3 0
 Oh and a business plan based in the real world, with the flexibility in growth to respond to actual demand, rather than, "we need to pre-sell more bikes to cover the cost of production of the last batch"
  • 27 0
 It is a rebranded Robot Bike Co...anyone remember them? Bought a R130 and not to long after they sold out to Atherton. I tried to contact Robot Bike Co with an issue and they just disappeared on me. It was a lot of $$$ to just have them disappear. Would not trust they will be around long...
  • 4 0
 My thoughts. Its hardly a start up, when you buy an existing company and develop your own geo on them.
  • 1 0
 @718S An "ambassador" offering?
  • 9 0
 @teethandnails: It still a start-up. Robot Bikes itself was a start up. The company itself doesn't suddenly become a mature company just because it sold a majority stake to a new owner. The company itself is still a start-up bike company.
  • 1 0
 @718S did you ever get the frame?
  • 4 0
 @downhere67: I got the frame. Have issues with the rear tire buzzing the seat tube when I get close to the end of the shock stroke. I sent them a few e-mails after I had the bike for a few months - wanted to try an EXT Coil - so I was aking for help with fit...they just disappeared on me and would never answer e-mails. I was lucky that the place I was buying the EXT from was down the road for the old Robot HQ so my EXT guy tracked down one of the owners for me. Hope the Atherton's have better customer service than the old Robot guys. It bothers me that after spending that much on a custom frame that the owners would not even return an e-mail from me. It took forever for me to get the frame as well. They said 6 weeks - it ended up being like 3 months.
  • 3 0
 @718S: 6 weeks to 3 months, add another 6 and it sounds like my Pole. Customer service is everything, I just got a Druid and I am hoping that Owen and the boys knock it out of the park.
  • 3 0
 @downhere67: I have a Druid as well and I absolutly love it. It blows the Robot bike away! I can't wait until the release their LT version...I hope it is a 27.5...
  • 3 0
 It's a restart up
  • 18 3
 I think what they have done is brilliant and should be applauded. Just think about it for a moment.......Some experienced top racers take the opportunity to use a seldom seen manufacturing process and produce a bike that is quite different to pretty much everything else on the market. They have developed it, speced it, tested it and tweaked it till they are both proud and happy to put their name on it and sell it to us. You can even have it customised to suit your size and the geometry you want. That takes guts, determination and the ability to see a dream through despite the risk. I'd like to see those happy to dish out the negative comments put their money and reputation on the line so publically. Sure, they are not cheap, but nor was my top spec YT. Sure you may not like the logo or spec, well thats taste and you are entitled to your own. But some of the criticisms seem poor, childish or just pointless. There are far too few people willing to stick their balls on the line and do something different in this world. I respect what they have done.
  • 13 1
 Not sure why everyone is so negative about this, 1) from the racing teams perspective they have the ability to print pretty much custom bikes for a specific set of WC tracks and bespoke for each of their riders, something none of the other teams can rival, 2) they then offer this fully custom bike design option to average joe's --> I can see this being an amazing synergy between world cup testing direct to consumer within a season. To top it off its about the same price as one of those extremely common mass produced over priced SC bikes. As long as they offer a decent warranty, I think its an awesome addition to the market.
  • 2 1
 @dmitri124 great points. Regardless of what you say an objective perspectives, Pinkbike comment section with all their professional business guru expertise and/or wanna be pro racers are going to bitch and complain about anything and everything.
  • 5 3
 @bman33: and you're the worse of them.
  • 1 1
 @Boosting: mature and intelligent comment there. Kudos
  • 1 0
 Fully custom! And less expensive than a top Spec, Trek, even Evil......
  • 17 2
 If anyone wants #69, they'll need to wait for the second batch.
  • 5 1
 Dylan Stark to Atherton Bikes confirmed!
  • 12 0
 Do you get a years pass for Dyfi bike park with the bike purchase? If not, you should....
  • 5 0
 At the very least, a couple of weekends
  • 13 0
 James Bond bought one.
  • 2 0
 #007 out of 50! Wink
  • 1 1
 james bond chasing the villain down fort william with gattling guns attached to his top tube..now thats what i would watch..
  • 11 0
 Until Levy gets his scrawny ass on one and posts the huck to flat video this shit doesn't exist.
  • 6 0
 I think Atherton Bikes is an awesome idea and a huge undertaking, even if they started out by buying Robot Bike Co. One thing I'm surprised at, I went to the Atherton Bikes site and they have no models listed. I was interested in the geo and design specific to each bike... Is this anywhere and I just missed it? Now that bikes are being sold, that's something that should definitely be up!
  • 6 0
 I don't get all of the negativity towards what the Atherton's are doing, if I'm honest. They clearly have a vision of what they want to do and they're going for it. Even with their name on the bikes, there was no guarantee of long term success, although obviously, there'd be massive interest.
Yes, the bikes are expensive, but top end bikes are and you can see that is the case with most of the boutique brands. But, how many offer the true customization that Atherton Bikes are offering?
Having seen the DH and Enduro bikes 'in the flesh' at Fort Bill last summer, they look the mutts nuts.

Good luck to them, I say.
  • 8 2
 I'd personally have one, but when you can buy a full build top spec equivalent for a fraction of the price it puts things into perspective.
  • 7 1
 "Hey guys, check out Pinkbike there's a couple more articles today on Atherton Bikes".

~Evil Bikes
  • 8 1
 Why is everyone so negative??????
  • 10 4
 A good amount of it comes from the fact that this company doesn't really sell a product
  • 2 0
 You can of cause get yourself one of these "custom" bikes, but with the abundance of bike manufacturers and models out there, the exact geo you want to have probably already exists.
If only the average buyer could get over valuing the brand name on his bike that much.
  • 17 12
 So 50 businessmen in London that ride 4 times a year have bought one?
  • 8 3
 why so negative?
  • 1 1
 I'm sure there will be a few in the carpark in Peaslake on a sunny Sunday morning hanging off the back of .... (insert appropriate expensive car that London businessman would buy to go riding).
  • 4 0
 Clearly a Range Rover Velar
  • 3 0
 @Caiokv: Overfinch (ed).
  • 9 3
 Still better than 50 E-Hecklers that they would of bought otherwise.
  • 1 0
 Every member of the Eiffel Yacht Club
  • 4 0
 It’s an interview about a bike, but there is no picture of the whole bike...
  • 1 0
 Where is all their money coming from? If they are not actually selling bikes, and paying for a race team and R&D and a CEO and other staff? I wonder if they have backing from somewhere else or if it's all out of their own pocket?
  • 2 0
 They have the backing of a venture capitalist who is on Dragon’s Den in the UK. I believe.
  • 1 0
 These are some really cool bikes, but they were also really cool bikes when they were Robot bikes. Saying that the athertons "built this company from scratch" is extremely misleading at least, and a complete lie at worst. they didn't build anything, they bought a company that already existed, and changed the name. This is not to say what they've done has no value, this is a big risk they've taken, and I still applaud them for the move, but it just feels aggravating to claim they started this company from nothing, especially when pinkbike themselves has literally done reviews of robot bike co stuff before. And who knows, I've read in other comments that the actual creator of robot bikes is close friends with the athertons, so maybe they did have a hand in building the company, but it doesn't say that anywhere so it doesn't really matter imo.
  • 6 2
 Shortcut "we bought Robot bikes"
  • 2 0
 Rumor has it that Atherton bikes will be released for the public to purchase around the same time as the Hyper downhill bike.
  • 2 0
 Cool bikes, but it’s difficult to shell out that much cash with virtually no info about the bikes on their website.
  • 3 0
 I'll have number 80085 please
  • 1 0
 I wish them well but I cant see this going very far maybe the odd rich daddy's boy or something but I dont think any direct sales brand need to worry
  • 2 0
 Funny enough all the direct to consumer brands are nowhere near their target audience. It's a very niche product designed to be low volume
  • 1 0
 On their web page it's only clothing and bottles for sale.... is this just a 'brand' hoax to allow them to ride 'custom' bikes due to UCI rules or something?
  • 6 4
 Wait, wasn't there the same article a year ago?
  • 3 0
 A year would be generous. Feels like a couple months ago.
  • 6 7
 They did it all wrong by being vain, they should have just invested in a bike company on the back end. Have to appreciate the ambitious but I see this hitting a wall eventually.
  • 2 0
 Somebody: “You can’t actually buy one” - someone: hold my drill...
  • 3 2
 £8000?

8 THOUSAND POUNDS?

Lol at anyone who pays that over a £4500 top spec Sender or £5000 Tues.
  • 4 1
 People buying YT's or Canyon are not the target audience and they don't pretend it to be either. That's the equivalent of Porsche saying we're going to Target people who buy Kia's
  • 4 0
 and again FULLY CUSTOM for cheaper than the top 2 models from Trek, Spec, Evil for that matter, An extra couple shifts off a SC too. Not for me, but still love this concept.
  • 1 1
 @bman33: except the canyon and Tues are better bikes anyway?? I didn't choose them purely because they're cheap, I chose them because they're amazing value. Shout out to Commencal too.

And it's an extra £350 to have a custom fitted Atherton bike.
  • 2 0
 When plumbers build a bike they use plastic pipes and joiners.
  • 1 0
 I don't like it at all. How does this sound....A glued bike. That has no soul.
  • 1 0
 super pumped! can't wait for mine to arrive.
  • 2 0
 Yes!
  • 1 0
 The "A" logo reminds me of captain america
  • 1 1
 Geometry looks decent, pricing is a smidge high but then you are getting some serious quality/tech.
  • 2 1
 So did the Athertons buy Robot bikes? Always liked this interesting design
  • 1 1
 Obviously we don’t know all the financial details but yes, that’s essentially what happened.
  • 2 0
 Robot bikes was liquidated by the owners with no debts outstanding. I presume Atherton bikes purchased the ip with either cash or shares @sino428:
  • 3 0
 The owner of Robot is one of there best mates (Edd H) previously he was there chief mechanic. I’m sure the deal was amicable.
  • 1 0
 @PB-J: Right on thats really cool!
  • 1 1
 If I was in the market, this would be a top 3 choice for certain. I'm a fan.
  • 1 0
 So they're not going to work in Australia then?
  • 1 0
 I don't know why but the front triangle reminds me of my old Ellsworth ID
  • 1 0
 still looks like it's built from bits a plumber might use..
  • 1 0
 Thumbs up. Best comment!
  • 2 3
 Atherton bikes ? Like the old days when they start steroïds and became terminators
  • 1 1
 I would say these bikes are as far from "generic" as you can get.
  • 1 1
 Athertons could win on a shopping trolley no?
  • 1 0
 seemingly not. i suspect the only atherton you will see winning from here on in is rachel and even she's got a heavy climb (after injury) and against rising young stars, to get back to the top.
i've got nothing against Gee but i think, pragmatically, either the bar has been raised or he's just off the pace due to age.
  • 1 0
 @tobiusmaximum: ah so the rising Stars could win on a shopping trolley then?
  • 1 0
 can it be painted?
  • 1 0
 Yes, carbon bikes are painted, ti bikes are painted. I don't see any reason why you couldn't.
  • 1 0
 @littleskull99: yeah, it was more of a passive aggressive suggestion and I hope they work on some colourway options. I'm all for the industrial look but also like it when designers show us what they can do. I'm glad they're around and evolving their brand. keep on keepin on
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