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

A household name in every mountain biker’s home.

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.

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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?

The additive printed titanium lugs and bonded carbon tubes make for a frame with a unique look and ride feel, as well as great production flexibility.

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 a 6-bar design you can achieve a flatter anti-squat curve throughout the initial portion of the travel for more consistent pedalling characteristics, then reduce it deeper in the travel to limit pedal kickback. All while keeping the anti-rise lower overall.

DW6 might be a bit of a mystery, but the end result is suspension that works very effectively.

A 6-bar configuration also gives the frame engineer more flexibility with pivot locations, which can make it easier to build stronger, lighter frames and even accommodate simple things like longer stroke dropper posts into the overall design. So DW-6 sounds great, right?

But are there any drawbacks? Well the obvious one is that the more links/bars you have the more bearings and pivot hardware you need, which in turn increases weight, complexity and maintenance. The AM.130.X that I rode weighed 15.07kg, so not the lightest for a high-end trail bike with 130mm rear travel.

A for effort: the AM.130.X has the X-factor

And while the suspension seems cloaked in secrecy, the 22 size options, with reach numbers that stretch from 410mm to 530mm in 10mm increments, are there for all to see.

You’d think that would be enough to cover 100% of the population, but Atherton Bikes go one step further; for an upcharge of £650 you can have custom sizing, which seems like a pretty good deal to me. 

A wider range cassette might be a wise investment given the chunky weight of the AM.130.X.

There are also two seat tube heights on all but the four smallest frame sizes, where the taller seat tubes get correspondingly taller head tubes. Factor in the three different seat angles and the choice of geometry could be considered overwhelming… which is why Atherton Bikes also have a fit calculator based on rider height, arm span and inside leg measurement. 

Longer travel fork slackens the head angle and shortens the reach on the X model.

How it rides

While the fit calculator is good, It’s not quite an exact science. The reach on our size 490mm AM.130.X actually measured closer to 480mm, because it uses the exact same frame as the standard AM.130, but the taller 150mm fork slackens the angles which eats into the reach measurement. In fact, the geometry chart on Atherton Bike’s website does not account for the change in fork height at all.

Short seat tube makes it easy to throw around the AM.130.X.

And while I wanted to highlight this anomaly in the numbers, it wasn’t an issue for me as I welcomed the shorter reach and less upright saddle position that the slacker angles provided.

Going down a size to the 480 would also lop 1.5º off the seat angle as the 480 and 490 are the transition point between the medium and steepest seat angles. Factor in the effect the 64.6º head angle has on vertical fork travel, and the 150mm fork is actually a real boon on the AM.130.X.

Solid and stiff without being wooden, the ride feel is on the money.

With the riding position totally dialled, the AM.130.X feels more capable than the available travel suggested. The frame is reassuringly solid too, without ever feeling overly stiff, which makes it easier to find traction when it feels like there’s none. And thanks to the port-to-port internal cable routing, and adequate frame protection, the AM.130.X offers a blissfully silent ride. And to me, that’s way more important than clean, sharp lines.

That said, I like the overall look of the bike, the big chunky lugs combined with straight carbon tubing, a refreshing change in a sea of generic designs. 

‘The AM.130.X offers a pitter patter ride, where the sound of the tyres is all you hear’

Take that damped frame construction and combine it with the superbly tuned Fox Float X2 shock, and the AM.130.X offers a pitter patter ride, where the sound of the tyres is all you hear. The bike remains lively and dynamic too, so it’s not like it’s glued to the ground. In part I’m convinced that’s thanks to the progressive rear suspension design. 

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