Each year, cycling events, such as Tour De France, captivate the nation with many people dusting off their bikes to give it a try.

While road cycling is common, many people also opt for the thrill of mountain biking because of the more challenging terrain and skill level required. According to mountain bike experts, some of the world’s best mountain biking trails can be found in Wales.

To ensure that it builds the best bikes that meet riders requirements and withstand harsh terrains, in Wales and around the globe, Atherton Bikes has collaborated with global engineering technologies company Renishaw to develop its in-house additive manufacturing (AM) processes. From its facility in Wales it can now produce AM parts to build bikes that are optimised for each rider, giving them a competitive edge and improved ride experience.

Background

The Atherton family are World Championship-winning mountain bikers who race their own downhill mountain bikes during competitions, achieving three World Cup wins on their bikes. Atherton Bikes now uses its success in racing to design a range of bespoke bikes globally.

The family based its mountain bike business, Atherton Bikes, in Machynlleth, Wales, to use the surrounding environment to help and inspire the design, manufacture and testing processes of its bikes. Customers are able to ride or drive three miles to the Atherton designed Dyfi Bike Park to test the bikes on challenging terrain, so any adjustments can be made.

Challenge

Atherton’s bikes are never a one size fits all, it prides itself on producing bespoke bikes that are perfectly suited to the rider’s size and specific terrain requirements. Exact measurements are taken from each rider, and the brands fit calculator matches them to one of 22 standard sizes or offers a custom option.

As the bespoke bike frame is adapted during manufacturing, each surrounding component needs to be adapted to make the bike robust and durable, including the lug. This part reinforces the joints between tubes to help distribute stresses put on the bike while riding on harsh terrain. Atherton wanted to manufacture a robust lug that was also lightweight, so it didn’t add any unnecessary weight to the bike.

Manufacturing a lug using traditional methods, like casting, posed a challenge to Atherton because the individual size and racing style of each rider requires bespoke components to be made for each bike. Creating bespoke casts can be a costly and time-consuming process for just one part. This method also produces heavier parts, as manufacturers cannot change the internal structure of a part to reduce its weight.

Subtractive methods also require a large amount of tooling, which increases the production time for the bike, causing a challenge if there is a tight turn round before a race. Atherton required more rapid processes of manufacturing components with a more accurate and robust end product.

Providing accessibility for customers to visit the manufacturing facility and to test the bikes in the Welsh mountains was important to Atherton, so it.  decided to set up all manufacturing operations in its Welsh facility.

Solution

Atherton chose to use additive manufacturing because of its fully digital process, enabling the team to easily modify bike lugs in CAD and produce bespoke components that are easy to reproduce. The team can also use CAD software to create complex internal structures to reduce the weight of the lug component. Initially, Atherton collaborated with Renishaw to produce the components on its multi-laser RenAM 500Q metal AM system at its solutions centre in Staffordshire, England. The period of outsourcing its AM processes allowed Atherton to quickly produce customised parts for specific riders, without the large upfront cost of investing in the technology. Atherton was able to collaborate with AM specialists at Renishaw to hone the manufacturing techniques and the final product, modifying the process based on feedback from the riders as they tested the components on harsh terrain.

After a few years and the success of the AM production process, Atherton wanted to manufacture the whole bike on-site in Wales. However, the size of its office in Wales posed a challenge to the team’s plan to move manufacturing in-house, because traditional AM systems are designed to fit into an industrial unit, rather than an office building. As a result, Atherton required a compact and rapid manufacturing process to keep up with its bespoke and high demand requirements. It turned to Renishaw for support and after discussions Atherton decided to invest in its own in-house RenAM 500Q metal AM system,

Results

Using AM systems has reduced the cost and time it takes to produce bespoke parts, creating a smooth and reliable process compared to traditional bike manufacturing methods. The capability to vary the design and geometry of each part allows bespoke bikes to be customised for every rider to suit their requirements.

“The RenAM 500Q has been an industry leading machine for some time, so there was no question about the technology we were going to invest because we had already built our business model around the system,” explained Dan Brown, Co-founder of Atherton Bikes. “The rapid and agile machine produces the capacity and high quality of lug sets that we require on a daily basis. Atherton’s ongoing relationship with Renishaw has been great, especially during the initial in-house set up period.

“After the installation, some of our colleagues went to the New Mills site to be trained by the engineer who was manufacturing our parts for the last few years,” continued Brown. “His specific knowledge about manufacturing our parts was invaluable when he trained our colleagues. They were able to get the specific and more general knowledge they would need to produce our parts in-house, such as health and safety, powers and the software needed to run it.

“Since our move to Machynlleth, we have had some great feedback from our customers,” said Brown. “Lots of our customers choose to pick up their bikes from our office and spend the day in the local bike park putting it to the test. We are able to manufacture bikes in Wales and apply a level of care and detail similar to what our World-Champion winners would receive at the top of their careers.”

“Supporting Atherton through the initial design and prototyping and onto the race circuit and mass distribution has proven the bespoke and high demand manufacturing capabilities of the RenAM 500Q,” explained Bryan Austin, Director of Sales at Renishaw. “Atherton’s newly installed machine and the support of our expert engineers will allow Atherton to continue its journey as an industry innovator and grow from strength to strength as its products continue to develop.”

For further information on metal AM systems from Renishaw, visit https://www.renishaw.com.

Find out more about Atherton Bikes’ latest innovations on their new website https://www.athertonbikes.com