In this article, we use so-called affiliate links. With every purchase through these links, we receive a commission from the merchant. All relevant referral links are marked with . Learn more.
The Ghost Urban Asket is supposed to have real gravel geometry, and even for that, the position on the bike is still sporty. The position of the upper body is not extreme, but the entire rider is shifted in the direction of travel, sitting quite directly above the bottom bracket and with the nose well above the handlebars. The body weight is thus distributed fairly evenly over both wheels without the support force on the handlebars becoming too great. As a result, the bike reacts directly and quickly to steering commands, making it a real speedster. The straight but not too steep carbon fork, which also balances out the weight of the aluminium frame and especially the square bottom bracket, also helps! Normally they tend to give way under hard acceleration, but that wasn't the case here at all.
Ghost Urban Asket: A pure city bike?
Between the futuristic carbon racers, you could be forgiven for thinking that the bike is backward. But the less brittle material also has great advantages, especially when used in the city or as a pack mule, the metal can better absorb small bumps or falls, and on average the threads for bags, carriers, bottles and mudguards also fit a little better than if they were only glued in. The Urban Asket has plenty of them, you could load the bike completely without using a Velcro fastener or tensioning strap. Caution: 120 kilos in total is the limit! With even more weight, the Deore brakes would be overwhelmed. The mechanical version surprised us with a very good pressure point and acceptable operating force, but a hydraulic system would be better, especially at high speeds and with a lot of system weight! And as you can see from the modern thru-axles, the bike or frame is not old hat.
We didn't quite understand the model name, because the super Ghost Urban Ascetic is perfectly prepared for the slalom in the city, but with the 2x cranks, the stiff frame and the many fixed points, it also feels very comfortable in the countryside. Less agile men in particular will love the hip position above the bottom bracket, and passionate joggers will also generally find this a good thing. Speaking of terrain: The pre-loaded ascetic likes tarmac rather than loose gravel. The rather thick tyres absorb bumps well to very well, depending on the air pressure, but the limit range on the front wheel is small due to the balance. This would be possible with studded tyres, but that would not suit the bike, nor would heavy bags or a trailer - too much weight!
Conclusion on the Ghost Urban Ascetic in the MYBIKE test
Even though the handlebars were too wide for us, as with almost all bikes, it was a lot of fun riding the super manoeuvrable Ghost through the city, despite the long wheelbase, and forgetting the sometimes simple components. The model is great for short and medium-length rides and light luggage, but competitors offer more or newer technology for less money. But if you're not a technology freak, you're definitely not going wrong here. - Timo Dillenberger, MYBIKE editor
The most important information about the Ghost Urban Asket
- Weight: 10.9 kg
- Price: 1499 Euro >> available here
- Frameset: Aluminium, carbon fork
- Maximum system weight: 120 kg
- Frame sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL
- Seat tube / top tube: 586 / 485 mm
- Stack / Reach / SR quotient*: 612 / 407 mm / 1,50
- Wheelbase: 1098 mm
- Drive: FSA square crank 30/46 teeth, 2 x 9 Shimano Sora groupset, Alivio cassette 11-34 teeth
- Brakes: Shimano BR-RS305 mechanical disc brakes, 160 / 160 mm
- Wheels / tyres: Aluminium wheels 28", 32 spokes steel / Maxxis Roamer 44 x 622 mm
- Saddle / handlebars: WTB Silverado / aluminium flat bar 71.3 cm
*SR ratio: calculates the ratio of height to length of the frame; the higher the value, the more elongated the geometry.
