Ghost’s previous four bar linkage design is gone, making way for their all-new AMR platform for 2016. Short for “All Mountain Ride”, it uses one front triangle and one rear triangle to create three different bikes with either 130, 145 and 160mm trail bikes without compromised kinematics.
Only the lower shock mount changes, and they say it took quite a while to figure that out. The shocks are different, too of course. The 130mm Slamr and 145mm Slamr X use the same mount position and even the same shock length, only the shock stroke is different to allow the extra 15mm travel. The longer travel Framr flips the shock mount and gets a longer stroke shock to obtain 160mm rear wheel travel.
They’ll be matched up with appropriate forks – Slammer (32mm stanchion forks), Slammer X (34mm forks) and the Framer (35mm Pike or 36mm Fox forks). All models will be available with carbon and alloy front triangles, and that’s where one of the more interesting facets of the design comes into play…
All of Ghost’s 2016 mountain bikes will be Di2 and SideSwing compatible, and you’ll see a lot of 1x spec. For the 160mm Framr shown here, the lower shock mount is upside down.
By using the same frame design across three “different” bikes, you end up with something that can be switched around on demand. Say you’ve got a marathon race one weekend and an enduro the next. All you’d really need is a short and long travel fork and shock to swap in and out to give you the right travel for the right event. You’d probably want to swap the tires, too, but the platform makes for a very versatile bike that comes pretty close to being a quiver of one.
As nice as that is, the real reason Ghost went this direction was for manufacturing quality. They told us that if their plant can set up for making one type of frame and run more of them, it not only boosts efficiencies but also quality because the frame builders can stay in their groove for longer.
Beyond travel changes, there are some other nice touches and updates on these bikes. The rear brake and derailleur cables exit very close to the pivot point, which reduces the amount of movement they’ll see and allows for shorter runs. They then slide into grooves on the frame that guide them (very sleekly!) into the chainstays.
The “Torsion X” in the chainstays keeps tire clearance open while giving the chainstays much improved stiffness compared to a fully open design or the standard solitary bridge.
A 2nd gen disconnect brake mount that’s stronger and lighter has been designed. It’s connected at the axle and then to the frame through one bolt on the inside of the chainstay. The idea is to load braking forces onto the axle rather than the frame, and if you ruin the mounts, you just change the disconnect piece rather than the frame.
All models use an alloy rear triangle.
The carbon front ends have adaptable cable ports.
The alloy frame is shown here on the Slamr in 130mm travel setup.
The two shorter travel formats put the shock mount in the upright position.
Full complement, oversize ball bearings are used throughout to better handle the loads.
The alloy frames have fixed cable ports.
All of these welded sections were one of the concerns that led to the shared frame.
The Slamr X is the middle travel version getting 145mm in the back mated to either a 140mm or 150mm fork depending on model. All forks on this level will get 34mm stanchions.
Female specific versions are coming later in the year, mainly with styling and contact point changes, but also with slightly different front triangle shaping and geometry.
Below these models will be a new entry level full suspension model called the Kato FS that’s built around the AMR platform but without travel adjustment ability. It’ll be alloy only and have 130mm travel front and rear. Look for that around Eurobike time.
They are also working on 29er and 27.5+ bikes built on Boost platform that’ll fit both wheel sizes on the same frame, and offered with multiple travel options like these.
2016 RIOT & UPCOMING PATH RIOT
Before, there was the Riot and Riot LT. For 2016, they merge into one model based on the LT’s 130mm rear travel mated to 150mm forks because the standard 130mm front just wasn’t keeping up with the rear end.
It keep the Riot Link system that keeps it very supple through the first 80% of travel then ramps very hard for the last 20% to prevent bottom out.
Even with all that going on down there, they manage to run the dropper seatpost cable between it and up into the seat tube.
It also gets the Disconnect rear brake mount.
There’ll be a new Path Riot that’ll be a full-on enduro race machine with 170mm front/160mm rear travel that’ll debut at Eurobike. Word is it’ll have some exciting news from Cane Creek coming along for the ride.
2016 GHOST LECTOR & ASKET HARDTAILS
The Lector 29er race bike gets a new frame and high end team-spec World Cup edition that’s built pretty much identical to the way their team riders are racing it. We saw a prototype of this bike at Nove Mesto this spring, and the team’s been racing a similarly high zoot build for years.
Using similar shaping as their full suspension carbon frames, the Lector runs all cables and hoses internally. The headtube gets a bit shorter, allowing for a more aggressively low position.
The bottom bracket junction is massive and boxy, leading to shorter chainstays than before (430mm / 16.9″).
There’s even internal routing on this frame for dropper seatposts…just in case. They use these minimalist carbon seatpost binders on several models and bikes, not just the top end.
The thru axle serves to align the Disconnect brake mount, which is smaller than ever on this frame to save weight yet still helps direct braking forces into the alloy axle system rather than directly into the carbon frame. That said, this one does put the front mount onto the carbon chainstay.
The component spec is almost entirely from Tune and AX Lightness, with SRAM’s XX SL brakes joining an XX1 group. I asked about the decision to spec the older brake levers and calipers, to which they replied they’ve not had any complaints and that they’re lighter. You’ll find some XX and X0 brakes on a couple other bikes, too.
Tune’s Prince and Princess hubs are laced to full carbon AX Lightness carbon clinchers.
The next two models down the chain share the ULC carbon frame, and the bottom four models (7 total) get an LC frame from the same mold, just with lesser carbon. The Lector 10 sits just below the WC model shown here and gets spec’d with XTR Di2.
The new Asket hardtail creates their new Hard Trail segment with 120mm front, 34 stanchions, 650B wheels, 2.35 tires and dropper posts.
Interestingly, it’s not a Boost 148 frame or fork. For this bike, the goal was to keep it lighter without the bigger, heavier tires Boost would allow. And as mentioned above, they have other plans for the Boost system.
All Ghost bikes will be available in the U.S. through REI exclusively.
