Atherton Bikes A.150.1 review: a cheat code that combines otherworldly suspension feel with balanced geometry

Atherton Bikes A.150.1 ride impressions

I tested the Atherton Bikes A.150.1 on my local trails in Scotland’s Tweed Valley.

This included high-paced enduro downhills, technical, tight and twisty singletracks and man-made trail-centre loops.

I rode the broadest types of terrain possible to get a handle on how the Atherton rides.

Setup

Getting the A.150 set up proved to be fairly straightforward.

For my 75kg kitted-up weight, I settled on 80psi in the Charger 3 Lyrik’s air spring and installed two volume reducers.

I set the external rebound and high-speed compression damping to fully open, but added +5 clicks (from fully open) of low-speed compression damping to help provide support.

At the back, I inflated the shock’s spring to 175psi and left the stock two volume-reducer spacers installed.

I fully opened the rebound and high-speed compression-damping adjusters, but added +2 clicks (from fully open) of low-speed compression damping. This setup gave me 28 per cent sag.

I inflated the enduro-casing soft-compound tyres to 25-27 psi front and 26-29 psi rear, depending on the trail conditions.

Atherton Bikes A.150.1 climbing performance

Pedal bob when seated is minimal; the suspension remains almost perfectly static regardless of your pedalling cadence. This efficient feel is befitting of the A.150’s trail-heavy or enduro-light intentions.

Standing on the pedals to crank harder causes the rear shock to sink and rise in and out of its sag point, albeit minimally. It doesn’t feel as though it’s robbing you of watts and forward motion, but it’s marginally less efficient than some designs.

No matter how hard you’re pedalling, the rear end remains active, supple and smooth on all types of bumps.

This sensitivity provides so much grip, even on challenging steep terrain littered with loose rubble. Scaling technical inclines on the Atherton is considerably easier compared to other systems.

The decoupling between drive and suspension action is impressive. Ploughing up climbs and flatter sections with large, embedded rocks and roots illustrates the design’s competence.

The rear of the bike tracks the ground similarly to a high-pivot design, moving freely and smoothly.

It rounds off square-edged bumps, working hard to maintain and build on your hard-fought forward momentum. The suspension’s incredible action delivers grip and comfort in abundance, as well as speed that mitigates some of the pedal bob.

Without any perceptible pedal kickback, the suspension is left to move smoothly in and out of its travel; your feet don’t get tugged or pulled by the chain tensioning, no matter how deep into the travel its shock cycles.

Without dialled geometry, all the work Atherton has done to perfect suspension performance would be in vain.

The size-11 bike gives the A.150 a traditional trail bike bias. It has the lower stack (628mm versus 641mm for the size 12) of the two 480mm-reach models.

Its lower front end makes hunkering your shoulders down to the bar for maximum effort easy. But it’s less relaxing than bikes with taller front ends, which encourage a more upright position.

Trail riders will prefer the size 11, while people with a greater focus on descending will probably prefer the size 12’s more relaxed uphill demeanour.

The 78-degree seat tube angle is steep for a trail bike, and I had to slam my seat forward and angle it nose-down to get my hips directly over the bottom bracket.

While not a deal breaker, I’d always like to see an even steeper seat angle where possible. Positively, the suspension helps claw back a large chunk of the comfort lost to the seated position the bike has, with the pedals marginally in front of your hips.

It doesn’t sag excessively as inclines steepen, thanks to the damper support, better maintaining the seat tube angle.

Overall, the ride position offers up easy-to-access control; on steep sections, you can move around the bike to drive grip or increase steering control without upsetting its balance.

Atherton Bikes A.150.1 descending performance

The same smoothness found on the climbs dominates the A.150’s characteristics on the descents.

Working hard to iron out all bump types, the rear wheel remains stuck to the floor, no matter how rough the terrain gets. This flat-tyre like feel is the epitome of good suspension performance and gives the bike an unflappable, grip-rich ride.

With traction offered up in generous dollops, control is boosted into the next dimension. You can turn, brake, pick lines and track across the wildest terrain to your heart’s desire; it’s seriously impressive.

Dive headlong into successive, deep, sharp hits renowned for upsetting even the most unshakeable bikes and the Atherton tracks true, using its travel efficiently and effectively.

While plenty of travel is used – which is necessary to create that invincible feel – it doesn’t bottom out and cause the chassis to get buffeted about.

Given how unflustered the bike feels in such a wide gamut of terrain types, you’d be forgiven for thinking only a minimal amount of travel was used, but inspect the shock’s O-ring and it will always be close to bottom-out. This is testament to how much control the bike delivers.

In the gnarliest terrain, it remains flat, calm and muted, insulating the trail’s negative, dynamic geometry-destabilising feedback from entering your consciousness.

It’s totally inert, but not in a lethargic way; it’s fast, supple, absorbent and feels more like it has 170mm or more of travel – not the 150mm that’s on tap.

Unsurprisingly then, there’s plenty of support around berms, through deep, long compressions and up take-offs. Loads of pop is easily accessed, and its geometry remains predictable and uniform no matter how hard you’re pushing.

Likewise, full-travel moments aren’t met with a heart-stopping clang onto the bump stop, thanks to plenty of bottom-out resistance. Driving the bike into the terrain to generate speed or even more grip doesn't mean flirting with danger.

Your inputs, even heavy-handed ones, are translated predictably and uniformly by the bike into controlled speed.

Hammering on the anchors doesn’t cause the rear end to lock or stiffen up. It remains supple and smooth, no matter how much braking force you’re putting through the rear wheel. Stutter bumps, rocks and large holes are all gobbled up insatiably.

This culminates in the A.150 feeling like a cheat code for riding technical descents – you can simply go faster and harder compared to other bikes.

Turn-in control feels incredible; leant over, it grips and sticks to the floor. Its turn angle and trajectory remain solid and stuck, with neither wheel bouncing, skipping or breaking traction.

Even at extreme angles, there’s no deflection or unpredictability. You can lean the bike so far before it slides – and when it does, the transition to slip is smooth and controlled.

The size-11 bike has a flat and neutral feel, but I’d prefer a slightly higher front end in really steep terrain.

However, that neutrality means your weight is spread evenly between your feet and hands, which is great for balance. Loading up your body in high g-force scenarios doesn’t overly weight the front or rear of the bike, building on the suspension’s performance.