Ghost Cagua 6550 (650B) – reviews / opinions?

I am looking for a 160mm A.M. / Enduro bike and have looked at the usual suspects including the Orange Alpine 160, Nukeproof Mega AM, and until I was made aware of the Ghost brand – the Cotic Rocket.

I’m currently looking at the Ghost Cagua 6550 which for £2,899 for a complete bike with 650B wheels, full XT, Fox 34 Talas forks, and even a Reverb descender post seems like quite an incredible price! It would be hard to build up a bike with similar spec from a frame-only?

The obvious question is of course whether it’s any good? I don’t seem to be able to find any reviews anywhere and have trawled through various forums (inc. this one) to no avail. People seem to speak highly of Ghost bikes in general but I can find nothing on this new-ish model.

Has anyone ridden one of these and can recommend one (or indeed point me in the direction of a review)?

Thanks in advance, all comments greatly received.

Nirvana Cycles in Westcott have one available for demo – looks like you’re based that way so give them a call to book a demo

Yep, I’ve just seen that Nirvana have one as a demo. I’ll try and take it out. I guess the best review will be from myself. Would still be good to hear some positive feedback from the STW collective.

Anyone?

Hi,

I´m a happy Ghost rider, last summer I used a AMR Lector 8700. But I wanted to upgrade to something more AM/Enduro like. After testing the Cagua 6550 with 650B wheels and E:i shook system I ordered one right away. I will recommend you to try the E:i shook, it works incredible well.
There is a great test of the bike here: http://www.mtb-forum.it/test-ghost-cagua-650b/
And to know more about the E:i system I recommend this article: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/ei-and-RockShox-Show-Electronic-Shock-2012.html

I’ve built one up and ridden around the back of the store…. Granted not the most conclusive test ever, but the bike felt ‘normal’ which was a good plus for me. Jump on a 29er and I tend to just feel like a passenger as the big wheels do their thing. The 650b wheels felt like 26″ wheels but on the trails will roll a bit better.

feelgood82 – cheers for that link but unless I’m missing something, it’s written in Italian? I’m not sure if there’s a way of translating it within the site or whether google could attempt to do something.

Had the Cagua 650b on demo from Nirvana at the weekend. Rode 3 bikes Sunday ,
All top drawer and more expensive than the Ghost. The Cagua was better …..
Absolute ripper! Was grinning all day. Climbs fantastic and descends great.
Great spec for the money. I am going to buy one on the back of this demo.
But hey, that’s just my own personal opinion

Oh, and thanks to Jackie at Nirvana …