You can think of the Athos as a BMX with four wheels. Or a sidecar that grew gears, pedals and handlebars. To its makers, though, it’s an “extreme quadcycle” that offers riders a new option for off-road sporting.
Taking inspiration from BMX, motocross and downhill riding, it’s a sporty pedal-powered quad that’s tuned to perform in rugged settings like dirt tracks and downhill trails. Since it’s a quad, it’s got more stability than regular bicycles, all while rocking parts that allows you to hop rocks and drift, among other things.
The Athos comes in three configurations: BMX, Downhill and Cross-Country. All three get four-wheel independent suspension, disc brakes, powder-coated components and nylon bushings. Each of the three models get varying wheels, gearing and parts, depending on what would work best for each application. Too bad it doesn’t have the tilting wheelsets we’ve been seeing more and more in alternative bikes, though, which could have made racing this a whole lot more interesting.
In terms of looks, it appears like one of those awesome ATVs (like the Suzuki Quadracer). Except instead of a motor, you get a chain drive and pedal set, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you want to do with it. If you want to use it as your superhero patrol vehicle, for instance, this is going to be horrible.
Is the world ready for a quadcycle with pedals? We’re not sure. No pricing or availability has been announced for the Athos, but you can check out the Contes Engineering website to learn more.