Limited availability of 50 bikes and first deliveries scheduled for April/May. Form an orderly queue.
The Atherton S.170E is built around the 170mm enduro platform, and is powered by the Avinox drive system. A range of twelve frame sizes.
Press Release in full…
Atherton Bikes open presales for the new S.170E EMTB
The Atherton S.170E: Best-in-class fit, with the handling and power to match. Hitting the trails in April 2026.
Today Atherton Bikes opens presales for the highly anticipated S.170E, a full-power EMTB developed with a clear priority: ride feel. From balanced handling and controlled suspension behaviour to uncompromised fit across twelve frame sizes, every decision was made to ensure the bike rides like an Atherton, not just an EMTB.
Rather than rushing to market, the S.170E has been shaped by years of EMTB riding and testing in the Dyfi Valley. The result is a full-power enduro EMTB built around balance, durability and proper fit, developed to the same standards as every analogue Atherton bike.
A Handling-First EMTB
From the outset, the S.170E was engineered around a simple goal: build the best-handling full-power EMTB Atherton can create.
Geometry, suspension kinematics, chassis stiffness, motor choice and battery packaging were developed together as a single system. Weight placement and balance were prioritised from day one, rather than sacrificed in pursuit of headline figures. The result is a bike that stays composed, predictable and easy to manage, lap after lap.
Suspension is handled by Dave Weagle’s proven DW4 platform, delivering 170 mm of travel tuned specifically for EMTB use. Supportive under power, through the rough, and straightforward to set up, it delivers the same confident ride feel we expect from our analogue bikes, with high-torque motor support to unlock more runs.
“I’ve never ridden a full power EMTB that rides like an analogue MTB. The way the S.170E feels on the trail is so close to the standard S.170. It’s unbelievable.” Dan Atherton
Full-Power Performance, Compact Packaging
Power comes from the Avinox drive system, chosen not just for its industry leading output, but for its compact size and refined power delivery. This allowed Atherton to keep geometry, kinematics and chassis proportions exactly where they wanted them, without compromise.
“After months (and years) of testing various motors in the Dyfi Valley and beyond, the Avinox stood out as a big step forward in EMTB drive unit performance. The choice was clear.” Dan Brown, Atherton Bikes CEO
Real World Range
The S.170E will run a full-sized battery which offers the range needed for a solid ride, without tying the bike down when it comes to handling and manoeuvrability.
The battery is housed inside the downtube for strength and protection. It is not designed for trailside swaps but can be removed in minutes for service or travel when required. Every frame size runs the same full-capacity battery, with no cut-down capacity for smaller riders. Exact Wh figures will be revealed at launch, but through testing in the Dyfi Valley it’s proven good for 1600-2000 M of vertical.
Proper Fit, Across An Unmatched Size Range
True to Atherton’s Perfect Fit principles, the S.170E is offered in 12 frame sizes, starting from 415mm reach.
Crucially, every size receives the same motor system and full-capacity battery. Smaller riders get the same performance, range, and ride feel as larger riders, not compromised alternatives.
Key geometry figures include a 64° head angle and 77° seat angle, delivering confidence on steep descents while keeping climbing position efficient and poised.
S-Range Aluminium Chassis
The S.170E is built on Atherton’s S-Range aluminium platform, using subtractive-manufactured lugs and bonded tubes, all constructed from ultra-tough 7075 aluminium.
This approach delivers the strength and durability required for a full-power, gravity focussed EMTB, while giving Atherton the flexibility to offer our industry-leading range of 12 sizes, higher production capacity, and a more accessible entry point compared to our additive-manufactured platforms.
It also proved the most effective solution for EMTB design, allowing the team to accommodate motor cradle dimensions cleanly while precisely tuning stiffness and compliance to optimise ride feel.
Build Options
The S.170E is available in three complete builds, each centred around durability and on trail performance:
Build 1 (£8,999.00)
- Fox Factory suspension (38 fork / X2 shock)
- SRAM X0 Eagle Transmission, integrated with the Avinox drive system
- FSA carbon Gradient handlebar
Build 2 (£7,999.00)
- RockShox Ultimate suspension (ZEB fork / Vivid Air shock)
- SRAM GX Eagle Transmission, integrated with the Avinox drive system
- FSA alloy Gradient handlebar
Build 3 (£6,999.00)
- RockShox Select suspension (ZEB fork / Vivid Air shock)
- SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission
- FSA alloy Gradient handlebar
All builds come equipped with Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, Mavic E-Deemax wheels, and Continental Kryptotal tyres.
Presale numbers are limited to just 50 models. Additional bikes will be available at official launch, subject to standard production lead times. In 2026 only UK and EU customers will be able to order EMTB’s from Atherton, with global distribution planned later.
Orange used to play that well in the 2000’s. Never many if any UK built bikes left at the end of the season to discount.
Thanks. I guess if it were to exist as a statistic it would need to be a standardized test in a controlled environment.
it’s something that I’d be interested in as I’d use an e-bike for shuttling. I’d be disappointed to get 3/4 of the way up a fire road for a big descent snd discover that I had to pedal! Especially on my second lap.
Considering their other bike prices and all the other factors, this is priced lower than I’d have expected.
im looking forward to the full reveal
“Thanks. I guess if it were to exist as a statistic it would need to be a standardized test in a controlled environment.”
To massively oversimplify things, 1Whr is 3600 Joules. If you convert 500Whr into potential energy, then it’ll lift an 85kg rider and 25kg bike 1700m vertically, assuming no losses and no effort at all from the rider (both are impossible). Motors aren’t perfectly efficient and you have drag and other losses but also you can pedal and help the motor out a lot. I’m sure this bike will have more than 500Whr of battery.
I’ve had too much life in the way to take my Levo to many fun places, but a few years ago at BPW I got 13 full laps in – 10 uplifts and 3 pedalled up (whenever the queue looked annoyingly long). I probably used the motor too for the bits back up to the uplift and from the minibus to the top – but not on the trails because I wanted to see how past the Levo (and I) were vs my previous visits on unpowered bikes.
They were very lucky to find an off the shelf frame that fitted the motor and battery they designed that hadn’t previously been used in any other bikes.🤔
Yeah I get this a bit with bike prices now . My most expensive bike was my cotic flare max in 2019 which was about 3.5 k which an inflation calculator tells me is 4.7 k today so 7k for a Atherton with a avinox doesn’t sound to bad but equally I think I’d have a bit of a mental block on spending 7k on a bike . I’ve tried to remove finance and credit from my life as much as possible and whilst it does make life less stressful it makes big purchases a lot harder .
It’s funny but when the Atherton brand first started and Gee and Rach were still racing I was unsure if the link between the siblings and the brand would prove to be a positive but it’s developed into a fairly strong brand in it own right with some great looking bikes .
Indeed. The testing will no doubt have been done by one of their crew, if not one of the Atherton’s themselves, weighing 75-80kg and fit as a fiddle, able to smash a good chunk of their own watts in to achieve that amount of climbing, not Mr Johnnyatepiesforbreakfast
It is a large chunk of money, but comparing it to other offerings from other companies, it doesn’t feel as much as it could have been.
Not for me – too expensive for me but also uses a motor – but I’m pretty sure plenty will be looking to buy this.
Last year I bought an Orbea Rise. Ticket price was £8,200. I knew at that time in a year I’d be able to buy one with 30% off. Just over a year later you can now buy one for £4,800. I got it on salary sacrifice roughly paying the same money
Orbea obviously pay a company in China to make the frames in bulk for a price so they then need to sell these units. Clear though they still make a profit
Im surprised how many people are buying these ‘cash’ . To me they represent vfm via salary sacrifice .
As to batteries it’s arbitrary what they say it will / won’t climb. Stick the Avinox in full power and it drains quickly, put it at 1NM and I’m sure they would get more than the figures they are quoting.
Just release the wh value of the battery and the bike weight and let people make their own assumptions.
My hunch is that the Avinox doesn’t do as good mpg as a Shimano system, but then it has so many pluses to the Shimano system too
It will be interesting to see if there will be an all gushing eMBN video saying how amazing the bike is or did Amflow slip them £5 more to do that vid
Really not seeing the issue, the base Santa Cruz Bullet, is just short of £7K. So why would an Atherton bike be less money? Again I’d expect it to be much more. I’m far from rich or have any high flying career, but have reached an age where I have no bills or debt, so those £5K bike that I didn’t used to be able to afford, are now something I buy. As for this a Atherton bike for ONLY £7K, if I’d realised earlier…
so much shit, they cant afford a loan? Ppl have been buying expensive toys forever with loans, so this is just BS
Happily sold my 2018 e-bike for a quarter of what I bought it for last month, I think that reasonable for a 7 year old bike. The new owner is over the moon, and has a useful form of transport, as he doesn’t drive.
Pretty sure if you read Factfullness by Hans Rosling, you’ll find your assumptions are wrong (tbf I’m still reading it), the WHOLE world is becoming a nicer place overall.
“Pretty sure if you read Factfullness by Hans Rosling, you’ll find your assumptions are wrong”
I don’t know about the whole world but the gap between richest and poorest in the developed world has sadly widened hugely over my lifetime. There’s tons of data out there to support this statement, I’m not some fringe socialist lunatic.
Good point. Perhaps they modified an existing design to fit their motor? perhaps it was an off the shelf frame designed to fit their motor avinox? Perhaps they modified the people he was dealing with in china lied to him?
Thanks again
A lot of people pay out a great deal of money to support their hobbies, be that bikes, cars, musical instruments, golf bats and green fees, etc. I’m not in the demographic for this bike but I don’t begrudge those who can afford it.
@z1ppy “so much shit, they cant afford a loan? Ppl have been buying expensive toys forever with loans, so this is just BS”
This quote is a good indicator both of the gulf between the rich and the less well off and also the lack of life experience (or indifference) that some people on this forum display.
I would like to think that this ignorance is unintentional and just a result of the small bubbles that some people live and work in.
Amflow have reduce the price of their bike by £1,300 today
Perhaps you didn’t realise that not all people have access to salary sacrifice. If I was in the market for such a bike I’d be paying via credit card & paying off at the end of the month but it’s the same price as my most expensive ever two wheeled machine & that’s got 120bhp to play with, so I’m out 😀
It would be great if building sub £500 bikes of quality in Wales made sense, but it doesn’t. So if we want anything built in the UK (and part of our economy), be it a Brompton or an Atherton, we need to be ready to accept they’ll be too pricey for many of us. Making something a large chunk of the UK population can’t afford (see also all cars) is part of normal business. Many of us will never be able to afford an Atherton, or a Morgan, or even a brand new Vauxhall Corsa… that doesn’t mean they’re not worth building here for other people. Lots of stuff is made for the better off, not the majority. It’s not just a cycling thing, is it.
Agreed no one has built an affordable helicopter yet !
Agreed not everyone has access to a cheap company van / buying stuff through the business. Swings & roundabouts isn’t it
Equally, there seems to be an element on here of certain people that think that if you can afford something nice, you shouldn’t mention it in case it upsets those that can’t.
It’s a biking forum, not a safe space for skint folk.
To address your first point though about who can afford them – I mix with quite a few riding folk and I’m not sure about the value of the ebikes they are currently riding, but before ebikes, many of them were riding Santa Cruz – some are now on Santa Cruz ebikes. I wouldn’t describe any of them as being rich, just normal working people – who knows their financial situation, maybe they can afford to buy them outright, maybe they are on finance, maybe they have little in the way of other outgoings?
…because it will be old news in a couple of weeks
😆
Not quite the same thing though. The majority of people in the UK can afford a cheap second hand bike (okay, they might not have safe storage, but you get my point). The existence of Atherton bikes doesn’t have any impact on any of our abilities to either ride to the shops, or have fun on the trails. Bikes to do not become luxury goods just because there are some bikes sold at a luxury price. Unlike helicopters, which are all beyond the means of nearly all people.
Your “holier than though" attitude is wearing, and again crap. If ppl are in an ‘unfortunate’ position, why the **** would they be looking at £7k ebike. Why would the cost of effectively a toy have anything to do with the poor.
@z1ppy I’m sorry that my viewpoint is different from yours.
Thank you for your well reasoned argument, it’s won me round, you’re quite correct about everything!
given that it’s already been established many times that the price is comparable to other ebikes on the market I’m not really sure why the thread has derailed to yet another rich/poor/have/have not debate rather than just discussing this new bike 🤷♂️
Not sure of your point there, I’m PAYE & have access to neither salary sacrifice or cheap access through any business, probably not dissimilar to may working folk.
@wheelsonfire1 cheers, your are welcome to your own opinion, but I am glad your are crawling back under your bridge
Chambord, totally agree, and I am done with it