The Atherton A.200.G gearbox bike broke cover last week, but now the team behind it has released a video showcasing the behind the scenes
The Athertons have been involved in World Cup racing for over 20 years, first as riders and later as team owners. And according to the famous racing family, they and their team mechanics have always dreamed of running a belt-drive gearbox bike. Now they’ve brought it to life with the A.200.G.
Just last week, we shared the first images of the A.200.G from Instagram and YouTube, where the Atherton Bikes brand shared a few teasers of what looked to be a belt-driven bike. And we were correct in our assumptions, as they’ve officially introduced it on their YouTube channel with a 20-minute video showcasing the development behind one of the most exciting bikes in modern DH.
The Atherton Bikes A.200G prototype
The Atherton A.200.G
According to the brand, the opportunity to work with Gates Carbon Drive (one of the most popular belt drive manufacturers in the world), arose last year. With the use of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology that the team uses in the testing and design phases of its bikes, Atherton was able to work around building a prototype pretty quickly. It’s not the only brand using Gates either, last week we reported how four elite race teams are now signed up to use the system.
Atherton Racing’s design team, consisting of Dave Weagle, Rob Gow and deisgners Will Carne and Scott Aisthorpe managed to get a prototype up and running within a few months. And the new video released on the Atherton’s YouTube channel shows the bike going from a titanium build plate to real-world testing. Also there’s a quick dog cameo, if you’re into adorable pups.
It’s a pretty candid film and we love that it shows the process with input from riders and the lesser spotted members of a bike brand – the designers and engineers. The bike is coming from a pretty refined starting point as it stands – the lugs and basic design principles have been in use for the last few seasons of racing. But of course, the big challenges come from the use of the belt drive and the mid-pivot.
For us, this is what mountain biking – particularly DH racing – is all about. It’s about pushing the boundaries of bikes and continuously trying to develop the concepts that make riders go faster and tackle bigger, gnarlier courses.
Now we won’t ruin the video for you, so make sure you check it out on the Atherton YouTube channel or above.