Superior Bikes are a well-known brand in some parts of the world, but they’re brand new in Australia. In April 2024 BikesOnline revealed that they would now be stocking Superior Bikes via their popular web shop. With a range of bikes that covers road, gravel, XC hardtails, dual suspension bikes, and eMTBs, this seems like a great addition for BikesOnline, to join their extensive range of Polygon and Marin bikes that are sold direct to consumers.
Superior hail from the Czech Republic, specifically from the Beskidy. This area is very close to the border with Poland and Slovakia, with a strong history in both cycling and cross-country skiing. The hills are steep, littered with trails that are themselves littered with rocks and roots. What better place to base a bike brand?
The Superior eXF 9019 B sells for $7999 at BikesOnline.com.au, as a Bosch-equipped 160/140mm travel 29er. Getting a trail-ready eMTB into the sub $8,000 point without cutting back on important features has become quite competitive in recent years. So have Superior nailed it? At this price, the Superior is in a similar market to the Merida eOne-Sixty 675 ($8699) which has more travel and a mullet setup, and the Trek Rail 5 ($7499) which is also a 29” bike. So who will the Superior eXF 9019 B suit?
You can see more details about the Superior EXF 9019 B by heading to our full review – https://www.ambmag.com.au/feature/superior-exf-9019-b-electric-dual-suspension-mountain-bike-review-609451
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hi Ryan here from am and today we’re going to take a look at a new brand to Australia Superior it is brought in by bikes online and the model we’re looking at today is the exf [Music] 9019 it is a 140 160 mil trail bike powered by a Bosch uh performance CX motor which sports 85 new M of torque and is speced with a 625w battery another neat thing that Superior have done is fit it with a wireless micro remote or mini remote uh it is really really nice and small compact and very easy to adjust in an ergonomic position on the left of the bar and does not interfere with the dropper post lever all of the new Bosch Smart Systems are able to be connected to through the Flow app uh which is Bluetooth uh enables you to check all sorts of things adjust things via your phone however we find that there is ample adjustments on the top tube you can see how much power you’ve got left you can see what mode you’ve got in it in and combine that with the wireless remote there’s really no sense to connect it to your phone unless you love data uh or wanted to plop plot out a map the 625w battery Tre as well is actually housed in a compartment in the down tube that will house up to a 750 wat battery as well so if you wanted to expand or have a second battery you could actually get a larger range battery as well that being said the 625w battery on eco would probably get you safely 120 K if you’re just pedling around with not too much VT the model up from this as well does have a large battery um hence having the larger compartment and it is removable just via the down tube here with the Bosch key taking a look at the geometry uh bikes online will be offering this in three sizes uh medium large and extra large the medium is 465 mil reach which is not very short uh that’s not going to suit a lot of smaller Riders uh the large that we have on test here today is a a true 485 reach um as always I’m kind of in between medium and large but I found it quite comfortable it doesn’t feel too long to ride the extra large goes up to a 55 reach which will suit taller Riders however the head tube length is 120 M across all three sizes so we do see with a lot of brands that as the reach increases the rear center of the bike or the chain stay length sometimes varies and the head tube gets taller so you know a taller Rider needs the handlebars in a different position and also needs more bike behind them as well the exf has a 446 mil chain stay across all sizes and 120 mil head tube across all sizes so as Riders get taller they may find that the front of the bike just isn’t quite high enough uh Superior have left a very long steerer which is good because you can play around with stem lengths maybe some Riser bars larger Riders can play around and make it bigger smaller Riders however May struggle fitting onto the 465 reach uh and also find that the back end is a little bit long so some hits and misses there some challenges potentially to set it up um but there is really good stand over so you know there is definitely room to maneuver those things but it may be something to look into you might have to change dropper post um you might have to change stem or bar to achieve the fit that you want with the 140 and 160 travel it is a full 29er as well uh it has a medium length rear center or chain stay length at 446 M which is not long it’s not short it’s nice and stable and it’s right right in the middle of what we’re sort of seeing on a full 29er uh chain state or rear center figure uh the size large that we have on review uh is a 19in frame which is a little bit of old school way of measuring it it has a 485 mil reach and a wheelbase of 1271 M that paired with a 64° head angle and a 160 m Fork uh it steers really nicely it’s quite predictable and it’s not too flip floppy On The Tight switch back line um it’s a very balanced bike and you can tell by its quite upright seating position thanks to the 77 degree seat tube angle that it is very composed and stable at speed the rider’s weight is situated directly in the center of the bike and not hanging over the back wheel so let’s take a closer look at the exf 9019 specs out back we have a rock shock super Delux select which has been really really nice it’s super super plush and it’s good to see a top quality shock maybe with a little bit less adjustment on a bike at this price point out front we have the rock shock 35 TK silver which is a little bit undergunned for a heavier ebike this particular model weighs in at 25.8 kilos and this Fork while it does have a 35 mil stanion just lacks the support that some of its uh I guess Bigger Brothers um do the damper is a little bit basic and the fork is a little bit divey under brakes um we’ve actually put a couple of extra tokens in the fork just to keep it sitting higher in its travel the wheels are tubeless compatible they have a star J30 D disc specific Rim which can be converted to tubeless however the schwabb knobby Nick performance tires are actually non- tubless ready um as such we have fitted uh Tannis armor around the tubes just to provide a little bit of extra protection so that we can run slightly lower pressure on the sharp Rocky trails that we have here in Cambra and not damage the rim the star J30 Rim is laced onto an ebike specific Shimano Hub uh it has a steel freehub body sealed bearings and is much more robust than some of the normal Mountain Bike Shimano hubs which is really nice to see that the the parts on this bike are fit for an ebike the Shimano 4 piston disc brakes are really really consistent and Powerful however they have been specked with a 180 mil rotor both front and rear this is another thing that we would suggest upgrading maybe a 200 on the back and a 220 on front it would mean that the the bike would stop much much easier um again a full powered ebike is heavier than normal and it does need more powerful brakes with more stopping a larger RoR would certainly help enable that the bike is also equipped with shimano’s 12sp Dior group set it shifts really really nicely underload especially when you’re powering up a climb and you do need to change gears even down into an easier gear it really doesn’t complain that much at all and we think it’s one of shimano’s better 12-speed group sets um it Superior probably could have gone to maybe a 10 or 11 speed your link Glide system um for added durability and then potentially put that additional money into tubeless tires and or a slightly beefier fork or larger rotors um but it does have a very very wide range with a 10 to 51 and does mean that you will be able to climb up almost anything the cockpit itself Superior has routed all of the cables down through the headset it actually hasn’t been creaking there was Grease installed in this one uh which is fantastic um however it will make changing out bearings uh if and when they do wear or cre a little bit more difficult and costly uh as everything runs down and through the headset spaces and through the bearing itself The Handlebar as well is quite flat at uh 15 Ms Rise um you can see there’s a lot of spaces under the uh stem itself so there is a lot of room for adjustment but then perched on top of that is a very flat and straight bar if this was our bike we might maybe lower this slightly so that the reach is extended back to its its true figure at 485 and maybe a pair of Riser bars on there might just have a little bit more sweep and be a little bit more comfortable other than that it’s a very wellth thought out suspension platform all the hardware has been Flawless there’s been no creaking no bolts come loose uh and we’ve been very very happy so how does the exf 901 1 n handle out on the trails thanks to its Bosch motor it’s an absolute Beast uh it climbs really really well uh the Bosch uh performance CX motor is honestly one of my favorites it is very very intuitive um I really like riding Tech climbs uh with lots of features so being able to sort of pause ratch it and then get up and over a feature you know it cuts out and sustains power very very intuitively and you don’t really have to think about it too much uh some ebike Motors cut out and basically stall and it’s impossible to get them going again whereas the performance CX really just winds off and back on really nicely and enables you to get up and over features very well the 85 new m is huge as well it’s an absolute tractor and thanks to the 29 in rear wheel and the sort of medium length chain stair which is 446 MS it stays really really composed and just tracked as up stuff with the central seating position it also jumps really nicely um it’s a very familiar feeling bike and takeoffs and landings are really quite composed weights right in the middle and it’s very balanced uh the one thing that does sort of let down uh this model’s I guess jumping prow s is the uh 35 TK silver fork um even after adding uh a couple of extra tokens and additional pressure it is quite DIY um we don’t feel the fork complement the the composure of the the suspension uh layout and the super Delux rear shock um you know if there was say a Yari or maybe a new silo or something on there it would really transform this bike and make it far more capable again when the riding gets rough uh or jumpy or just really Rocky there was quite a lot of noise from the battery cover um there’s no cable rattle the rest of the bike is really quite quiet um but we did find the battery cover was extremely rattly and sort of Amplified anything hitting it or Trail noise um we did also lose the battery cover twice uh the latch that holds it which we will show you later is quite flimsy and has like a really light little spring and a tiny little keyway that just is is not adequate to hold a battery cover in place as such we’ve paded it out with a bubble wrap and some rubber mastic tape to sort of bulk it up and stop it from rattling and it’s transformed the ride uh so hopefully with a little bit of time uh Superior can sort of Rectify that latch system and make it a really quiet ride so who would the exf 9019 work well for I think it’ be a really good allrounder with 140 160 travel it’s a really nice balanced trail bike and with a few little changes such as tubless tires and uh maybe a different battery cover I think this would be a really really good bike it’s on par with a lot of other models this particular model is up on bikes online for $7,999 which does represent really good value if for some reason it goes on sale it would leave a little bit of extra money in the bank to put some tires on there maybe a riser bar and really set it up uh to suit the individual Rider thank you very much for watching uh don’t forget to like And subscribe and head over to the am website for more reviews on ebikes and analog bikes such as this