Atherton have released a YouTube series on the development of their new eeb.
Coming early 2026....
Episode 1 of 3:
I reckon that’s going to an Avinox motor. DJI microphones used in the video……🤔
My money is on Pinion MGU
So they've released a video about their new e-bike and you can't see what motor is in it?
Is it worth watching when I'm home in front of the telly?
So they've released a video about their new e-bike and you can't see what motor is in it?
Not unless they’re gonna release an e-bike with ‘Orbea’ written on the side.
I got the teaser email too. A little disappointed but not surprised by the lack of any actual information at this stage, will watch episode 2 as soon as it pops up
How do they 3d print or form the battery housing? Wonder if they go down the cotic route and have a loose battery?
interesting and big investment for a small company. Hope they don’t do a Deviate…
Yeah it's a bit light on details - or any information to be honest lol
Will be interesting to see what motor they use.
It's probably a toss up between the Avinox and the SRAM - can't see it being Shimano, although the fact that Cotic are using them might not completely rule them out.
I really hope it doesn't have an exposed battery, looks like in the sketches it does.
Be boring without a gearbox...
I think an external battery limits motor options, to Shimano and possibly Bosch (but they have pretty high MOQs).
An Avinox would be the best option IMO.
Comments about waiting for tech to catch up deffo feels like its pointing at Avinox. Sketches seem to be suggesting external battery though (which would make sense given the Atherton construction method?), although they did show lots of adjustments, etc. on those sketches...
The way they currently make bikes doesn’t compute with an internal battery. I’d bet too their ‘feedback’ suggests people don’t want an internal battery. I can’t see them making their own battery cell that would fit in one of their downtubes or seat tubes
In some ways I would be interested in an Atherton ebike, but then I bet it would be as ugly as the Cotic and bound to be really heavy
Yes weight isn’t everything but it’s bound to be 25kg + weight which is a lot lifting over styles / getting in the boot of a car
Price - bound to be £10k plus?
The way they currently make bikes doesn’t compute with an internal battery.
They can 3d print or CNC a motor housing in the same way they make lugs for the A and S series, they can bond a box section into lugs the same as they can bond tubes. Or they could do something different
Probably depends on where you ride, I've yet to see one in the wild, but I'm not at popular riding destinations much, so likely it is me not being in the right place.
They can 3d print or CNC a motor housing in the same way they make lugs for the A and S series
Im not sure the whole point of their bikes is that they are cheap to make the tubes because they are just all a circular shape and regular size.
Its got to be an external battery ie cotic 🤮
I prefer the look of the 2018 Canyon with an external battery to their current bikes and the Lapierre Overvolt GLP is another bike with an external battery that is more function over form
Price - bound to be £10k plus?
You could almost get a nice, regular, mountain bike for that!
That being said, I don’t think Athertons are the most, shall we say, ambitiously priced? Sure you can go to the moon with them, but they start sub £5k, and do C2W…
Given how few of the bikes you see in the real world I do wonder how they stay in business.
Given how few of the bikes you see in the real world I do wonder how they stay in business.
I've seen a fair few - usually 3 or 4 at the local DH race and few around the trails.
Also they only need to manufacture the lugs and finish bikes that they have orders for, no need to have dead stock sat around so they can run pretty efficiently compared to a brand that needs 'x' sizes each in 'y' colours just in case someone wants one. If your customers are happy to accept the leadtimes this results in, then it's a win-win - and most will be happy to.
I don't think they're short of orders.
My mate ordered his A150 at the Malverns and collected it last weekend. Don't think they started printing it until mid/end October.
So they've released a video about their new e-bike and you can't see what motor is in it?
No. They’ve released a video about the first steps of their journey into designing a new ebike.
My money would be on an Avinox MK2 motor, possibly a Maxon as they are easier to get in small quantities without signing up to large procurement contracts.
Im not sure the whole point of their bikes is that they are cheap to make the tubes because they are just all a circular shape and regular size.
Aren't the tubes filament wound over a mandrel? So could be any shape...
The Atherton’s could have a read of this motor comparison , a lot of work gone into that
Had an email about pre-sale for the new ebike.
Interesting picture in the email:
Looks like the lower shock mount is in a different position, also can't see an external battery.
Definitely looks different to the normal S range:
Can't work out of the down tube is larger diameter, and cable entry point on head tube is different too.
I think theres some clver shadowing there to make the downtube not appear quite so huge - its definitely bigger.
Given how their lug is made, it doesnt have to be circular either - so I assume thats some sort of orunded off square/rectangular section downtube. It could be hiding a lot of volume in its width, not depth.
Looks like a cassette too. What a shame. No innovation from Atherton.
“Looks like a cassette too. What a shame. No innovation from Atherton.”
Although I like a gearbox conceptually, reviews and quite a bit of owner feedback talks about the loss of pedalling efficiency and the difficulty shifting under high load. And the reliability isn’t brilliant, whilst mechs and cassettes are easy to swap if they break.
Making MTBs in the UK is hard (how many brands actually make their bikes). Designing e-bikes is harder than normal MTBs. Adding a gearbox to that seems a recipe for delays and disasters!
I think that’s a much bigger downtube with the lower 20% or so hidden in shadow.
That avinox is already 1000w 120nm, why does it even need gears. They could just add another 500w of power or so and make it singlespeed.
Top tube looks very flat, with no lump or bump of any screen. So that rules out nobody.
One thing comes to mind maybe, do we think Atherton would have the resource to build their own battery, or will it be a stock size. Down tube does look slim side on, slimmer than that on an Amflow.
Would be nice if they released a bit more info for the pre-sale.
Would you put a deposit on a bike you haven't seen or have any details of?
“One thing comes to mind maybe, do we think Atherton would have the resource to build their own battery”
From what Cotic have said about custom battery development it seems something that will only be viable for a very high volume seller, which Atherton aren’t.
If you look at the shape of that downtube and where the logo is, I think it’s about the same thickness as the tyre’s height, which is v similar to the Forbidden and Amflow e-bikes’ proportions.
“One thing comes to mind maybe, do we think Atherton would have the resource to build their own battery”From what Cotic have said about custom battery development it seems something that will only be viable for a very high volume seller, which Atherton aren’t.
I used to work as a design engineer for one of the early EV manufacturers in the UK, the BMS system, its software, the pack design and the relevant testing were one of the most complex and costly part of the process.
I know someone who they could partner with to develop a custom battery but I doubt it would be cheap.
Although I like a gearbox conceptually, reviews and quite a bit of owner feedback talks about the loss of pedalling efficiency and the difficulty shifting under high load. And the reliability isn’t brilliant,
....I think that’s a much bigger downtube with the lower 20% or so hidden in shadow.
Really? Shifting on Rohloff/Pinion is *different* but you very quickly adapt. Trad gears, at least pre SRAM Transmission, don't really shift well under full load but we've all adapted over years of use. On an e-bike the motor can automatically ease off when it needs to. Shifting should be fine.
Reliability? Again, they've been around many years now and I've just not heard of many issues with either Rohloff or Pinion.
Shadow? I reckon. it doesn't look big enough. Custom in-frame come from a big Taiwan supplier (Trend Power manufacture for Specialized, Canyon, Yamaha, Decathlon, Merida, and I think Orbea). I suspect the issue for Atherton is always going to be order volumes on anything custom. You'd not want to be hanging on to a big stock of old tech batteries.
Building a bike without a cassette and derailleur would be a huge commercial mistake. There are a few loud fans of gearboxes... but if you want to actually build bikes for people to buy and ride, they're best put in the "one day, maybe" box.
Down tube looks big enough to hold a battery. There is no reason at all for them to use a bigger downtube than the S series unless it's for an internal battery. So it is internal. It'll be off the shelf... the only question is which one. Looking at the size of downtube, position of the lower shock mount, and the room given for a range extender... and given the size of Atherton getting all the ebike parts from one supplier in reasonable sized batches makes the most sense. I'm going to guess...
https://www.maxonbikedrive.com/en/air-s
chatgpt says it looks like this....
Personally I think they should have added some chainstay protection, and why did they weld it half way along the chainstay?
The only shifting I've had that worked under load was Rapid Rise but no one seemed to like that (Except for me. Not the flappy levers, the mk2 with normal shifters in XTR flavour).
mk2 with normal shifters in XTR flavour
They were awesome. Rapid Rise with a clutch... please.
chatgpt says it looks like this....
So many obvious "not an Atherton" mistakes there that it's not even worth discussing (or posting).
Isn't there a massive hole in the head tube/top tube junction from how it's CNC'd, perfect spot for the display I would guess.
