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Not heard anything about the first 50, so whose got one.
They’ve gone quieter than Sick! 😁
Not seen anyone posting pics in the usual places. Hope they got some out before lockdown. I also hope they are back manufacturing now.
Fair bit of activity, showing manufacturing and fully built customer bikes, Plus responding to queries on their insta (inc Rach, Gee and Dan’s Feeds)
They still seem to be operating a ‘if you want one, email us’ sales strategy, with plenty of people asking, and getting that response & there’s enough knowledge of them in the market that they don’t really need to do much promo/wasting time and effort on tyre kickers. Plus none of the ‘ermagerd the angles/measurements are aaalll wrong!’ ‘Experts’ criticism for what is a fully customisable frame
Looks so much nicer than the Robot Bikes frames that these have developed from. The carbon tubes look nicer finished and the much darker lugs look slicker. Would love a shorter travel version of this (poppy 130mm travel bike) but suspect it’d be out of my budget / the wife would kill me if I swapped frame again!
Another one here that would be interested in a 130mm trail bike.
Did they ever intend to sell any or was it just to allow them to race as the UCI require them to ride stuff you can or intend to sell to the public?
They do look pretty good.👍
Rachel Atherton did a terrible sales video in which she pretty much said they were not selling very well
Did they ever intend to sell any or was it just to allow them to race as the UCI require them to ride stuff you can or intend to sell to the public?
Is that a rule for MTB (it is in road racing)?
If so, where can I buy Minnaar's Honda?
Pretty sure the rules changed...at the time of the Honda there was no concern about that, it was a one-off (well a 3-of) and was never intended to go beyond seeing what could be achieved at the top end of competitive DH racing. From what I understand, all 3 versions were crushed at the end of it all (I hope at least 1 was kept as a momento of some sort!).
What is really worrying about that video is that the chat she is spouting seems to be the same as the next door neighbour's 5-year old. Their 8 year old doesn't even chat like that. Are they marketing to the rich kids that have the money to burn and think they are still 5 year olds??? That is mental...I genuinely didn't realise someone who is old enough to vote spoke like that!
(I hope at least 1 was kept as a momento of some sort!)
There's always rumours doing the rounds that Minaar, and possibly brendog, got to keep one.
There’s always rumours doing the rounds that Minaar, and possibly brendog, got to keep one.
3:39, In Greg's shop in SA.
Ah excellent stuff...does look like it is built to do just 1 thing!
The Atherton bike looks good as well, just wrong wheel size and too much travel for my own taste but suspect it is a properly capable machine.
On the Atherton Bikes sales thing it doesn’t feel like they are properly attempting to sell them. You can’t go on the website and browse bikes / setups etc - you only get any detail if you were signed up to their mailing list.
If they haven’t therefore sold the first 50 bikes they have released slots for they only have themselves to blame really. Just list the bikes on your website to buy - I.e either the downhill or enduro model - but then once an order has been placed contact the buyer to finalise any custom geometry tweeks they’re looking to get.
They’re making them, still working on the first 50 (were on number 10 when Fahzure dropped in the other week) plus some new ones. A park bike for Dan Atherton and a shorter travel something that Dan Brown (team director) can pedal up at Dyfi and ride back down. Sounds like the actual making them is a slow process that they’re working to speed up, and ultimately Dan A hopes that one day they’ll have a test fleet at Dyfi, but that’s a way off yet.
joebristol
On the Atherton Bikes sales thing it doesn’t feel like they are properly attempting to sell them. You can’t go on the website and browse bikes / setups etc – you only get any detail if you were signed up to their mailing list.
You can barely figure out that they make a DH bike and a 150mm bike. There's no information all all on the site. Not even a couple of build pics to get people interested. Maybe they're not wanting to create more demand while they still figure out how to get the manufacturing process up to speed, but they've definitely lost any momentum that the initial hype created.
I said the same thing on the old Atherton Bikes thread.
Ive always felt that they did the press releases too soon. So much time has passed that at this point it starts to look like a failed attempt (regardless if it indeed is or not) which further depletes potential costumer confidence.
It seems they used all the press ammo too soon, then a period of silence, then a sales kickoff announcement almost with no details, particularly technical ones, no info on the website (you can find a PP or PDF tech/geo thing online, but you almost need to dive into the darkweb to find it). At this point there are still no relevant reviews online, and even an Instagram search gives no costumer results.
To make things worse, Gee's performance on the new bike is kind of meh, to me it always looked stiff, nervous and unstable, quite contrasting to what he looked like on the Trek (pure bro-science here, pardon me). We don't notice that with Rachel, but I believe that's more related to how bonkers her riding is compared to the other female athletes.
Maybe this is all BS and they're doing great, I don't know. But this is an online forum as we're allowed to speculate
zezaskar
To make things worse, Gee’s performance on the new bike is kind of meh, to me it always looked stiff, nervous and unstable, quite contrasting to what he looked like on the Trek (pure bro-science here, pardon me)..
Maybe more to do with injuries and age than anything else.
On the Atherton Bikes sales thing it doesn’t feel like they are properly attempting to sell them. You can’t go on the website and browse bikes / setups etc – you only get any detail if you were signed up to their mailing list.
I guess that these bikes are expensive enough that you aren’t going to sell to those that are casually browsing. These bikes are £5k plus with custom geo, while there are people that have that money burning a hole in their pocket that they want something off the peg NOW, people spending that amount are going to do a fair bit of research, so having to look into stuff a bit/sending an email isn’t an issue (indeed, it’s part of the fun for some) Also, given how fast geo is progressing, and how slow the production is, you might put as many off as you attract with a list of numbers, even if it’s just a baseline.
I’m not sure £5k is out of the ordinary anymore looking at list prices of a lot if bikes these days. It’s a few £k more than I’d spend but seeing all the carbon Santa Cruz’s etc at any trail centre you go to a lot of people are spending that sort of money.
Maybe they deliberately wanted a soft launch as they don’t have the manufacturing capacity to cope with more than 50 bikes sales this year. But if they actually haven’t sold that number out and need to then they need to make it easier to browse what you’re getting.
They could quote middle of their possible geometry as a baseline then the margins either side you can generally go. That’d be a step ahead of a number of custom build type small companies - it feels like they want Atherton bikes to be seen as a bigger brand with the amount of initial hype.
If the way they’re manufacturing frames could knock a chunk of weight off my current bike but replicate the exact geometry that would be quite compelling.
tomhoward
I guess that these bikes are expensive enough that you aren’t going to sell to those that are casually browsing.
Whether you're a casual browser or serious buyer, you're not going to want something that you can't even see or don't know exists. They have a really interesting, unusual product but make no attempt to sell it. It's odd. They don't have to publish geo charts or specs, but their site doesn't even have a link to the bikes, or photos of the bikes, or any info at all.
I don't see them as that crazy expensive, they're in line with Specialized or Santa Cruz prices, not in Unno boutique territory
Their instagram does though, with the guys responding really quick to enquiries, filtering out the less commited 'I might be intersted in a...' types from the outset.
As with the Specialized Status. Nothing on the website, loads on social media, & you can buy them in the shops, if you go in and ask.
as mentioned above, if they are making number 10 now, the one I linked to is number 9, they might not be able to cope with big (or small) increases in orders and the problems that creates. No doubt on advice from their race team brake sponsors...
I think it’s funny that the opening image on the Atherton Bikes webpage is of Gee Atherton riding a Muddy Fox branded Intense M1... This seems to sum up their apparent lack of enthusiasm for generating sales.
I have emailed and, consequently, have the first 50 pdf brochure. They very much have standard sizes/ geometry configurations (custom sizing is offered for an extra £350). There are six standard sizes for the DH frame, and ten standard sizes for the Enduro 29”.
As others have mentioned above I find it gobsmacking that they haven’t published this geometry information and pricing on the Atherton Bikes webpage. Every Atherton Bikes Instagram post is followed with a flurry of questions asking about geometry/ sizing, pricing and availability. All these replies are invited to email/ DM, but surely it would be easier to publish this information on the website?
All these replies are invited to email/ DM, but surely it would be easier to publish this information on the website?
Makes the customer feel special, they are dealing directly with WC racers/owners of the company (even if they arent really).
Does seem odd, but then again we imagine someone isn't doing this part of the job properly. Could be that with a small outfit, they just dont have someone who could do it.
Also they may lack the business experience - they race bike at the highest level, not run businesses.
Perhaps it would be like us turning up to a World Cup DH race and everyone wondering why we couldn't even manage the track-walk never mind the practice.
They have (had?) Piers Linney in the background, one would have thought he'd chip in if they were making glaringly obvious errors.
I should propbably say, I'm not in any way, shape or form associated with them, don't have an order with them or anything like that, I get it looks like im jumping to defend everything they do, I can just see why they are doing it, and I like what they are doing.
I've seen both the DH and the trail bike in the flesh as, I guess, has anyone that has been to Dyfi BP. They're very nice looking and if I had the money to spend on one I'd be happy to buy one.
Given the current rate of sales and the number of bikes they have built for themselves someone must have very deep pockets and is prepared to wait along time for a return. Then there is the race team to fund without a big brand sponsor as they have had in the past.
That would be Piers Linney, ex dragon with a 9 digit net worth...
I don’t see them as that crazy expensive, they’re in line with Specialized or Santa Cruz prices, not in Unno boutique territory
Yes but given the choice why would you ever pick one over a Specialized or a Santa Cruz? Proven designs with amazing warranty, hell I would have an Unno over one every day of the week.
From what I saw, they are working earnestly on getting the designed dialed for each of the Athertons' needs and those of their customers. They have probably built about 40 for the Athertons and testing and another 10 (semi-custom) for customer, in addition to the website and Covid adaptation. Seems like a thorough program for moving into small production to me. Got a question or request...email them and ask, they won't bite.
@Rick Draper , that was actually my point, that their price was not the reason for hypothetical low sales.
Yes but given the choice why would you ever pick one over a Specialized or a Santa Cruz?
Having owned more than one of both, I’d go Atherton every time. DW link is a proven design and I can pick my own geo, unlike with Santa Cruz (historically conservative geo) or Specialized (a global mega brand, but poor value at that end of the market). Warranty has never factored into my buying decisions, that said, if you have a personal relationship with them, I guess they would look after you. Be a pretty cool brag to break something they couldn’t too...
Doing all that work for them seems to be stopping the customers getting their bikes. As someone has said, all the hype and fanfare and practically nothing outside the 3 siblings to show...I think they went too early with the pr machine.
That would be Piers Linney, ex dragon with a 9 digit net worth…
he didn’t get to that without getting a decent return on his investments. Which still leaves the question how long will he be happy burning rather than earning money from the venture
tomhoward
Full Member
That would be Piers Linney, ex dragon with a 9 digit net worth…
This is interesting I presume we are talking about Jonathan Piers Daniel Linney of outsourcery.
How many cuts in that video though? Could she not get a single sentence correct in one go?
The Athertons have a habit of saying "you know" every 5 seconds, that's probably the reason for the edit.😄
Saw my first one in the wild today. I say in the wild, it was hanging off the back of a Range Rover in the Buzzards car park at Glentress. Looked nice but very clean, not sure it had actually been ridden yet.
They're launching a crowdfunding campaign to grow the business Atherton
The cynic in me thinks if the business was viable they'd have investors/banks falling over themselves to invest in them, not getting the general public to throw in £11
That has a whiff of deperation about it. Hope they can make it work, I really like what they are trying to do.
Indeed, If a business crowd funds at the start, thats fine. If they need it after a year or so, I have questions, especially if they already have a big money investor on the board.
Nothin to add on business model but o think they're one of the best looking bikes at the world cup
I like the "you can have it in any colour you like as long as it's black' aesthetic too
I really hope they do well but, colours aside - of the people who could justify (ish) the expense, who out of regular bike riders would actually ride one.
Personally I admire the Athertons for what they have done in the cycling world, and Rachel has to be one of the best cyclists of her generation but, I'd feel slightly silly riding an Atherton branded bike.
Don't really understand the crowdfunding bit either, especially with Piers on their board. Maybe they are trying another way to appeal to the yoof of today.
Hope they do make it in the bike sales world but I can't help think it will bomb 🙁
Don’t really understand the crowdfunding bit either, especially with Piers on their board. Maybe they are trying another way to appeal to the yoof of today.
My guess is Piers wants out, or isn’t putting anything more in. Another guess is that he would fund them for a period of time to get them off the ground but that time is coming to an end.
The email I got sent says:
"We have recently completed a very successful round of investment with Angel Investor Network and the Development Bank of Wales. The raise was so successful that we had to cut it short in order to save a share allocation for our crowd-funding round"
Im quite happy to invest something, I fancy a bike and like what they do. Even if there is a risk, its one I can accept.
Companies house reflects the above, with a shareholder being removed recently and the shares taken back into the company.
Piers owns 75% or more according to the figures, although this is only the public viewable bit so could be more going on behind the scenes.
a shareholder being removed recently and the shares taken back into the company.
This was interesting. Ed Hayhornthwaite - the bloke behind Robot bikes - has been removed/resigned as a director. On the 29th September.
An awful lot of shuffling about in the last few days.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11205194/filing-history
Of course CH files only show directors, and accounts a year ago. There are still no accounts filed for Atherton, though, at best, turnover can't be much over £250,000 unless they've sold an awful lot of hoodies - they still seem to be working through the first 50 bikes.
Puzzled as to why they are giving away equity to fund asset purchase when asset financing is very affordable right now.
Finance may be hard to find when lots of businesses are going to struggle in the current climate, plus you have to pay they. Raising money via crowd funding will be cheap.
I’d feel slightly silly riding an Atherton branded bike.
This 100%. I feel like they have gone the Athertons are well known lets put their name on a bike, but they have forgotten being well known isnt the same as cool. They should have just been the face of a new brand to customers but owners at the back.
They definitely should have thought of a brand name for the bikes. Something to separate all that impressive technology from the personalities of the family.
They should have just been the face of a new brand to customers but owners at the back.
i thought that’s what they are essentially justs shareholders rather than employees. It’s not as if they are designers or engineers.
i thought that’s what they are essentially justs shareholders rather than employees. It’s not as if they are designers or engineers.
They are. What the should have done is chosen a different brand name to ‘Atherton’ to distance the brand from what potential customers might think of them personally.
What the should have done is chosen a different brand name to ‘Atherton’ to distance the brand from what potential customers might think of them personally.
Something like 'Robotbike' you mean?
I felt like a lone voice when they first announced Atherton bikes, as somebody who was on the verge of purchasing a Robotbike (but it seems like I might have been alone!). I admire them as riders, but don't want to buy an Atherton branded bike. Great riders don't necessarily make great bike designers, engineers, company owners and business people.
Not sure the bikes can survive a third rebrand though......shame as there's a lot to be said for the suspension design and the manufacturing process.
I wonder if they look at STW for immediate feedback with thoughts and voices from the busiest mtb forum in the UK (presumably).
As Ling does/did, it isn't too hard to initiate software that crawls for keywords etc so this thread alone may be watched.
Hope so as it's looking like a few of us now share the same thought about the branding. I'd love to ride a bike designed around the original Robot Bike concept and tweaked by some of the worlds best riders who are passionate about their sport.
I just don't want to ride an Atherton. (Sorry Rachel, Gee and Dan - that really shouldn't sound quite as weird as it does. lol. )
Then again, it worked massively for Chris Boardman.
Except Boardman had to concede defeat that he would never have the bike company he wanted
Interchange Boardman for Merckx, LeMond, Cipollini etc etc.
It's a tough gig.......
A bike company with no bike products on their website 🤷 Good luck to them but kind of want to see some turnover before I'd be investing. How long has it been? First IG post was Jan 2019 so nearly 2 years with a trickle of teasers and 'pm for price' marketing.
Good luck to them but kind of want to see some turnover before I’d be investing.
£80,000 in the first 3 months, Predicted £600,000 in year one
£600k, how many frames is that do we reckon.
I reckon its 100 bikes/200 frames
I agree with so much on this thread, but I'm not sure why. 🤔
I adore the Athertons, Gee's 'Rampage on Friday and win a World Cup on Sunday' at his peak was spectacular. He's also proved himself to have a good dry sense of humour. Rachel is just the best and Dan brought us hardline.
but, there's no way I'd want a bike with their name on it. I don't think I want any bike with a rider's name as the brand, maybe as a model?
I like the rider special accessories like death grips but can't resolve the main branding.
A Mclaren 720, yes please. Hamilton special, no thanks.
odd isn't it?
A Mclaren 720, yes please. Hamilton special, no thanks.
Erm...
Erm…
🙂
Thinking about it, cars are a really bad example, if you are looking for brands not named after the founder...
I reckon its 100 bikes/200 frames
They haven’t sold the first 50 yet.
Despite the marketing power of a World Cup team, the momentum of their success.
Also, even just 300 units a year would need a frame a day popping out of their complex one-at-a-time manufacturing and still only generate around one and a bit million quid turnover a year. Which is small change. I know British jeans companies that are on track to do that.
I couldn't care less what name is on a particular bike, I'd actually be more inclined to have an Atherton than a Robotbike based upon the names, but i don't buy bikes because of the names on it, but for the service, the geometry and sadly, the price of it.
I'd happily buy an Atherton though.
I’d love an Atherton. They are on my list. I’d prefer an e-Atherton though.
British made and custom. Right up my street.
Though I do live on quite an odd street.
I’m not so sure they have the wow factor anymore. Gee is past his best and anything less than a win for rach would be seen as a bad bike letting her down
Projected sales 7500 units within 5 years
i assume that's across all 5 years. That's one hell of a growth curve. How many do Pivot sell?
50
200
600
1800
3500
They'd have to half the price)spec to sell anything like that.
They need to be getting the bikes out to magazines for test, standard models otherwise your resale is zilch, and actually have models geo and prices on the website.
I like the look of them, name doesn't bother me at all. Can't see how they are easily going to upscale a technology that's great for one offs. Renishaw seem to have been hit hard financially, so bringing the manufacturing in house makes sense.
I've pre-registered. Quite interested to at least see what's being offered. Plus, that DH bike on the crowd-funding page looks lovely!
I'd have no issues riding one. I ride a Boardman daily ! Plus, I haven't seen anything about the Athertons that makes me dislike them. They seem totally dedicated to the riding of bikes of all sorts. Hardline is flaming mental, and Gee's course previews are really good. Rachel is one of the greatest downhillers of all time.
Aww, I've just noticed that I'm being told my tone is friendly! That's a little creepy.
Yeah, Id invest and buy one / ride one. Looks great to me and I like the way its made. If it has input from top riders then all the better.
shame as there’s a lot to be said for the suspension design and the manufacturing process.
No really there cant be or some big manufacturer that can actually sell expensive halo products with much deeper pockets to do the buying would have jumped on it no? why would they when they can sell 6k bikes using traditional manufacturing (to them methods) and make money.
Anything british made is usually absolute bobbins in comparison to the far eastern manufactured version , motorbikes are shit, cars are shit ,yet we have a nation of I love a bit of british stuff to keep the colonial dream alive lol.
Ed probably left because he realised like every single person I know who has ever had anything to do with manufacturing It's crap money , bikes are absolutely shit low ball pay, with many of them moving on once the love affair is over.