Superior simplifies with XF cross-country + trail, iXF eMTB & X-Road road + gravel bikes
Czech bike maker Superior is expanding focus for the next year with three new versatile bike platforms that can blur the lines between going race fast or simply enjoying the ride. With a new toned-down aesthetic across the board and new lowercase sans-serif branding, Superior is returning to the basics where their bikes can stand alone on solid value and performance.
Superior XF MTB, iXF eMTB & X-Road road+ bikes
What I noticed first when I looked at the new Superior bikes, was their lack of over-the-top logos. For years Superior has been building race-winning XC & sprightly road bikes all the way down to affordable entry-level hardtails, but outside of some camouflaged prototypes, they all had big blocky graphics that didn’t even seem easy to read. Now with a new look to the brand, Superior is dialing it back and letting their new bikes stand for themselves again.
Their new full-suspension XF mountain bike still has its eyes set on XCO & XCM World Cup wins in carbon, but a stretched out longer-travel DC version in alloy will make for a much more affordable trail shredder too. On the ebike side of things, the completely new iXF extends travel even further combined with the latest lightweight Bosch SX powertrain for a nimble & natural eMTB ride. And round that up on the road with one X-Road bike that can be built up as an endurance kilometer crusher with high-volume race slicks, or as a fast gravel race bike with 40mm low-profile knobbies.
New Superior XF carbon cross-country race bike
The new XF is Superior’s top race-tuned carbon cross-country bike which already has had a soft roll-out on the World Cup mountain bike circuit this spring & summer. Now upgraded with more travel to 110mm front & rear, the new XF generally features the same proven linkage-controlled flex-stay single pivot suspension design tweaked with much more modern progressive geometry to face ever more difficult XCO & XCM racecourses.
Now with a slacker 66.5° head angle, steeper 76.3° seat angle, and more than 1cm longer Reach across all sizes, the carbon XF is a more capable race bike. Superior keeps most of the overall look to the XF, but has redesigned the upper suspension linkage so the shock is now driven off an extension of the chainstays via a new forged alloy link. The result they say is a full 172g of weight savings over the outgoing XC race bike – down to ~1550g.
The new carbon XF will be offered in 5 complete bike builds starting with alloy wheels & mechanical XT. Next to the top is this 8200€ Superior XF 9.8 Team build with mechanical XTR, DT 232 One suspension, and DT XRC carbon wheels. But there’s also a 9.9 Team build that goes full SRAM XX Eagle AXS Transmission to take advantage of the direct mount UDH style derailleur mounting.
New XF DC carbon or alloy downcountry trail bikes
Lastly with the same platform – and maybe even more interesting from my point of view – is the XF DC, a longer travel trail version of the cross-country race bike in either carbon or aluminum. The 130mm XF DC adds twenty millimeters of travel front & rear, with the rear simply increasing travel with a longer stroke shock of the same eye-to-eye length (190x45mm for the XF DC vs. 190x40mm for the new XF).
The resulting move to a longer 130mm fork sits the XF DC a little bit higher, raking out the front end to a 65.6° headtube angle while also raising frame Stack and shortening Reach a tiny bit.
There are three 9-series XF DC trail builds with the same exact carbon frame as the XF race bikes (all with mechanical Shimano groups & RockShox suspension. But there are also two much more affordable 6-series bikes with all aluminum frames. This 3500€ Superior XF 6.6 DC is the top-tier alloy bike, built up with a Pike Select fork, Deluxe Select+ shock, and a mixed Shimano XT build.
New Superior iXF lightweight eMTB
The carbon iXF is an all-new segment for Superior, who hadn’t really devoted so much effort into ebike development since they were mostly focused on bikes targeting race-oriented riders. That meant their urban, touring & eMTB lineup seemed more like an afterthought. But now with more lightweight motor options, improved natural ride feel, and rider acceptance of lighter, smaller batteries, Superior looks to be fully onboard with the light eMTB movement.
Their new iXF stretches out the same 4-bar suspension of the XF platform again, now to 140mm of rear wheel travel paired to 150mm up front. Geometry looks pretty capable for a trail/all-mountain ebike with a 64.5° head angle, 78° seattube, 450mm chainstays, and long frame Reaches (490mm for the L).
Powertrain for the Superior iXF is the new Bosch SX motor powered by a small 400Wh internal battery in the slightly oversized downtube, and expandable with an extra 250Wh via a range-extending external water bottle battery.
The top-spec iXF 9l8 retails for a cool 9999€ with the newest DT Swiss F535 One & R535 One suspension, a new SRAM X0 Eagle AXS Transmission, and carbon DT Swiss HXC1501 wheels. But there are also a couple of versions with more affordable XT or Deore mechanical groups and alloy wheels that can bring the cost down, too.
X-Road road and gravel bikes
The Superior X-Road is probably best described as a fast carbon all-road bike – just in the middle between road & gravel. With fast endurance road 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-Road builds up into a solid long-distance gran fondo endurance road bike or a fast-paced gravel racer. Either option gets all the core modern carbon dropbar bike tech, including: fully internal cable routing, aero-optimized shaping, 1x or 2x compatibility, flat mount disc brakes, 12mm thru-axles, a BB86 PressFit bottom bracket, an integrated clamp for the aero seatpost, and hidden mounts for full coverage fenders.
Superior offers many build options, but the top X-Road 9.8 GF road build with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and 30mm Schwalbe Pro One slicks on wide DT Swiss ERC1400 aero carbon wheels sells for 6300€. Or pick a high-value gravel build at just 3500€ with the exact same frameset paired to a mechanical GRX group and 40mm Schwalbe G-One Allround tires on alloy DT ER1600 wheels. There’s even a more affordable alloy version of the X-Road available in gravel builds.
Check with your local Superior dealer for exact availability dates, coming soon this autumn.
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