Atherton A.150.M
Wheel Sizes: 29’’ front / 27.5’’ rear
Suspension Travel:
- Frame: 150 mm
- Fork: 160 mm
Geometry Highlights:
- Sizes offered: 22 options; see below for details
- Headtube angle: 64.5°
- Reach: 415 to 535 mm
- Chainstay length: 430 to 440 mm
Frame Material: Titanium lugs w/ carbon fiber tubes
Price: Complete bikes $8,150 to $10,272
Intro
The A.150 was one of the two models that Atherton Bikes launched the brand with: a 150mm-travel All-Mountain 29er, alongside their flagship A.200 DH race bike. The Atherton lineup has grown substantially since then, first with the A.130 Trail and A.170 Enduro bikes, and then with the addition of the “S” lineup of bikes.
Just based on the A.150.M name, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the new bike is just the longstanding A.150 with a mullet. And it is, sort of, but a lot more has changed than just the wheel size. We’re working on lining up an A.150.M for review, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at its design and what sets it apart on paper.
The Frame
Like all of Atherton’s A-Range bikes, the A.150.M uses 3D-printed titanium lugs bonded to carbon fiber tubes, and a six-bar DW-6 suspension layout.
[“A” stands for “additive”, a nod to the 3D-printed portion of the construction, and the subsequent number refers to the rear wheel travel; the corresponding S-Range bikes use machined aluminum lugs (i.e., subtractive construction, hence “S”) with bonded-in aluminum tubes and a simpler four-bar DW-link suspension layout.]
The original A.150 isn’t going away, but is instead joined in the Atherton lineup by its new mixed-wheel sibling. But, unlike most cases where a bike is offered in 29er and mixed wheel versions — even if there isn’t an adjustment to toggle between the two on the same frame — the two A.150 versions use entirely different frames, including the front triangles.
Like the original A.150, the A.150.M is designed around a 160 mm fork to go with its 150 mm of rear wheel travel, but they differ in their geometry (more on that in a minute), and a bunch of the design details. The most visually obvious one is that the seat tube on the A.150.M has been straightened out, leaving much more room for dropper post insertion. Atherton says that they need the kink in the A.150’s seat tube for tire clearance, but with the smaller 27.5’’ wheel on the A.150.M, that limitation disappears.
The A.150.M also gets a UDH dropout for SRAM Transmission compatibility, which the A.150 lacks. The 29er A.150 does have a UDH as well, but the dropout pivot is too close to the dropout for a T-Type derailleur to clear; that limitation is gone on the A.150.M as well.
Atherton doesn’t publish kinematic data for the A.150.M, but it gets it2 150 mm of rear wheel travel from a 205 x 60 mm trunnion mount shock. The other frame details are sensible, including a threaded bottom bracket shell with replaceable ISCG tabs, a 148 mm Boost rear end, and fully guided internal cable routing. Like all of Atherton’s A-Range frames, the A.150.M is built in Wales, and is certified to EFBE Category 5 use (the highest tier in that standard). A lifetime warranty is offered for the original owner.
Fit & Geometry
Things get really interesting when you get to the A.150.M’s sizing and geometry. Lots of other bikes come in three or four sizes; six or seven would normally be considered a lot.
The A.150.M has a whopping twenty-two sizes on offer. In addition to offering reaches ranging from 415 mm to 535 mm in 10 mm increments, most of the reach figures are available in two different sizes, which hold the reach figure steady but increase the seat tube and head tube (and thus the stack) measurements.
All 22 sizes get a 64.5° headtube angle (0.5° slacker than the A.150); the seat tube angle starts at 77.5° effective / 73.8° actual for the smallest sizes, with both figures getting incrementally steeper up to 79° effective / 76.1° actual at the upper end. The chainstay lengths also vary with frame size, starting at 430 mm for frames up through 445 mm reach, jumping to 435 mm through the 485 mm reach sizes, and then to 440 mm for the rest.
Apart from the vast array of sizing options, there’s nothing too wild going on there — probably in a good way. Having both the effective and actual seat tube angles get steeper on bigger sizes is a nice touch, and the numbers look sensible for a well-rounded All-Mountain bike overall. Compared to the 29er A.150, the A.150.M gets slightly longer reach figures, fractionally shorter chainstays, a marginally lower bottom bracket, and the 0.5° slacker headtube that we already touched on, but the two are pretty similar.
Atherton has a sizing calculator on their website that gives a baseline recommendation based on rider height, inseam, and wingspan; custom sizing is also available for an upcharge.
The Builds
The A.150.M is available in three different build specs. All get Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, Stan’s Flow MK4 wheels, and SRAM T-Type groups of varying tiers, with suspension options from Fox, RockShox, and Öhlins.
The full build details are as follows:
Build 3 ($8,151 USD):
- Drivetrain: SRAM Eagle 90
- Brakes: Hayes Dominion A4
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate
- Shock: RockShox Vivid Ultimate Air
- Wheels: Stan’s Flow MK4
- Dropper post: Fox Transfer Performance
Build 2 ($9,156 USD):
- Drivetrain: SRAM GX Transmission
- Brakes: Hayes Dominion A4
- Fork: Öhlins RXF36
- Shock: Öhlins TTX2 m.2 Air
- Wheels: Stan’s Flow MK4
- Dropper post: Fox Transfer Performance
Build 1 ($10,272 USD):
- Drivetrain: SRAM X0 Transmission
- Brakes: Hayes Dominion A4
- Fork: Fox 36 Factory
- Shock: Fox Float X2 Factory
- Wheels: Stan’s Flow MK4
- Dropper post: Fox Transfer Factory
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) How does the A.150.M ride overall? Between the unconventional construction, DW-6 suspension layout, and the especially fine granularity in sizing, there’s a lot of novel stuff going on. How does it all add up?
(2) Speaking of that sizing granularity, with so many options available, how accurate does Atherton’s sizing guide feel? How hard will it be for most folks to sort through?
Bottom Line (For Now)
Atherton bikes have always stood out for their novel construction, striking looks, and vast array of sizes (not to mention the Atherton name itself), and we’re very eager to get on an A.150.M to find out how it stacks up. We’re working to make that happen, so stay tuned for more if and when we’re able to throw a leg over the A.150.M.