The Superior eXF 9039 is a mid travel 29er emtb with a 140 mm fork and 130 mm travel rear. We’ve ridden a few short or mid travel emtbs before, and we haven’t always seen the point. These were just as long, and heavy as the longer travel bikes. Just reducing suspension travel doesn’t make it much more nimble or playful.
The eXF 9039 makes sense though! When looking closer at the bike we find it’s got very short 433 mm chainstays. Combined with a 66* head angle, wheelbase ends up being pretty short. This makes handling quite fast and sharp. The eXF 9039 behaves like a shorter travel emtb should, different from the burlier models.
Equipment
We like how Superior prioritized the components on the eXF 9039 model. Superior went with the relatively hard compound, fast rolling Schwalbe Nobby Nic Speedgrip 29×2,6″ tyres. We would prefer a softer compound, at least up front. But these lightweight tyres adds to the nimble and agile handling. I’d say they make sense on this bike.
Then there’s the motor, we really like the EP8 for technical trails. The big 630 Wh battery by authorised 3rd party Darfon is a tad lighter than the Shimano 630 battery. The quite heavy Rockshox 35 Gold RL is common at this price point. But we really appreciate Superior picking the Rockshox Revelation fork. The relatively lightweight fork suits this bike well.
More details and riding impressions
Check out our video for the detailed review: