XC Racing Heritage and Well Priced e-MTBs | BikesOnline welcomes Superior Bikes to Australia

Born in the foothills of the Beskydy mountains in the Czech Republic, Superior have been building bicycles since 1993. With options ranging from high-performance roadies and XC bikes to e-MTBs and commuters, the brand hasn’t been seen much outside Europe until now, with BikesOnline bringing them into Australia for the first time. 

The brand’s heritage is in XC racing, making its first appearance at the Olympics in 2004. Bart Bretjens — the very same who won the first Olympic XC MTB race and has commentated the World Cup since the Red Bull TV days — and his Milka-Superior team started racing the Superior XFs in 2013. More recently, the brand has sponsored the Swiss JB Brunex Superior Factory Racing team, which has three-time world champ Ramona Forchini on the roster.

A Superior Team XF on its way through the gruelling 2024 Cape Epic in front of some absolutely epic scenery!

With that, XC heritage bleeds through in the analogue mountain bikes it sells; the brand also makes long travel e-MTBs powered by Bosch’s Smart Systems units. Superior also makes gravel bikes too and is a major sponsor of the UCI Gravel World Championships in Belgium this year.

Welcome to the BFI Factory in the Czech Republic, where Superior bicycles are born. It’s always epic to see the scale of these factories and the people behind them.

Sitting alongside Polygon and Marin in BikesOnline’s range, Devan van Vliet from BikesOnline explains they were attracted to the brand for its XC heritage.

“When it comes to the brand itself, it’s quite well received within the EU market — from a brand credibility standpoint, product quality, R&D, and racing heritage,” he says.

BikesOnline had been looking to expand its offering of mid-level and higher-end XC offerings, and bolstering its range of affordable e-MTBs, and van Vliet tells Flow this is precisely what Superior brings to the table.

Packaged up safely and ready for its new home, BikesOnline offer bikes under a direct-to-consumer model which means some minor assembly is required with the help of tailored tutorials for each style of bike.

Superior frames are backed by a 5-year warranty program valid from the date of purchase to the original owner, and will be managed by BikesOnline in Australia. 

Below we take a quick look at some of the highlights in the Superior range which will be available in Australia. For a complete list of available models, colours, and pricing, head to the BikesOnline website. 

Superior Team XF | $8,999 AUD

Fowaaaah look at that paint job! The Superior XF is the top-end offering shod in some parts we don’t often see here in Australia at quite an attractive price.

The Crème de la crème from Superior, the Team XF has been designed for the rigours of World Cup XC racing. With a claimed frame weight of 1717g, which is only a smidge more than the impressively light Specialized Epic World Cup. Shod with an XTR groupset, DT Swiss Carbon wheels and a Crank Bros dropper, this build is claimed to weigh 9.9kg, which is IMPRESSIVELY light — we’re very interested to pit the Team XF against the Flow Scales of Truth™ and see how realistic that figure is.

With a DT Swiss suspension package offering 105mm of rear travel and a 110mm fork, the Team XF utilises a single-pivot suspension design and flex stays.

The frame has a 68º head angle, size-specific seat tube angles, and a 449mm reach in size Medium. As is becoming more common on modern XC bikes, there is room for two bottles inside the front triangle, and we’re stoked to see the cables entering the frame on the sides of the head tube rather than through the top headset bearing — despite the use of an Acros headset.

Superior Team XF Spec

Superior eXF 9039 B | $9,399

160mm of travel front and rear and a suspension package to suit, the Superior eXF 9039 B looks like a whole load of fun!

When it comes to e-bikes, Superior have upped the travel and tweaked the geometry numbers for those looking for a ride more oriented to the descents. The eXF 9039 B features 160mm travel front and rear, along with the trusty Bosch Performance Line CX 85Nm motor paired with a 750Wh battery delivering a claimed range of 150km. 

The 160mm of rear travel is delivered via a linkage driven single pivot design, with all of the upper bearings being housed within the linkage to simplify bearing replacements. A Rockshox Super Deluxe Select R in a 230x65mm size is fitted from stock, although a 230×57.5mm can be fitted to reduce the travel down to 140mm if desired.

The eXF 9039 B boasts a 64º head angle,  77º seat tube angle and 446mm rear centre length across all sizes, with the reach growing in 20mm increments from 465mm to 505mm in the 3 available sizes. The frame features a UDH hanger for future compatibility and spares availability, but those with a keen eye may spot the headset cable-routing which we have mixed feelings about.

Flow will be receiving a eXF 9039 B e-bike for review in the near future, so stay tuned for an in-depth look into the nitty-gritty features and ride review. 

X-ROAD Team Comp GR | $3,499 AUD

A classy olive green with a splash of yellow and outfitted with some sensible parts, the X-Road blends right into its off-road setting.

With a lightweight carbon fibre frame and room for 40mm gravel tyres, the X-Road Team Comp GR stands out as a fantastic value gravel adventure companion ready for weekend off-road adventures.

The X-Road sports a 71.5º head tube angle and a 73.5º seat tube angle in a size Medium, with all sizes across the range having a 406mm rear centre length. These numbers suggest a bias towards snappier agile handling compared to something like the Santa Cruz Stigmata we reviewed back in January, which is heavily orientated towards big adventure rides on rough terrain with slacker geometry and the addition of a suspension fork.

We’re a bit surprised to see the same frame is shared with the more road-orientated models, albeit with small stick-on protectors on the downtube and chainstay, it’s also offered in aluminium. Even still the pricing is sharp starting at $2,399 for the X-Road Issue aluminium model and topping out at $3,999 for the X-Road Team Elite Di2. 

Flow’s Take

Superior is very much an unknown quantity here in Australia, and their brand website is a bit light on details. The bikes present quite well with quality build kits, sharp pricing and a surprising amount of racing heritage. With carbon offerings and e-MTBs they do seem to fill a gap in BikesOnline range, and thanks to the direct-to-consumer model, the pricing attached to these bikes is worthy of a double take.

Bike Online has been selling bikes directly to your doorstep for a long while now and has the infrastructure already built to help you figure out sizing and everything else. we are quite intrigued by these bikes out of the Czech Republic. Fortunately eXF 9039 B e-MTB has just landed in Wil’s workshop and we’ll have a first look up as soon as he gets it out of the box and built. Stay tuned folks.

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