Diamondback

Haanjo Trail 24 Complete Bike - 2016

Your son or daughter might want to try a few junior 'cross races this year, and you want them to have something reliable to ride during family weekend trips along bike paths and gravel trails. They've told you a few times that they're too big for the mountain bike they've been riding around on — plus, it's been making a funny noise ever since they took it over that jump in the backyard. Enter Diamondback's Haanjo Trail 24 Complete Bike: it's sized right for them and has quality components that make it a serious upgrade for young riders who have outgrown their first mountain bike.

Diamondback constructs the frame of the Haanjo Trail 24 with 6061-T6 aluminum, a treated version of the metal with an ideal blend of low weight and strength that keeps the bike solid but is still light enough for young riders to pedal with ease. The Urban alloy fork offers predictable steering on 'cross and gravel trails, and Diamondback's Jr. Equip saddle promises comfort for young riders just getting into the sport. Though the Haanjo Trail 24 includes aggressive drop handlebars, the bars are wrapped in gel cork tape and are slightly wider than those on Diamondback's Podium youth road bikes so that kids of all abilities feel at ease and in control.

We don't want to generalize too much, but we can say with a good degree of certainty that — as adults — we wouldn't want to be using the components that many youth bikes are built with. Diamondback understands the importance of young riders having a bike they can depend on, so it builds the Haanjo Trail 24 with Shimano's reliable Claris drivetrain, offering 16-speeds in a wide range of ratios to make sure that young riders don't encounter any climbs they can't conquer with confidence. Though kids probably won't admit to wanting to slow down or stop often, reliable Tektra disc brakes engage when they're called upon in mud, rain, gravel, or any other conditions, and knobby 'cross-specific tires help young riders learn to corner with precision.