Ghost Bikes are a German brand that gain far less attention than they really should, they make some truly fantastic trail bikes. We’ve just got wind of their new range of bikes for 2013 and the firm has most certainly made use of their engineering talents…

Most exciting of all has to be the 650b wheeled Cagua with EI shock – in case you don’t already know, that means it has automatically (or manual via a bar-mounted unit if you prefer) adjusting shock settings courtesy of a built in ‘computer’, sensors and battery… But will it catch on? We think it’s got a chance.

First things first, here’s some background info for those who don’t know much about Ghost the brand, in their own words:

“Ghost was formed in 1993

Ghost HQ is in the small town of Waldsassen in SE Germany.  The company employs 75 people at their HQ which includes sales, marketing, R&D and also some assembly.  All of the bikes are assembled in Europe, this is split between Waldsassen (for the high end bikes), Plana-Czech republic and Accell groups assembly facilities in Hungary.

Ghost work in partnership with Kitzbuheler Alpen in Austria an area they use extensively for product testing.

Ghost sponsor some of the best riders in Germany including DH legend Marcus Kalusman, Johannes Fischbach and Guido Tschugg.  In the UK Elite 4X rider Will Evans and Masters DH rider Andrew Titley represent the brand.”

That EI shock

For us the biggest, boldest step that Ghost have taken is to introduce the option of the EI (it’s Electronic and Intelligent) shock to their Cagua and AMR bikes. In their own words: ” Of course the biggest news for 2013 has to be EI shock.  This revolutionary new technology developed in conjunction with Lapierre and Hai Bike has been in development and testing for 5 years. ”

New models for 2013

Ghost are introducing a number of new bikes to their range for 2013. The brand certainly cements itself into a ‘cutting edge’ position by including all the wheel sizes and by being brave enough to use relatively unknown technologies.

UK distributor Hotlines’ Martin Astley talked us through the bikes:

Cagua 650b

“I think the Cagua 650 B EI has to be up there as one of the most cutting edge mountain bikes on the market today. This 160mm travel 650B bike is available in the UK in two specs, the EI equipped 6541 EI at £3099 or the Cagua 6550 at £2899.99.  Other 650B Cagua bikes in the range such as the range topping 6591 Ei are available on special order.” – Martin Astley

Cagua 26″

“The Cagua is also available  with conventional 26” wheels for 2013. There is a choice of two alloy framed version, the cagua 7000 at £3099.99 or the Cagua 9000 at £4999.99” – Martin Astley

AMR 29

“Also brand new for 2013 is the AMR 29, the big wheeled sibling to the extremely popular 26” AMR model. The AMR 29 shares the incredibly smooth 2:1 leverage ratio of the AMR providing 100mm of supple and responsive suspension on the rear coupled with a 120mm travel fork.  The AMR 29 is available in both aluminium and carbon version ranging in price from £1899.99 to £2748.99.” – Martin Astley

HTX 29

“In 2012 GHOST launched the HTX 29 alloy hardtail frame, winning a Red Dot design award in the process. For 2013 they have added a carbon frame to the range and in the flesh it is an absolute work of art. The HTX Lector 2977 at  £2199.99 is my personal favourite” – Martin Astley

Existing bikes with changes made for 2013

Ghost have had one of the best trail bikes out there for quite some time already, but it has floated under a lot of riders’ radars. The AMR range is ideal for trail-centre riding and offer some of the most inspiring ride characteristics for bikes of their ilk. We hope to have some for full review on BM soon.

Martin Astley went through some of the tweaks and changes to the range:

AMR

“The AMR is now available with EI shock, the first 120mm travel bike available in the UK with this revolutionary new technology. EI will only be available on the AMR Lector 8500 at £3299.99. As always AMR bikes will be available in a variety of specs starting at £1799.99. The frame remains unchanged for 2012.” – Martin Astley

AMR Plus

“The 150mm AMR Plus was released in 2012 to a fantastic reception, it was even included in the Dirt 100! This enduro trail bike has proven itself repeatedly to be one of the best performing mid travel platforms on the market in 2012 and for 2013 the AMR Plus is also available with EI shock on selected models.” – Martin Astley

Finally, we asked Martin if he really thinks the EI shock is going to sweep British mountain bikers off their feet:

“It’s easy to dismiss EI as a fad that won’t catch on and will fade away but believe me, it REALLY works. For enduro racing or even just riding at the local trails it would be unreal. The entire system only weighs 350g’s including the battery, you can immerse the entire system in water for an hour and it will still work and battery life is 25hrs of riding before needing a charge.”

Convinced?