Led by design engineer Tina Kutschki, one of the few women shaping the bikes that we ride, Ghost Bikes has debuted a wide new line-up of trail bikes for women. Developed together with their women-only World Cup XC factory racing team and Franzi Meyer of their enduro team, the new bikes add to a range that starts out with simple entry-level alloy hardtails and climbs to the 145mm travel coil-over DreAMR X enduro bike. Ghost has even added a few e-bikes to the women’s mountain line-up for those looking to extend their rides. The overarching philosophy of the new line-up is to bring the same smart suspension and geometry that the boys get over, so the girls can rave about the ride and enjoy the descents too…
DreAMR X
Ghost developed the women’s DreAMR X around the high-end Cane Creek Double Barrel inline coil shock to give women the same suspension performance as the top-level SlAMR X on the men’s side. Properly sized steel springs mean a ‘set it & forget it’ suspension setup with little maintenance needs. The women’s bike is 27.5″ only, dropping the option for bigger 29″ wheels that the men get, and reduces rear travel by 5mm to 145mm, paired to 150mm forks, all in favor of better standover and more confidence on the trail.
The women’s DreAMR X also gets its own geometry. In addition to adding an XS size (and dropping the L), the DreAMR X steepens the seattube and lengthens the frame reach while keeping the wheelbase about the same, effectively sizing women down on the bike to increase stand over while still delivering all the benefit of the recent rise of long & slack contemporary trail geometry.
The all-alloy DreAMR X gets all the tech of the men’s version with its dramatically hydroformed alloy tubing, tapered headtube, 4-bar suspension design, and Boost spacing front and rear. The bike also includes the same Flip Chip shock mount for suspension flexibility as the rest of the AMR line. The X version bikes flip the lower shock mount to run a longer shock for more suspension travel in the rear.
Available for 2017 as just one model, the DreAMR X 7 comes spec’ed with a SRAM GX1 11 speed drivetrain, Guide R brakes, a KS Lev dropper and Ghosts’ own carbon wheels, plus a women-specific SDG Allure saddle and Ergon grips. At 3500€ the 13.2kg trail bike gets a dark gray paint job, with subtle red and orange geometric flower logos and details that carry from frame to saddle to the custom finished wheels.
DreAMR
The standard DreAMR, just like the men’s bikes, shares the same AMR frame, this time with a Fox Float DPS delivering 130mm or rear wheel travel. The DreAMR again sticks with the all-aluminum frame and keeps the same updated sizing as the longer X version bike. Here, matching 130mm forks to the same rear wheel travel, the 27.5″ bike is meant to be a nimble all-mountain trail slayer.
Again available in just one complete bike, the DreAMR 4 gets built up with an SLX double, plus a KS dropper and women-specific touch points. At just 2500€, it adds up to 13.5kg of all-mountain fun with a deep blue color scheme that also gets the same geometric contrast color detailing.
Lanao FS
The Lanao FS is essentially a simplified version of the DreAMR without the Flip Chip lower suspension mount and a less refined set of chainstays. Still offering 130mm of trail riding suspension, the Lanao FS is designed to be an entry in to trail riding. The top bike in the series is this 14kg, 2000€ Lanao FS 5 with an XT 11 speed double and Fox Suspension. But two lower priced models are also available – the XT 3×10 Lanao FS 3, and the 3×10 Deore Lanao FS 2 – both with the same travel but more budget suspension.
e Lanao & Kato
All built around the Shimano STePS XT E8000 drive motors, Ghost has a full range of eMTBs for both men and women. The women’s bikes keep the Lanao & Lanao FS names of their regular line of trail hardtails and full-suspensions, and the men do the same with their Kato & Kato FS naming. While many companies have reserved the high-end E8000 motor for only their top-end e-bikes, using less expensive options from the likes of Bosch and Yamaha to keep prices down, Ghost has gone all in with E8000. All of their eMTBs use Shimano’s motor, and the models get differentiated through the rest of the drivetrain, with Deore 9 speed, XT 10 speed, XT 11 speed, and Di2 models on offer.
The top 140/140mm Lanao FS 8 for women with XT Di2 will sell for 5000€, while the men’s 27.5+ Kato 8 hardtail with XTR Di2, 2.8″ tires, and a 130mm fork will set you back 4300€.
