This review was first published in Issue 48 of BikesEtc magazine
Ghost is better known for its mountain bikes, but the Road Rage is marketed as a city bike. A closer look, however, reveals something of a mixed personality, with components more suited to a gravel/adventure bike, while gear ratios are typical of a cyclocross racer.
That apparent confusion is instantly dispelled once you start riding, though, and what you have is a bike that simply feels extremely capable on the road.
The frame feels stiff, quick and not at all like any ‘city bike’ we have ridden. The 32mm tyres feel great on the road, with the slick central tread helping to maintain speed.
The chunky fork and massive clearance mean you could fit even bigger tyres. The downside is a higher ride height and they do transmit lots of vibration, but with a tubeless tyre specified, this does make a significant difference.
Versatility is the Road Rage’s strength. As well as the ability to go off road, it also has mounts for racks and mudguards, which could make this a great year-round bike, or even a long-distance tourer perhaps.
Geometry is a little different to a more traditional road bike with the tall fork adding some height, combined with a relatively short top tube, yet standover is limited, mostly due to a higher bottom bracket and the tall fork.
The handlebar size and shape is unusual at 46cm wide, and we’d prefer a longer section in the drops to give a larger area to hold on to, especially when riding over rougher roads.
It’s not often we see a bike fitted with SRAM Rival in its double chainset configuration, but it does provide positive shifting.
The choice of chainset is not a common one, with 46/36 chainrings – which was commonplace on cyclocross racers before the advent of 1x.
With just 46 teeth on the large chainring, we expected to run out of gears at the top end, but our fears proved unfounded.
However, given the bike’s off-road credentials, we’d prefer a 34 or 32-tooth small chainring, as it did occasionally feel a tad over-geared on steeper hills.
None the less, the Road Rage certainly scores highly for comfort and speed for long days on the tarmac and rougher terrain.
Ratings
Frame: 8/10
Components: 8/10
Wheels: 8/10
The ride: 8/10
Verdict: Highly individual, the Road Rage surprised us and delivered a package that felt as fast and capable as most road bikes, but still offers the ability to tackle trails should you feel more adventurous. Ghost may just have served up the ideal do-it-all machine. Fast, capable and future proof.
Spec
| Frame | Road Rage LC Carbon, Ghost LC Rigid Carbon fork |
| Groupset | Sram Rival 22 |
| Brakes | Sram Rival HRD |
| Chainset | Sram Rival, 46/36 |
| Cassette | Sram 1170, 11-34 |
| Bars | Ground Fiftyone Race |
| Stem | Ground Fiftyone |
| Seatpost | Ground Fiftyone |
| Saddle | Fizik Antares R7 |
| Wheels | Fulcrum Racing 700 CX, WTB Exposure 32mm tyres |
| Weight | 8.75kg (size Small) |
| Contact | ghost-bikes.com |
