Bike Check - 14 November 2024
Ridgeline VI: A.200 Bike Check
Adapting to un-ridden terrain on a bike.
With Kazakhstan being the ninth-largest country in the world, spanning a massive 2.7 million square kilometres, the possibilities were nearly endless, and our approach would need to be far more calculated than on previous projects.
As much as Ridgeline has become about adventure, the potential for riding ultimately dictates the locations we look for. It isn't enough to simply find the most beautiful spot; we need terrain where Gee's riding can come alive.
Many of the taller mountains, like Tien Shan in the south, peaking at 7,439 meters, are far too snow-covered to ride. The desert slopes of Altyn Emel, however, offered the perfect balance - stunning scenery, manageable access, and terrain where Gee could push himself.
Each location felt like a world unto itself, and while the challenges of navigating this alien environment were daunting at first, they were soon eclipsed by the excitement of filming in places that mountain bikes had likely never touched.
Much of the terrain we chose in Kazakhstan was desert-based, terrain Gee was already familiar with thanks to countless years of experience at Red Bull Rampage. With the original purpose of Ridgeline in mind - pushing Gee's riding to its limits - these landscapes were perfect. They offered steep scree faces, massive fly-offs, and drops naturally sculpted into the rugged landscape.
Atherton A.200
FRAME: A.200, Size 7 of 12 standard sizes (470mm reach)
REAR SHOCK: Fox DHX2 Coil 205x75 500lb spring
FORK: Fox factory 40, 200mm
BRAKES: HAYES DOMINION A4, GALFER rotors and pads with sharkfin discs, 203 rotor front and rear
POST: FSA
CHAIN: KMC 11sp chain
SADDLE: Proxim Nembo
WHEELS: 29” front, 27.5” rear, Stans Flow EX3 rims and Stan’s M pulse hubs
TYRES: Continental Kryptotal front on both front and rear, 27, 29psi (22 psi for the slab) Tubeless with Stan’s sealant
HEADSET: FSA
BARS: FSA Gradient Alloy, 31.7, 30mm rise, 780mm wide
STEM FSA Gradient 35mm
CRANKS: FSA Gradient
HANGER: SRAM UDH
GRIPS: ODI Longneck
PEDALS: Crankbrothers Stamp
The sheer remoteness meant we were entirely alone. There was no room for error. Evaluating each risk required greater scrutiny than ever - deciding what risks were worth taking and what was best left untouched. Watching Gee ride, it was impossible to tell if he was holding back, but the question certainly weighed on his mind. For him, it's a constant balancing act between pushing the limits and knowing when to pull back.
Each new chapter goes far deeper than creating a film; it's an introspective journey that expands our minds and unveils far more questions than answers. While Gee adapted to unridden terrain on the bike, we were all in an adaptation process as we learned to understand the rhythms of a place unlike anywhere we'd been before.
More on the A.200...
- Available in 22 standard sizes + custom
- 2 Build options, plus frame only
- Custom build option - replicate Gee's bike or spec to suit your ride style: email: sales@athertonbikes.com
- Lifetime Warranty
- Hand Built using Lug and Tube technology in the UK
More like this...
The fourth film in the Ridgeline Series shifts from a huge DH build on the Mid-Wales slate to a natural setting with not a shovel or a mattock in sight.
Gee said “Wanting to ride Hardline this year was a big driver for me during the recovery process and I have been aiming at it for a long time, but I knew it would be difficult. It was always going to be hard to be ready in time but I knew I was up to the challenge, I wanted to be part of the crew testing what we had designed.
