While still not available in the US, Ghost Bikes (not to be confused with One Ghost Industries) is slowly building their territory and gaining traction in UK’s market with impressive builds and tasteful graphics. Ghost’s UK distributor Hotlines recently held a press release at Glentress in Scotland to show off the new bikes and let some of the UK bike journos ride the new models on the popular 7stanes center’s icy trails.
Based in Germany, Ghost Bikes have only been available in the UK for about a year, but they are already receiving great reviews and quickly becoming a more common name amongst consumers and media alike. Ghost Bikes offer a range of models from kids bikes to hybrids, to full on down hill bikes. Most of the full suspension bikes in Ghost’s line up are 4 bar, Horst Link set ups with hydroformed aluminum or carbon fiber frames on the high end.
Check out some of the new bikes after the break!
The 100mm travel RT Lector (carbon) shown above is Ghost’s XC race offering and is completely new this year. The RT borrows much of the construction of the AMR Lector, but with less suspension, although it receives the same tapered head tube, press-fit bottom bracket and needle bearings for the shock mounts. It is also available as the RT Actinum (Aluminum) with lower price point and components specs.
Ghost’s take on the new RT:
PME- performance meets efficiency GHOST RT – light, stiff, fast. That was the trade magazines’ unanimous opinion of the previous model. Our goal was to improve everything again. The 2011 RT models sport a totally new design and are better than ever. The chassis experts at GHOST treated the most athletic fully to a PME chainstay – inspired by the perennial bestseller AMR. Our approach was to combine the damping performance of an all mountain with the speed of a hardtail. The new RT is packed with technical finesse and clever solutions down to the last detail. But a full suspension that meets our requirements can only be created when numerous technologies are combined and tuned. Less pedal-bobbing, improved traction uphill, and more relaxed and faster downhill.
One interesting thing about both the RT and the AMR above, is that for both bikes Ghost has been able to shoehorn in a shock to accomplish a 2:1 suspension ratio. This means that if the RT has 100mm of rear wheel travel, the shock will have 50mm of travel, which ensures very smooth actuation, better damping characteristics, and generally longer shock life. Most bikes on the market with similar suspension designs have ratios somewhere around 2.3 -2.4 to 1, which means Ghost must have done their homework to accomplish this feat.
The AMR would be considered Ghost’s mountain bike flagship, after it was updated last year and has continued to receive stellar review. The winning combination of features hasn’t changed much this year, but still offers the excellent 120mm trail bike’s great pedigree. The Lector 8700 is the top of the line AMR, and its full carbon frame promises a full build around 24.5 pounds!
The Ghost mountain bike line up continues with the entry level full suspension ASX 4900, and many capable hard tails to round out the fleet.
It’s not all mountain bike though, as the Race Lector Comp, shows Ghost’s hand when it comes to road bikes. When it comes to looks, I feel that many consumers will enjoy the low key branding offered by Ghost, with only one neat logo on the downtube of the bike. It seems that while most companies are putting more and more advertising on their products, customers are screaming for less. A lightweight carbon frame mixed with an Ultegra/FSA build kit, it should provide for a solid build.
Check out the rest of the line Ghost’s site.
