Ambassador
Introducing new ambassador Phil Stasiw and his A.130
06 April 2025
Phil Stasiw is a bike industry lifer. He has been running Mountain Bike Wales for nearly 20 years with his partner and fellow guide Polly and is based at Staylittlejust 12 miles from our New HQ. Not only is Phil an awesome rider and guide he brings an encyclopaedic knowledge of the best local trails… we are so excited that he chose an Atherton Bike!
Phil Stasiw is a bike industry lifer. He has been running Mountain Bike Wales for nearly 20 years with his partner and fellow guide Polly and is based at Staylittle just 12 miles from our New HQ. Not only is Phil an awesome rider and guide he brings an encyclopaedic knowledge of the best local trails… we are so excited that he chose an Atherton Bike!
PS: We specialise in multi day adventures across Wales but mostly here in the Cambrian Mountains where I was born and bred. We welcome over 250 riders each season, nothing quite beats travelling across Wales; stopping at different destinations and enjoying new perspectives of our beautiful country.
We’ve got a big calendar of tours this year; Elan Valley, Trans Cambrian Way, Traws Eryri, Wales Coast to Coast and some Enduro weekends so the bikes are gonna get a real workout.
When I’m not guiding I can often be found in the office at our 5* accommodation and events venue The Lodge, Staylittle (around 20 mins away from Dyfi Bike Park ;-) or pushing a mower around the grounds. It keeps me pretty busy but outside of “work” I’ve been full team member of Aberdyfi Mountain Rescue Team for 15 years and love to knock a ball or two over the net at tennis.
Like many youngsters, I started riding on the hills and trails around our home just outside Knighton. BMX was all the rage in my early teens and at weekends I’d race with my cousins, over the border in Ludlow; or I’d ride my Honda CR80, terrorising the local gamekeeper as I screamed through the park. I had my first proper mountain bike around 1990 when I was 18, it was a British Eagle made just up the road in Newtown, Powys.
I feel very fortunate to have carved out a career riding bikes. My early years were a mix of guiding and time behind the lens. I started guiding back in the 80s, for Clive Powell at Rhayader, he was one of the pioneers of MTB guiding in the UK. I trained guides for some six years in the UK and Europe, returning to leading for Mountain Bike Wales. Away from riding, but not too far away, I was behind the lens for a couple of seasons for MBUK, shooting the British DH scene when Paton and Parr were at the helm.
To save money on fuel I travelled around the UK with Ralph Jones and the gang who were riding for DIRT Magazine; those were great times! I penned the race reports too which involved quite a few interviews, of course, Dan, Gee and Rach were at every race for Animal/Commencal at that stage so we’ve known each other for nearly 20 years.
My dream rides usually involve a journey. A few days riding in the High Alps is just the best, something like a hut-to-hut ride around Briancon and Queyras in the Hautes-Alpes, that hits the mark with two-hour hike-a-bike climbs followed by 30km of untamed singletrack and repeat. Heavenly.
I’ve competed in a few long-distance events, most notably back in 2007 when I took on the highest race in the world, The Yak Attack. I was shooting for MBUK & Berghaus, riding with DH legend Rob Jarman for this brutal six-day race around Annapurna; racing over Thorong La at 5400m was pretty tough! Plenty of highs and lows, but riding in the Himalayas was something very special.
Closer to home I go down to Dyfi Bike Park at least half a dozen times a year, Race Track and Original DH being a couple of my favourites as well as the more flow trails like Super Swooper and Lovey Dyfi, which is super fun. I’m keen to go there on the A.130 ASAP...
A big positive for me about riding the A.130 is the fact that it’s designed, manufactured and tested here in mid-Wales. Living and working just 12 miles away from the Atherton HQ was a big draw. I love to support local businesses but it’s also a privilege to be able to visit the factory for a very tailor-made service.
I’ve been watching Atherton develop their bikes over the last few years; it’s a wonderful story for the family and all involved and feels great to be able to ride a bike that is made just down the road. One thing for sure they are a very special brand and that’s reflected in every review you read. Top ratings on design and ride feel every time, I couldn’t agree more. I picked up my A.130 a couple of weeks ago. I’m 6‘2“ and I went for a size 15, which is a 500 tall.
I don’t like my bikes to be too oversized as I like a more compact ride when I’m descending and riding tight and steep singletrack in the Dyfi. I chose a custom build with Fox factory shock and fork, Shimano XTR, DTSwiss carbon hoops on Vittoria treads and Renthal cockpit, absolutely stunning!
Our season starts in mid-March so I haven’t had long to get acquainted with the bike, not that it matters because it felt absolutely brilliant from the first pedal stroke! Whether I’m climbing or descending, it’s been an absolute pleasure. I’ve just knocked up some 75Km riding around the Elan Valley working with a group. Clear views right across the Cambrian Mountains and down the Wye Valley, are simply stunning.
The bike turned heads as much as the scenery! A lot of people are still surprised to see an Atherton trail bike and say they only see them at the bike park or in a magazine.
Then they start looking at the bike in detail and you can tell they’ve read a lot about the way they are manufactured, they get all geeky about it.
Our Elan Valley trip was a good testing ground for the A.130 given the long, lung-busting climbs where the trail bike is super-efficient but the descents are rocky and loose, it made the DW6 suspension platform work pretty hard. Black Cottage descent and Rhydoldog were so fast, the A.130 supplied plenty of grip just where it was needed. It’s fair to say it passed all every test with flying colours.
The feel of the bike is instantly responsive whether you’re climbing or descending. The suspension takes out just enough of the small bumps whilst still feeling efficient and quick over the terrain. When you turn it downhill it’s extremely capable and rides way beyond its stats and figures on paper. I’ve mostly ridden single-pivot bikes over the years so the DW 6 suspension platform on the A130 is quite different, much tighter than I’m used to.
The suspension is solid and the bike has a very precise feel, and I like that; when you’re just riding along the trail it almost feels like a hard tail but with just enough comfort, but every pedal stroke you can just feel the bike moving forward as soon as you engage it. Take it downhill and the platform comes alive. You can point it anything you want, sit back and let it flow to start, then when you need to get it back under control it responds instantly. It’s super fast but feels very planted, a really confidence – inspiring ride and very rewarding.
I haven’t tested it on any PB‘s or Strava sections yet but I think it’s going to be up there on quite a few leaderboards. A130 is an extremely engaging and very intuitive ride. It doesn’t take too long to get used to how hard you can push this bike, you have to remind yourself that it’s just a 130 travel trail bike as you’re bouncing down the mountain with ease. I’m an out and out trail rider with a love for more steep, tech enduro when I have the time. I spend six months of the year guiding, so I need a trail bike with modern geometry and the best components, I need a bike that won’t tire me out when I’m climbing, so it needs to be light enough, but when I turn it down hill, it needs to be running more like a short travel enduro bike that gives me the confidence to push harder through the rocks and rooty sections. The A130 covers all these demands really well. Fire roads where you’re just knocking the miles up, technical climbing and technical descending the bike does it all with ease.
NEW A.130 FACTORY BUILDS
Brand new build specs 1-3 are based around Fox Factory, Ohlins or Rockshox options to mirror the A.170 product range while a standard frameset comes with Fox Factory Float X. All standard builds now include the option for 140mm or 150mm forks.
FEATURED: A.130.1
Build 1, Fox suspension. Our favourite components are chosen to be lightweight with no compromise on strength and reliability. air shock – Fox Factory Float X and choice of 140mm/150mm Fox 36 SL upfront with a Sram XO T-Type drive train.
Custom Builds
Customised specs commonly feature brands such as EXT suspension, Burgtec finishing kits, or mix-and-match groupsets. The A.130 is compatible with both Sram T-Type and the new Sram 70.