The ARI Delano Peak won the award for “Best Value Trail Bike in 2025” and has easily been one of our favorite trail bikes we have had a chance to test. But what makes this bike so good that co-owner of Awesome MTB, Hannah Awesome, has claimed it as the “best bike she has ever ridden”? Let’s talk about it!
The ARI Delano Peak is a 142mm 29er with 150mm of travel up front, a 65 degree head angle, short chainstays, and an overall playful geo! Want to order the Delano Peak? You do so via ARI’s website as they are a direct to consumer brand (formerly Fezzari). Backed by a 30 day love it or return it guarantee as well as lifetime warranty, customer service is big with ARI Bikes.
So what makes this bike such a great value? Well for starters, it's just a really good, “do everything” bike! It climbs great, descends great, corners great, you get the drift! Does it necessarily win any specific categories? No, and that is what is so awesome about the Delano Peak. It is such a versatile mountain bike that checks off every box allowing you to have that one bike quiver, and sometimes being well rounded is what counts!
Climbing:
The first thing you notice with the Delano Peak when it comes time to climb is how awesome that steep seat angle is. To ARI’s credit, they were one of the first companies to really jump on the steep seat angle train and it shows! The steeper the climb, the more at home the Delano Peak feels, and power never feels to be lost while cranking on the pedals!
The bike also features shorter chainstays as well, helping make tech climbs much easier, especially those that are tight and twisty! Combine this with an active, yet efficient pedaling platform and you get a ton of traction, with very little noticeable pedal bob while out of the saddle. The bike's more conservative head angle also helps keep the front end responsive on switch-back climbs!
Downhill:
This is where the fun kicks in! The Delano Peak has the heart of a true trail bike. With its shorter chainstays and active suspension design, the bike loves to be thrown around, but still tracts to the trail! Constantly we found ourselves finding small features on the trail to try and jump off of. The Delano constantly inspires you to take the fun line down and every ride we found ourselves grinning from just how playful the bike felt downhill!
Now don’t let that playfulness fool you, the Delano Peak is still plenty capable! With an active suspension design and stiff frame profile, the Delano handled everything we threw at it. From Whistler Bike Park to Laguna Beach tech, the Delano Peak constantly impressed us in how composed it was when things got rowdy, even given a more playful geo approach!
Where the Delano Peak really shines is cornering, and every ride we found ourselves never finding the limit of how fast you could hit a corner and rocket out! It truly is a trail bike that wants to be a trail bike, and we love that for it!
So Why Did It Win Best Value?
The Delano Peak is hands down the bike we could recommend to anyone, regardless of where they live. If someone told me they wanted a bike that wasn't going to break the bank, but was still going to be very capable, and they stopped right there, not giving me any more info, I would 100% feel confident recommending the Delano Peak. It just works on so many trails, and regardless of your skill level, everyone can have fun on this bike.
The prices with the sales they are running are insane as well, you have a 30 day return policy, and on top of that the Delano Peak is really well rounded. Once again in any specific category it might not win “the best at” award, but in terms of being very great everywhere, it hands down is that bike!
And sometimes being well rounded is very important, especially when it comes time for your next bike! Which is why we think the Delano Peak is “The Best Value Trail Bike of 2025”
Great job ARI!
-Mo Awesome
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