mountain bikes: Test: Ghost SL AMR X 7.9 LC – successful balancing act?

Test: The Ghost SL AMR X 7.9 LC causes a stir in our test field with its coil damper, aggressive look and downhill-focused equipment. The low price of almost 4.000 euros is also exciting in view of the high-quality components and the carbon frame - will the mix of touring bike and downhill monster work?

Ghost SL AMR X 7.9 LC: frame and geometry

The AMR model series from Ghost can look back on a long and lively history: In the early days of the modern fully it was one of the prototypes of the all-mountain bike. It is not surprising that the 2019 Ghost SL AMR no longer has much in common with the models of yesteryear – at least visually. However, the direction of the all-purpose weapon of the German manufacturer has remained the same: tour, trail, cross-alpine – the bike should be able to find its way everywhere. With the Ghost SL AMR X we had the most potent representative of the modern AMR models in our test: With 145mm spring travel at the rear, 150 at the front, coil dampers and 29 inch wheels, you are well prepared for difficult terrain without completely sacrificing touring suitability.

Our Ghost SL AMR X 7.9 LC test bike has a carbon main frame with an aluminum rear triangle, whose angular tubular shape and aggressive lines give the bike its own distinctive look. The four-bar rear triangle gets plush 145mm of spring travel from the coil damper, plenty of anti-squat and a high end progression are said to bring the kinematics a lot of efficiency. Ghost's placement in the in-house category 4 shows that you can really let it rip with the bike: Jumps up to 120 cm in height are approved by the manufacturer, as is use in competitions.

The geometry shows the balancing act that Ghost dares with the SL AMR X 7.9: On the one hand there is the potent coil damper in the rear and almost 150mm of spring travel, on the other hand a rather steep steering angle, short main frame and an overall rather " "conservative" geometry. However, we deliberately don't want to take that as a negative thing: The red speedster should also be able to move quickly over flat trails and offer enough propulsion on longer tours. A real all-rounder - in line with the AMR philosophy.

Ghost SL AMR X 7.9 LC: Features

At just under 4.000 euros, the Ghost SL AMR X 7.9 LC is an extremely affordable top-of-the-line carbon model - competitors are more than happy to ask twice the price or even more. It is all the more surprising that the equipment does not look like a "cheap fox" at first glance. There is the Rock Shox suspension with the already mentioned Super Deluxe Coil RCT damper, which is joined by a Lyrik RCT3 with DebonAir chamber at the front. Even with significantly more expensive wheels, the built-in wheelset would also be a highlight: The Syntace M 33 wheels can score with a noble look, high-quality technology and robust rims. The Maxxis tire combination installed on it, consisting of DHF MaxxTerra at the front and DHR II at the rear, clearly moves the area of ​​application in the direction of descents, offers a lot of grip, but does not necessarily excel in terms of rolling resistance.

Ghost mixes the various Sram Eagle groupsets into the built-in gears: The matching X01 Eagle rear derailleur is controlled by a GX shifter – the cassette and chain also come from the cheaper GX group. Here we would have preferred a high-quality shifter and a cheap rear derailleur. The brakes from Magura are appropriate for the area of ​​application - with a 4-piston caliper and 203mm disc at the front and 2 pistons or 180mm at the rear, the MT Fifty4 equips bikes and riders for long descents. The LEV SI post from Kind Shock has proven itself a thousand times over and comes with an ergonomic lever that keeps things tidy in the cockpit. Speaking of the cockpit; this comes from our own company and relies on the modern 35mm diameter with the 780mm wide handlebar.

Overall, the equipment is noticeably downhill-heavy and would also look good on an enduro. At first glance, the chassis made of coil dampers and Lyrik and the powerful tires seem a bit oversized for an all-rounder. But is this confirmed in practice?

Ghost SL AMR X 7.9 LC: On the trail

The Ghost handles the climb up to the trailhead very well. But two things need to be considered: The frame size has to fit, because the seat angle feels pretty slack and otherwise you sit very far over the rear wheel and it tends to rise at the front. The damper comes with a selector lever to immobilize the chassis via compression, which makes sense and also wants to be used for the climb. With an open compression stage, the rear absorbs quite a bit of power. The AMR isn't one of the lightest bikes on test, and the tires aren't the most responsive, but it still gets the job done.

On the descent, the tires and dampers come in handy for the Ghost. The Maxxis Minion give a lot of grip and all testers like them. The steel spring damper makes the rear end very responsive, sometimes it was felt as not being progressive enough and more feedback would have been desirable. But overall, as I said, on the comfortable side. The Ghost can't quite keep up with the best in the test in the descent rating, because in our opinion the concept doesn't quite work. In this case, we unfortunately feel that enduro parts with touring geometry are more like "can't do anything really perfectly" and not like "can do everything quite well". All testers found the bike a bit too short and too steep, and therefore rather “stilty”. It's also a shame that the fork on our test bike didn't work as well as we're used to from the Lyrik. Admittedly, we complain at a high level, in the end the descent with the Ghost succeeds, as does the ascent, without any best times, but also without problems.

All of the components installed on the AMR meet the area of ​​application well and make the price-performance ratio decent. The already acclaimed Maxxis tires roll on Syntace wheels, which bring with them a solid reputation and a "want to have" factor. Neither is objectionable and did its job sovereignly. The braking system, an MT Trail from Magura, can be dosed very well and always has enough power to reduce or even destroy the speed gained. The Ghost also comes with 12 Eagle gears from Sram. A nice and eye-catching detail is the rear derailleur cage, which is red on the inside. The aluminum crank is fine, but a 30 ring or even a 28 would be more appropriate than a 32. The Kind Shocks seat post works well, as do all of the Kind Shocks models. The plastic lever that controls the support seems to make the finger feel a little softer, but the ergonomics are completely ok. The saddle from SDG is inconspicuous in a positive sense. All testers liked the cockpit with its own handlebars and stem, as well as grips from Ergon, and it deserves a mention of praise.