Czech bike maker Superior is increasing focus for the subsequent yr with three new versatile bike platforms that may blur the strains between going race quick or just having fun with the trip. With a brand new toned-down aesthetic throughout the board and new lowercase sans-serif branding, Superior is returning to the fundamentals the place their bikes can stand alone on stable worth and efficiency.
Superior XF MTB, iXF eMTB & X-Highway street+ bikes
What I seen first after I regarded on the new Superior bikes, was their lack of over-the-top logos. For years Superior has been constructing race-winning XC & sprightly street bikes all the best way right down to reasonably priced entry-level hardtails, however exterior of some camouflaged prototypes, all of them had large blocky graphics that didn’t even appear straightforward to learn. Now with a brand new look to the model, Superior is dialing it again and letting their new bikes stand for themselves once more.
Their new full-suspension XF mountain bike nonetheless has its eyes set on XCO & XCM World Cup wins in carbon, however a stretched out longer-travel DC model in alloy will make for a way more reasonably priced path shredder too. On the ebike facet of issues, the fully new iXF extends journey even additional mixed with the most recent light-weight Bosch SX powertrain for a nimble & pure eMTB trip. And spherical that up on the street with one X-Highway bike that may be constructed up as an endurance kilometer crusher with high-volume race slicks, or as a quick gravel race bike with 40mm low-profile knobbies.
New Superior XF carbon cross-country race bike
The brand new XF is Superior’s high race-tuned carbon cross-country bike which already has had a mushy roll-out on the World Cup mountain bike circuit this spring & summer time. Now upgraded with extra journey to 110mm entrance & rear, the brand new XF usually options the identical confirmed linkage-controlled flex-stay single pivot suspension design tweaked with far more fashionable progressive geometry to face ever tougher XCO & XCM racecourses.
Now with a slacker 66.5° head angle, steeper 76.3° seat angle, and greater than 1cm longer Attain throughout all sizes, the carbon XF is a extra succesful race bike. Superior retains a lot of the general look to the XF, however has redesigned the higher suspension linkage so the shock is now pushed off an extension of the chainstays through a brand new solid alloy hyperlink. The outcome they are saying is a full 172g of weight financial savings over the outgoing XC race bike – right down to ~1550g.
The brand new carbon XF will probably be supplied in 5 full bike builds beginning with alloy wheels & mechanical XT. Subsequent to the highest is that this 8200€ Superior XF 9.8 Group construct with mechanical XTR, DT 232 One suspension, and DT XRC carbon wheels. However there’s additionally a 9.9 Group construct that goes full SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission to make the most of the direct mount UDH model derailleur mounting.
New XF DC carbon or alloy downcountry path bikes
Lastly with the identical platform – and perhaps much more fascinating from my standpoint – is the XF DC, an extended journey path model of the cross-country race bike in both carbon or aluminum. The 130mm XF DC provides twenty millimeters of journey entrance & rear, with the rear merely rising journey with an extended stroke shock of the identical eye-to-eye size (190x45mm for the XF DC vs. 190x40mm for the brand new XF).
The ensuing transfer to an extended 130mm fork sits the XF DC just a little bit larger, raking out the entrance finish to a 65.6° headtube angle whereas additionally elevating body Stack and shortening Attain a tiny bit.
There are three 9-series XF DC path builds with the identical actual carbon body because the XF race bikes (all with mechanical Shimano teams & RockShox suspension. However there are additionally two far more reasonably priced 6-series bikes with all aluminum frames. This 3500€ Superior XF 6.6 DC is the top-tier alloy bike, constructed up with a Pike Choose fork, Deluxe Choose+ shock, and a blended Shimano XT construct.
New Superior iXF light-weight eMTB
The carbon iXF is an all-new section for Superior, who hadn’t actually devoted a lot effort into ebike growth since they had been principally targeted on bikes concentrating on race-oriented riders. That meant their city, touring & eMTB lineup appeared extra like an afterthought. However now with extra light-weight motor choices, improved pure trip really feel, and rider acceptance of lighter, smaller batteries, Superior appears to be like to be totally onboard with the sunshine eMTB motion.
Their new iXF stretches out the identical 4-bar suspension of the XF platform once more, now to 140mm of rear wheel journey paired to 150mm up entrance. Geometry appears to be like fairly succesful for a path/all-mountain ebike with a 64.5° head angle, 78° seattube, 450mm chainstays, and lengthy body Reaches (490mm for the L).
Powertrain for the Superior iXF is the brand new Bosch SX motor powered by a small 400Wh inside battery within the barely outsized downtube, and expandable with an additional 250Wh through a range-extending exterior water bottle battery.
The highest-spec iXF 9l8 retails for a cool 9999€ with the latest DT Swiss F535 One & R535 One suspension, a brand new SRAM X0 Eagle AXS Transmission, and carbon DT Swiss HXC1501 wheels. However there are additionally a few variations with extra reasonably priced XT or Deore mechanical teams and alloy wheels that may carry the fee down, too.
X-Highway street and gravel bikes
The Superior X-Highway might be greatest described as a quick carbon all-road bike – simply within the center between street & gravel. With quick endurance street geometry – 72° head angle, 73° seat angle, 70mm of BB drop & 406mm chainstays – paired with clearance for 40mm slick or semi-knobby tires, the X-Highway builds up right into a stable long-distance gran fondo endurance street bike or a fast-paced gravel racer. Both possibility will get all of the core fashionable carbon dropbar bike tech, together with: totally inside cable routing, aero-optimized shaping, 1x or 2x compatibility, flat mount disc brakes, 12mm thru-axles, a BB86 PressFit backside bracket, an built-in clamp for the aero seatpost, and hidden mounts for full protection fenders.
Superior gives many construct choices, however the high X-Highway 9.8 GF street construct with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and 30mm Schwalbe Professional One slicks on huge DT Swiss ERC1400 aero carbon wheels sells for 6300€. Or choose a high-value gravel construct at simply 3500€ with the very same frameset paired to a mechanical GRX group and 40mm Schwalbe G-One Allround tires on alloy DT ER1600 wheels. There’s even a extra reasonably priced alloy model of the X-Highway out there in gravel builds.
Examine along with your native Superior seller for actual availability dates, coming quickly this autumn.
