Additive manufactured mountain bike company Atherton Bikes has raised GBP385,000 through Angel Investment Network.
The Welsh business is the brainchild of world-famous mountain biker siblings Gee Atherton, Dan Atherton and Rachel Atherton who have partnered with a team of engineers from F1, aerospace and NASA to produce a world-beating mountain-bike. The business is chaired by entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den investor Piers Linney.
The raise took two months with the funds being used to scale production. The bikes are made in UK by joining carbon tubes with Additive Manufactured lugs (3d printing in titanium). Every bike can be fitted to its rider, stock holding is low and learnings can be in production in days. Frames are optimised for light weight and high strength and unlike traditional mountain- bike manufacturing which relies on costly carbon moulds the business can offer thousands of variants in frame assembly for different riding experiences, all with an eye on personalisation and performance.
Gee Atherton says: “We were delighted to work with AIN on this raise which means we can really scale production and bring our vision for what the perfect mountain bike should look like to thousands of riders. We’ve spent our lives racing and developing and we know that having the right bike for the stage you are at can transform your experience. The beauty of the additive manufacturing process is that it’s so responsive, enabling us to incorporate immediate improvements and create perfectly tailored bikes. We’ve been able to achieve this with brilliant people like our suspension designer Dave Weagle and expert business guidance from Piers. Our big goal is to see kids, all mountain explorers, bike park shredders, racers and e-bikers enjoying our bikes.”
Ed Stephens says: “It is hard not to get excited by the bravery and the boldness of the Athertons’ mountain biking escapades. I don’t think a single investor didn’t marvel at the 60+ft jumps made by Gee in the Red Bull video that accompanied our promotion. Add something as evocative as this to the improvements afforded by 3D printing and the project simply put excited people. As world-class mountain bikers the Athertons were perfectly placed to spot a gap in the market for a brand new approach and work with some of the best people to bring this to market.”