2024 eMTB SHOOTOUT

SUPERIOR EXF 9039 B REVIEW

WELL-ROUNDED BUDGET EBIKE

Photos by Max Rhulen & Dusten Ryen
Video by Brian Niles / Treeline Cinematic

As a brand that has just hit the USA thanks to our friends at Bikes Online, we didn’t know anything about Czech Republic-based Superior bikes until we received their eXF 9039 B. With clean looks and a 750Wh battery-equipped Bosch system, we were excited to find out how this fresh bike to North America would perform.

2024 EMTB SHOOTOUT SERIES – The Superior eXF 9039 B was one of 14 eBikes that our staff thoroughly tested with absolute objectivity in mind. From different types of riders to terrain, our goal is to present the best and most honest information possible to help you make your best decision. Of course, we’d love to thank Fox Racing and Schwalbe Tires for being invaluable partners to this series and making it happen and to Howler Bike Park for hosting us for our testing.

QUICK HITS

• 160mm Horst Link Suspension
• 29” Wheels
• Bosch CX Gen 4 Motor
• 750Wh Bosch Battery

Price: $5,999

WE DIG

WE DON’T

ABOUT THE SUPERIOR eXF 9039 B

FRAME AND FEATURES | Superior manufactures the frame of the eXF 9039 B from their X6 Ultralite aluminum in their factory in the Czech Republic in Europe. Their Enduro eMTB has 160mm travel front and rear, and is fitted with a pair of 29” wheels. It’s rated to the EN standard level 4, for “rough off-road riding and jumps less than 120cm”.

Ther eXF 9039 B’s frame features a one-piece forged linkage to shave weight; contentious internal cable routing through the headset; and room inside the front triangle for a large water bottle.

DRIVE UNIT AND ELECTRONICS | Superior selected the popular Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 drive unit to power their enduro eMTB, which outputs 85Nm torque and up to 600W Peak Power. Powering the system is a 750Wh integrated and removable Bosch PowerTube battery. This sits inside the downtube under a plastic cover, and requires a key to unlock it for transport or charging.

Bosch’s Smart System features their LED Hub display neatly integrated into the top tube. On the bars, the Wireless Mini Remote allows for the mode to be toggled (between ECO, TOUR+, eMTB and TURBO) and use of the walk mode. The Bosch eBike Flow app allows for user customization of the different modes; updates to the bike software, and for locking and tracking security functions.

GEOMETRY | The geometry on the Superior eXF 9039 B sits in the middle of the category for every measurement – it’s as if Superior took an average of all competitors. Because of this, there are no stand out figures, both when looking at the geometry table or when out on the trail.

BUILD SPECS | Bikes Online is currently bringing one spec of Superior’s eMTB to North America – the eXF 9039 B we tested. Retailing for $5,999, it sneaks into our “budget” sub-$6k category.

RockShox provides the suspension package, with a 160mm Lyrik Select RC fork and Super Deluxe Select R rear shock. Both are air-spring, with the fork featuring low-speed Rebound and Compression damping adjustments, and the shock only receiving Rebound adjustability.

The drivetrain and brakes are handled by Shimano. Their SLX rear derailleur and Deore shifter and cassette give 12-speed shifting with the wide 10-51t gear range. M6120 4-piston brakes stop on a pair of 180mm rotors – our biggest complaint with the spec list.

Superior’s in-house component brand, ONE, provides an alloy cockpit with a low and narrow 12mm rise and 760mm wide handlebar, and an alloy crankset. There’s also the ONE Sport dropper seatpost, which is topped with a Fizik Aidon X5 saddle.

Rounding out the specs is a DT Swiss H1900 wheelset, which is fitted with a set of 2.6” wide Schwalbe Nobby Nic Evo Super Trail SpeedGrip tires as standard – questionable for an enduro eMTB. However, as with all of the bikes in this year’s eMTB Shootout, we replaced these for our control tires. Schwalbe’s Magic Mary 2.4” tires with the Super Gravity casing and Addix Soft rubber provided a much more appropriate – and highly dependable – tire setup for all of our eBikes this year.

Our Superior eXF 9039 B build equipped with the Schwalbe Magic Mary control tires weighed in at a fairly heavy 56.9lbs (25.8kg).

THE DIRT – RIDING THE SUPERIOR eXF 9039 B

SETUP | When you glance over the geometry table for the Superior eXF 9039 B, it’s as if they have taken an average of the competitive bikes in the market. That’s to say, all of the figures look very reasonable, so our size Large test bike felt like a comfortable fit for our 5’10”-6’2” test crew. The cockpit however was not comfortable out of the box, with a low rise and narrower bar that we typically enjoy, and relatively long stem. We switched this out for a more comfortable and familiar cockpit setup to ensure we didn’t immediately put this bike at a disadvantage purely because of our preferences in the cockpit.

Most of our test crew is in the 160lbs-180lbs range, and were able to get a comfortable and balanced suspension setup that left little to complain about. For 220lbs Robert though, the air pressures required to give a suitable spring rate left the shock grossly underdamped in both rebound and compression, and the fork felt to be unhappy with the maxed-out pressure (according to the chart recommendations, not the true maximum) too. For Robert, this suspension setup was essentially unrideable, lacking both sensitivity and control.

ELECTRONICS AND INTEGRATION | The Bosch Performance Line CX Gen 4 drive unit and 750Wh removable battery were reasonably well integrated into the Superior frame, aside from a poor fitting battery cover. The cover locks in with a half-turn, but our cover ended up ovalizing and the cover developed some rattle.

Otherwise, the drive unit sits fairly sleek in the frame, and the Bosch Smart System integration with the wireless Mini Remote and the integrated Top Tube LED hub is excellent. Bosch’s eBike Flow app worked well and allowed us to dial up the power of TURBO to create a level playing field.

The Bosch drive unit is still one of our favorites on the market, and with the 750Wh PowerTube battery it offers excellent range to support some long rides. The CX Gen 4 unit in this Superior was in the middle in terms of noise, and didn’t suffer from any notable rattle.

CLIMBING | Superior is a brand that has a robust range of XC bikes, so it makes sense that their eBike would be a solid climber. The climbing geometry proved to be solid and left our test crew in a comfortable spot on the bike when seated. Most riders found the suspension platform to be adequately comfortable and offer sufficient traction. However, for Robert the effects of the setup qualms led to an exceptionally stiff pedaling platform, which felt efficient but lacked comfort and grip.

DESCENDING | Dropping in on Superiors all mountain to enduro eMTB, most of the test crew was happy with the performance, offering a well-rounded platform. It was a bike that supported fairly aggressive riding, though felt more along the lines of a long travel trail bike rather than an exceptionally smooth and stable enduro bike. For 220lbs Robert, the suspension setup issues led to a harsh platform, and highlighted some flex in the rear of the frame when pushing hard.

The spec on the eXF 9039 B performed well, aside from the brakes. Shimano’s Deore brakes with 180mm rotors are seriously undergunned for a reasonably long travel eBike, and we’d consider swapping these out to be essential for any rider looking to push the capabilities of the bike. Otherwise, the spec was well selected, and the good quality DT Swiss wheelset was much appreciated at this price point.

FINISH AND VALUE | The issues with the battery cover and brake spec were offset by the Bosch Smart System and good spec choices elsewhere to leave us indifferent about the value proposition of the Superior. The finish of the frame is solid, with a nice paint job and generally clean lines, but it doesn’t scream out as being “superior” to anything else on test.

The Wolf’s Last Word

For most of our crew, the Superior eXF 9039 B was a solid performer, but didn’t stand out for any reason. There’s a few small details and spec choices we’d like to see addressed, and heavier riders should proceed with caution to ensure the suspension is going to offer suitable performance.

WHO’S IT FOR?

The Superior was a reasonable all-rounder Trail to Enduro eBike. Thanks to the 750Wh battery it’ll cover a lot of ground on a single charge, and the ride on the way down is well balanced to make for a solid machine to log some miles in varied terrain.

Price: $5,999
Weight: 56.9lbs
Website: Superiorbikes.com

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR 2024 eMTB SHOOTOUT SPONSORS

Without their support, we would not be able to make this series possible.

FOX RACING

SCHWALBE TIRES

HOWLER BIKE PARK