Bike Check - 10 September 2024
Ridgeline V: A.170 Bike Check
Gee Atherton and the crew re-define the Ridgeline riding series with the latest episode on board the A.170
Filmed in the stunning surroundings of Engelberg-Titlis, Switzerland
When the mountain is fighting you every inch of the way, every fibre of your being needs to be focused on the job at hand. Worrying about how your bike will stand up to the job is just not an option, Gee explains why he chose the stable and super-rugged A.170 for his latest Big Mountain Project.
Gee said “in such a gnarly and inhospitable environment the bike has to take so many big hits, I almost could have brought my Downhill bike but with so much carrying the lighter weight of the A170 was key while it still offers that strength… talking of carrying the Attack20 from Deuter was invaluable on this trip it’s specifically designed for those hike-a-bike missions with anti-slip material along the top of the bag and the shoulder straps so the bike doesn’t slip around, even on the gnarliest parts of the climb, and because it holds without being strapped on it’s safer too, such a good bit of design.
I’ve got the bike set -up pretty similarly to my DH bike, and it feels pretty similar, I’ve got the Continental Kryptotals with the thicker DH casing, I’ve gone slightly bigger on the brake rotors, coil shock, and everything is focused on making the bike as super-burly and robust as it can be. The terrain here is so unforgiving, you’re slamming scree slopes, hitting square edges, and the bike is getting thrashed, it had so many rock strikes, so many crashes and tumbles down the rocks but it’s still mint. On gnarly lines like these, you have to be able to trust 100%, in eight days of physical and mental overdrive, I didn’t have a shred of worry about the bike or the components I’d chosen.
Atherton A.170
FRAME: A.170, Size 11 of 22 standard sizes (480mm reach)
REAR SHOCK: Fox DHX2 Coil 205x65 500lb spring
FORK: Fox factory 38, 180mm
SETTINGS: 7HSC 10LSC 6 HSR 7 LSR, 98 psi
BRAKES: HAYES DOMINION A4, GALFER rotors and pads with sharkfin discs, 203 rotor front and rear
DROPPER: Fox Transfer 200mm drop
SADDLE: Proxim Nembo
WHEELS: 29” front, 27.5” rear, Stans Flow EX3 rims and Stan’s M pulse hubs
TYRES: Continental Kryptotal front on both front and rear, 27, 29psi (22 psi for the slab) Tubeless with Stan’s sealant
HEADSET: FSA
BARS: FSA Gradient Alloy, 31.7, 30mm rise, 780mm wide
STEM FSA Gradient 35mm
CRANKS: FSA Gradient
HANGER: SRAM UDH
GRIPS: ODI Longneck
PEDALS: Crankbrothers Stamp
Thanks to the town of Engelberg, Titlis Cableways, Deuter, Red Bull and Prologo for their support.
More on the A.170...
- Available in 12 standard sizes + custom
- 3 Build options, plus frame only
- Custom build option - replicate Gee's bike or spec to suit your ride style: email: sales@athertonbikes.com
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The fourth film in the Ridgeline Series shifts from a huge DH build on the Mid-Wales slate to a natural setting with not a shovel or a mattock in sight.
Gee said “Wanting to ride Hardline this year was a big driver for me during the recovery process and I have been aiming at it for a long time, but I knew it would be difficult. It was always going to be hard to be ready in time but I knew I was up to the challenge, I wanted to be part of the crew testing what we had designed.
