With its 165mm of rear travel, you might expect the Ghost FR AMR 6.7 AL to be aimed at the enduro crowd, but the ‘FR’ tag and
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Ghost FR AMR 6.7 AL frame
The FR AMR’s aluminium frame helps keep the price down and uses the same proven four-bar suspension platform as the rest of Ghost’s range.
My large test bike had a healthy 466mm reach, a short 460mm seat tube and stability-providing 440mm chainstays. The slack 64.5-degree head angle should breed downhill confidence, while the steep 76-degree effective seat angle aids climbing, if and when you need to winch yourself back up the hills.
Ghost FR AMR 6.7 AL kit
Ghost has specced a Fox DHX2 shock out back. While a coil-sprung damper has potential performance benefits over an air shock for gravity riding, including a suppler start to the stroke, getting the correct spring rate can add additional cost if you need to buy a different weight spring. Up front is a 170mm Fox 36 Performance Elite fork, with the new ‘GRIP2’ damper.
A 12-speed SRAM GX Eagle transmission gives you enough gears to ease back up the hills. Magura supplies the stopping power, in the form of its MT Fifty4 brakeset, which mixes a four-pot front caliper with a two-pot rear.
DT Swiss M 1900 wheels are shod with Maxxis Minion DHF and DHR tyres. The bar and stem are from Ghost’s Ground Fiftyone in-house brand. At 15kg all in, it’s in the right ballpark for a long-travel freeride bike.
Ghost FR AMR 6.7 AL ride impressions
Jumping onto the FR AMR, it’s easy to feel settled. When you’re in the saddle, the stubby 35mm stem and relatively steep seat angle ensure you don’t feel too stretched out. The latter also lets you climb in comfort. Even with a coil shock, I never struggled on the ascents, thanks to the geometry and 10-50t cassette.
Good frame stiffness meant I was able to accurately hold any line I chose through rough or off-camber terrain
The slack head angle and long chainstays give the bike great stability over rough ground and in fast turns. In certain situations I struggled with understeer, and I also found it lacked agility compared to some bikes with shorter rear ends, which made it more challenging to drop quickly into tight berms or flick around awkward sections of trail.
That said, the geometry promotes a centred riding position, and there isn’t a vast deal of rider movement needed to find grip, which the triple-compound Maxxis tyres are happy to provide.
Good frame stiffness meant I was able to accurately hold any line I chose through rough or off-camber terrain, and never noticed any unwanted flex when pushing hard into berms. The rear suspension soaked up big hits well too, but it felt like I was between spring rates, which meant the DHX2 shock wasn’t quite as sensitive over small bumps as I’d have liked.
The GRIP2-damped fork gives ample support up front and balances out the bike, without any noticeable dive, even with the longer chainstays putting more weight over the front wheel. While the Ghost gets on quietly with its job and does it well, it’s lacking that extra bit of character needed to set it apart from its rivals.
Ghost FR AMR 6.7 early verdict
Rides well and is stable at speed, but at the compromise of agility and, potentially, fun.
Ghost FR AMR 6.7 AL specifications
- Sizes (*tested): S, M, L*, XL
- Frame: Aluminium alloy, 165mm / 6.5in travel
- Fork: Fox 36 Float FIT GRIP2 Performance Elite, 170mm (6.7in) travel
- Shock: Fox DHX2
- Mech: SRAM GX Eagle
- Shifter: SRAM GX Eagle
- Cranks: Truvativ Descendant 6K Eagle (1x12)
- Brakes: Magura MT Fifty4, 203/180mm
- Wheels: DT Swiss M 1900 Spline 30
- Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxTerra EXO DD 27.5x2.5in (f) and Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra EXO DD 27.5x2.4in (r)
- Bar: Ground Fiftyone Race, 780mm
- Stem: Ground Fiftyone Team, 35mm
- Seatpost: KS LEV Integra dropper
- Saddle: SDG Fly Mountain
- Weight: 15.01kg / 33.1lb, large size without pedals
Ghost FR AMR 6.7 AL geometry
- Seat angle: 76
- Head angle: 64.5
- Seat tube: 46cm / 18.11in
- Head tube: 12cm / 4.72in
- Reach: 46.6cm / 18.35in
- Chainstay: 44cm / 17.32in
- Wheelbase: 1,242mm / 48.9in
