Atherton has a new DH bike out: made from high end aluminium, glued together in North Wales and raced by Geeman himself at Hardline, it’s got to be one of the most desirable downhill rigs we’ve seen this year.

There’s quite a list of new, jaw-dropping bikes out there to compete with too, not least Atherton Bikes’ own prototype DH A.200G gearbox machine. Seemingly half the World Cup DH teams look set to race on gear box bikes this year too, with Gates belt drives replacing the humble chain.

Atherton Bikes’ S.200 has been tested at Dyfi Bike Park by the Athertons, which is good enough for us!

What makes a simple alloy bike with conventional DW4 suspension so desirable then? To my mind it’s the best application yet of Atherton’s aluminium design. It uses posh 7075 alloy tubes, bonded into machined hubs and that makes for a super-strong bike that comes in multiple sizes, in this case 12. It’s never going to be lightweight building a bike this way though, with the Atherton S170 enduro bike we tested last year a case in point at 17.5kg. But with weight less important on a downhill bike than any other category, that could make it a proper ‘budget’ shredder.

Atherton’s built the new S.200 as a park bike, and offers a lifetime warranty

Atherton S.200 need to know

• Alloy framed downhill bike with 200mm travel and 200mm fork
• 7075 alloy tubes are bonded into 3D printed CNCd lugs, with a single piece CNC’d rear triangle
• Full build prices from £4999, up to £6,299 for the S.200.1 with Fox Factory suspension
• No six-bar linkage, instead Atherton’s using the DW4 suspension platform
• 12 sizes, mullet wheels, lifetime warranty
• Mini mullet bike coming soon, with 27.5/26in wheels

CNC’s lugs on the shorter-travel S.170 bike: the new downhill bike uses the same bonding technology

The Atherton aluminium concept

Atherton started out with its A-series bikes, which are incredible pieces of engineering, but take an eon to actually produce. Using a Renishaw 3D printer to build up the flagship bike’s titanium lugs and hardware took the best part of a day, meaning at most the brand could make 300 bikes a year.

To scale up the process Atherton dropped the Ti additive components, and replaced them with machined aluminium pieces that could be bonded into double lap shear joints – basically that means the material overlaps and reduces stress points. And without the need to weld the bike together Atherton could turn to high end 7075 aluminium, stronger than conventional alloy but notoriously tricky to weld.

A machined one-piece back end is bolted together, meaning no welding, in turn allowing for 7075 alloy

The claims are that 7075 has 70% higher fatigue performance and 70% higher ultimate tensile strength (UTS) compared to  6061 alloy.

The S.200 also gets a more basic DW suspension design than the top end carbon and titanium bikes in the Atherton range. The AM bikes use a more tuneable but more expensive DW6 layout featuring an extra link behind the BB area and pivots on the chainstays. Cutting that out is naturally going to chip into the final price for Atherton customers.

The S.200 presents a totally unique look

The Atherton S.200

Atherton says the new bike has a “‘chuck it in the van and go’ vibe,” which means they’re billing it as a rugged, bike park rig that’ll go on taking abuse no matter how many jumps you case. The brand also says it “feels poppy but super-forgiving,” something that wouldn’t surprise me given just how well damped but playful the Atherton AM.170 M1 felt on test. 

Atherton says there are three builds to pick from, and there’a a frame and shock option too at £2,799 (€2785, $2897). The price starts at £4999 (€4973, $5173) for the Build 3, which uses a RockShox Vivid Base Shock and Boxxer Base fork. It gets a SRAM GX7 drivetrain, an FSA cockpit, Stans S2 wheels, Conti Kryptotal DH tyes, and Hayes Dominion A4 brakes.

Build 2 ups the suspension level with a Fox 40 fork and DHX 2 Performance shock, and the price climbs to £5,649 (€4,973, $5,845)

The top end S.200.1 costs £6,299 (€6264, $6520) and gets a Fox 40 Factory fork, Float DHX2 shock, a SRAM XO1 and GX drivetrain, Stans Flow EX3 wheels with Conti Kryptotal DH tyes, and Hayes Dominion A4 brakes.

Gee raced the new bike on the world’s toughest downhill track

S.200 Geometry

• Sizes: 12
• Reach: 410-520mm, in 10mm increments
• Seat tube length: 420mm
• Headtube: 100-120mm, in 10mm increments
• Wheelbase: 1221-1351mm
• Head angle: 63°
• Effective seat tube angle: 76°
• Chainstay: 445-455mm
• BB height: 350mm

Is the bike any good?

We’ve no idea, but Gee Atherton seems to like it. It’s a pretty smart move having Gee race the new bike at Hardline, it shows that even the toughest downhill track in the world is no match for the S.200… or perhaps Gee Atherton himself.

“I was absolutely blown away by how the S.200 handled the Red Bull Hardlinecourse and the confidence it gave me,” Gee said about the new bike at Hardline. “Knowing how strong the bike is meant I could be really brave on it. It felt like a really good all-round bike and that showed up in its ability to be within a couple of % of the winning pace….but it’s probably my new favourite bike to ride in the park too, designed for some extra pop and sharper handling. Some of my best days riding this winter have been on this bike!”