I have been curious about the Ari Bikes Delano Peak for a while now and finally had some time to review another bike so I connected with Ari Bikes and picked up this size XL Pro Build Delano Peak in a cooler than you think matte Salmon color and drove down to Southern Utah with two of my sons for some warmish weather riding.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from the Delano. I had looked at the geo chart and none of the numbers really stood out to me. It all seemed pretty standard as far as modern geometry goes. And while Ari has a pretty aggressive Black Friday sale going on right now, the retail price is $6,899 for the pro build. For about the same price you can buy a Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Expert that has an almost identical parts spec but also gives you adjustable geo and internal frame storage. In the past 5-6 years pricing from direct to consumer brands is getting closer and closer to brands sold through your local shops. But it does seem that the quality is getting closer to those retail brands as well. And I would say after riding this Delano Peak and a handful of other bikes I have ridden from Ari this year that statement about quality is true. Frame quality, finish, pivots, hardware, bearings, etc. all seem to be right on par with all the big names in the industry that have decades of experience.
Geometry
Riding The Delano Peak
After a few trailside adjustments with low speed compression and rebound on the fork and shock and dialing in a comfortable seat height, we started our ride on Zen, one of my favorite trails in St. George. This trail offers a lot of variety, from meandering climbs and descents, to steep, technical ups and downs, fast chunky flow, steep rock rolls, medium to large square edge edge rocks, and some smooth and fast hard pack desert dirt. From the first pedal stroke to the last, the Delano felt just right. I always felt like I was centered over the bike no matter where I positioned my body and no matter what the trail was doing. I never felt like I had to get used to the bike or figure out how to ride it. It was just easy to get along with the entire ride. I rode it when we got back home on some local trails as well and it was the same story. I thought of the Delano as the kid that is just easy to raise. If you are a parent with more than 1 or two kids you probably have a kid that is just pretty good. They are kind, they listen, they are helpful, and have just a good overall demeanor. The Delano Peak is that kid. Whereas other kids take some figuring out and require a specific parenting technique, the easy kid doesn't really take any special skills or techniques.
Climbing
Zen trail starts off with some double track climbing with some small to medium sized rocks/chunky terrain. There is also some short and steep punchy sections that take a lot of body movement, a bit of quick on off use of the brakes and powerful fast pedaling to get through. There are also some bits with a few switchbacks and some normal singletrack pieces. The Delano is a comfortable climber and is extremely efficient. The 77.5 degree seat tube angle on this bike along with the rest of the geometry felt super comfortable on both steep and mellow flatter climbs. Some bikes I have ridden with steeper seat tube angles tend to put pressure on my hands in flatter terrain while climbing. This Delano Peak did not give me any pressure into my hands at all on flatter stuff.
I ran the Delano with the shock in the open position the entire time and I never felt the need to firm things up at all. The rear suspension felt like it held me up in the travel and did not seem to wallow under pard pedaling at all, nor while standing under hard pedaling. The rear end always had plenty of traction to get through chunky, technical climbing, however not quite as much traction as my old Ibis Ripmo AF with a coil shock that I owned. The Delano however did feel more lively and energetic than the Ripmo AF. Some of that I attribute to the tires though. My Ripmo AF had Assegai's front and rear and this Delano was running a Maxxis Aggressor out back and a Maxxis Minion DHF up front. The bike felt fairly light while climbing too. I never weighed the bike when I had it, but I have seen people posting weights in the top build of around 31-32 lbs.
Descending
When pointed downhill the Delano felt alive and fun at high and low speeds. No matter what the trail was like or how fast or slow I was riding, the Delano Peak just always seemed very manageable and super easy to get along with. The chainstays on this bike measure at 434 mm and it made the bike very easy to get through corners as well as get the front end off the ground or push the front end out in front of you when going off drops. One thing I noticed while aboard the Delano was that I always felt centered over the bike. Even if I had to move back or forward I never felt like I was in the wrong place. The suspension felt really good through small bumps and even successive larger hits as well. On some of the bigger square edge stuff, I did notice the rear end getting hung up just a bit, but on those hits I can't think of many bikes that wouldn't get hung up. The suspension felt super plush and buttery through the first 10-15% of the travel and the bike really smoothed out the small bumps and chattery bits well. There was plenty of mid-stroke support to push and pump the bike and not let you blow through the travel too easy on bigger hits and landings off of drops or jumps. I never felt any harsh bottom outs and the bike had plenty of progression without ever feeling harsh at all. The Delano is playful enough to be fun but not twitchy or anything. Steeper sections felt good and I never felt like I was getting in over my head, although I am sure some steeper bigger terrain would eventually push the Delano out of its comfort zone. But if you are someone that just wants to cruise green and blue flow trails but also rip some blacks the Delano is going to feel good doing it. I would say this is a bike that would be good for 90% of trails we have here in Utah.
PROS
Neutral feel and easy handling
Feels like the right bike for most terrain
Efficient and comfortable climber
Confident and fun on dowhnhills
Well picked out parts spec
CONS
I think the seat stays look weird
Rear end might get hung up on bigger square edge stuff
Affiliate Links
Some parts found on this build can be found through some of our affiliate partners like Jenson USA and PNW Components.
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