FAMILY FORTUNES
3D printed titanium, shot-blasting, CNC machining, inert argonfilled printing atmosphere – we go behind the scenes at Atherton Bikes to discover the secrets of this radical build process
Here, inside a compact and unassuming industrial space, lie the sort of machines that couldn’t be dreamed of a decade ago. We’re at Atherton Bikes, where a young design team works on every stage of the Atherton production, from design to fabrication. Massive investment, partly from crowdfunding, has brought this cutting-edge technology to the Welsh countryside and with it comes faster build times and more sophisticated detailing in the complicated manufacturing processes. Many of the engineers came from the brand’s original roots at Robot Bike Co., and with Oscar Franklin as our guide, we got to see first-hand just how much goes on under the skin with these truly modern mtb frames.
DOWN AT DYFI
Run by a family of former world champions, Atherton Bikes is one of the most unique bike brands in the world. Designing and making full-suspension mountain bikes in Wales, the brand uses 3D-printed titanium parts bonded together with bespoke carbon tubing for a growing range of machines; all using a highly-tuneable DW6 suspension design that brings together two leading layouts (Dw-link and Horst link).
Over the last few years, Atherton Bikes has been steadily refining its output and now manufactures and sells bikes suitable for both downhill and enduro. Its DH rigs are currently being raced at the highest World Cup level and we’ve tested its enduro machine and been suitably impressed. There’s also a yet-to-be-released 130mm-travel downcountry bike coming soon.
Few brands can claim their own bike park to test ideas at, but with Atherton Bikes’s world-class facility at Dyfi, it has incredible trails and terrain to constantly test and refine its products. We recently headed there for a go on the latest enduro bike, and took the chance to visit the new bike brand HQ that’s located literally down the road at Dyfi Eco Park.
FOUNDATIONS
3D printed titanium lugs form the skeleton of all Atherton Bikes. A new Renishaw additive manufacturing machine makes sure this process is efficient and precise, with the £750K tool laying down powdered titanium that’s then fused together with high-power class 4 lasers.
Multiple layers thinner than a human hair are sintered together in an inert atmosphere (a very low oxygen environment with argon flowing through the chamber) to build up the complex shapes that form the head tube, bottom bracket and the many frame junctions.
The 3D printing machine lives in a temperature and humidity-controlled room and each part is optimised to minimise waste and be as time efficient as possible; crucial when each print session can last up to 18 hours.
Parts are separated by hand from the build plate and sent for heat treating to temper the titanium/aluminium blend, before finally being shotblasted and Cnc-machined to ensure perfect tolerances. The resulting parts are so tough, guide Oscar Franklin explained: “you can whack the titanium with a chisel and lump hammer once annealed and it’s almost impossible to dent.”
SUSPENSION DESIGN
Dave Weagle originally designed DW6 for Robot Bikes, which subsequently morphed into Atherton Bikes, who brought many of the original team to Wales. Weagle is still involved on a weekly basis with the development of the brand’s suspension kinematics and with the launch of new models with different travel, wheel sizes or intended uses.
The six in the DW6 name refers to having a six-bar link (rather than a more typical four-bar) layout. Essentially the Atherton chainstay is split into three separate pieces, with a stubby link behind the bottom bracket that’s wrapped and almost hidden by the chainstay yoke that rotates around it, and at the end of the carbon stays there’s also a Horst-link (Fsr-style) pivot in front of the rear axle.
FEEDBACK
The design is highly tuneable and incorporates two shorter twin-links to manipulate curves and linkage velocities, as well as a more traditional chainstay pivot. DW6 affords detailed manipulation of anti-squat, chain growth, axle path and braking interactions, to create a complicated matrix for suspension tweaking.
Once the bonded bike is inspected, it’s tested in-house, assembled and finally let loose in the bike park up the road underneath Gee, Dan and Rach Atherton and the rest of the brand’s sponsored riders. Oscar told us they constantly feedback on the ride quality, geometry and any potential improvements in durability. The bikes have moved forward massively since the first machines we rode built from the Robot Bikes’s template, and the whole 3D-printing process clearly affords massive flexibility for prototyping and developing new ideas so it’s going to be cool to see where Atherton Bikes will take the technology next.