The fat down tube and the deep-drawn top tube are immediately noticeable on the Riot Lector. In terms of color, the bike only stands out due to the blue, but trendy lettering. The trail bike is also very compact. The heart of this bike, the Riot suspension system, is hidden inconspicuously in front of the bottom bracket, surrounded by carbon. The German mountain bike manufacturer keeps the cable routing neat and tidy. The cables and lines disappear into the headset, come out of the down tube bundled underneath the shock mount and ride from there to their destinations. The entire bottom bracket area is an impressive piece of German engineering, but certainly not the best for bike washing. The Lector 5 is equipped with a Shimano mix of XT shifters, SLX crankset, Deore SL shifters and brakes. The suspension elements are from Fox and provide 130 millimetres of travel at the front and rear. The 27.5-inch wheel size is also the ideal choice here.

The Ghost "AMR Riot Lector 5" feels sporty during the ride test. The long front end and steep seat angle help the rider to move forward. With 27 percent negative suspension travel, the Fox Float shock hardly moves when you pedal at a higher cadence. The hard climb mode does make sense when pedaling out of the saddle. On the other hand, the Lector hardly wants to twist and proves to be very powerful. No wonder, the down tube also takes up the entire width of the bottom bracket as support. For a trail bike, the Lector has a really comfortable riding position that allows you to tackle longer climbs with ease. There is no jacking up on steeper ramps and there is also plenty of traction. When having fun on the trails, this bike can be chased nimbly through the bends. On fast, small hits, the Riot rear suspension is not very sensitive. Only downhill, where you ride with more pressure or the terrain gets rougher, does the Riot suspension system come to life, releasing 130 millimeters of effective travel. When things get faster and steeper, the fork soon reaches its limit, but until then it does its job reliably.

The equipment on the Lector 5 is convincing. The Shimano gears, most of which are in the lower price segment, delight with their crisp and precise shifting. The Deore stoppers are also no worse than some expensive brakes. Ghost has also hit the nerve of the times with the cockpit. A 60 millimeter short stem and 720 millimeter wide handlebars from Ghost are used here. The Reverb Stealth dropper post from Rock-Shox is also included. After all, it's hard to imagine these suspension travel ranges without such seatposts. The only thing you can argue about on the Lector 5 is the tires. The Schwalbe Nobby Nic tires in 2.25-inch width are good for easy midland tours, but soon reach their limits as the difficulty of the route increases or when the going gets tougher. With a few tweaks and a set of grippier tires, the fun level of this bike can be increased even further.

Conclusion: With the "AMR Riot Lector 5", Ghost has hit the target range. However, they have created a very sporty and powerful trail bike with marathon ambitions. With a fork and tire update, the Riot would clearly be capable of more in terms of downhill performance. Furthermore, the Lector 5 proves that it doesn't always have to be expensive equipment for a bike to perform well.

Specifications

Manufacturer:   www.ghost-bikes.com

Test report published in issue 03/2014 of Ride Magazine.