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here’s a new mountain bike making the rounds, and it’s starting to turn heads on the trails. Drawing a crowd wherever it goes, this four-wheeler is made for rock-hopping and defying gravity.Contes Engineering, a company founded by two brothers in Oregon just last year, debuted Athos to the cycling world at Interbike 2011. The design is inspired by BMX, Freestyle, Downhill, and Motocross, a
nd it combines the intense stability and handling characteristics of a quad with the flexibility of a bicycle. You can attack the trails with over eight inches of suspension travel. And with all hand-welded and assembled parts, it’s made specifically to fit the riders’ needs. Contes even uses standardized cycling hardware allowing the bike to be further customized.Athos also has BMX/freestyle and cross-country configurations. Technical aspects vary slightly, but the main difference is that the BMX style has only one speed, while the other two have 11. All models have the weight distribution of a BMX bike, and are able to handle just about everything off-road courses can throw at them. With four wheel independent suspension, the Athos is like an eco-friendly, slower moving ATV, though without reaching the speeds of it’s motorized cousin, it seems less dangerous. Landing on four wheels gives the rider more balance. Even though it weights in at 56 lbs, as the pictures show, the extra weight doesn’t keep this beast grounded!
Front and rear disc brakes, traction-enhancing differential, nylon suspension brushings… Everything about this bike makes it exciting to ride.
Read more here: http://www.theskichannel.com/news/20120 … -by-storm/
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Syd and I saw this thing at Interbike last year and I thought it was pretty badass (as I recall Syd wasn’t as impressed – something about it being overbuilt and too heavy 😀 ). I think the independent suspension system used 4 Fox shocks, one for each wheel. $$$!
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56 lbs.
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Yea; 56 lbs., 4 shocks, tires, wheels, fun toy. 😏 The difference between men and boys; the price of their toys. Like I have room to talk 😆
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I’d love to try one, but no way I’d buy it. Couldn’t even ride singletrack with it, too wide.
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"dgaddis" wrote
I’d love to try one, but no way I’d buy it. Couldn’t even ride singletrack with it, too wide.
Yeah exactly. Seems like the applications would be pretty limited.
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"dgaddis" wrote
Couldn’t even ride singletrack with it, too wide.
Not so fast… There are a few "adaptive sports trails" around like Jetton Park in North Carolina that are designed for mountain trikes/quads used by disabled riders. This particular quad doesn’t appear to be designed for handicapped riders though…
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Actually this would work on some of the major Moab trails like Slickrock, Amassa back, etc.
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"trek7k" wrote
[quote="dgaddis":2ow7owvg]Couldn’t even ride singletrack with it, too wide.
Not so fast… There are a few "adaptive sports trails" around like Jetton Park in North Carolina that are designed for mountain trikes/quads used by disabled riders. This particular quad doesn’t appear to be designed for handicapped riders though…[/quote:2ow7owvg]
But that’s not exactly singletrack, is it?
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But that’s not exactly singletrack, is it?
Technically speaking – I don’t know. 😀
I mean, I would say there are degrees of singletrack – we talk about "narrow" singletrack or "wide" singletrack to describe trails. I guess since the wheels on these vehicles (tri or quad) aren’t configured in a straight line that makes it doubletrack but it’s not the traditional doubletrack most of us would imagine (two ruts created by a car).
Let’s just say you could ride one of these on a trail or a path.
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I want one! i bet this thing would shred a pump track
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Are the tires 20 inchers? I wonder if they have the tread to ride trails with mud, roots, and/or rocks. Most 20 inch tires I’ve found are designed for dirt or street, but not really designed for trail.
"AlphaGenerator" wroteI want one! i bet this thing would shred a pump track
I hope you could lock out the 8 inches of suspension while on the pump track!
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