We asked design manager Martin Haman, BFI marketing manager Ondřej Cedidla, and MTB legend, brand ambassador and technical advisor and bike tester Jaroslav Kulhavý to explain the entire designing, crafting, and testing process behind “one of the fastest gravel models” on the market.
But before we get to the bike of the hour, we asked the experts what they think a universal quality gravel bike should not lack. All three agreed on several key points: a sufficient tyre clearance ranging from 32 mm to 44 mm, down tube and chain protection, a rigid frame, and low weight. Ondřej further specified that in the case of adventure gravel, there should be the possibility of mounting panniers and mudguards, and for racing gravel, there should be pure aero geometry. Also, naturally, it should combine the best of both worlds of MTB and road.
This brings us to the Superior bike and Superior’s partnership with the UCI World Gravel Championships. “Naturally, we have been looking at ways to get the new model quickly and effectively into the wider awareness so we agreed to be the main partner almost immediately. Preparations of the bike started as soon as we agreed because we knew that Belgium is a prime cycling hotspot so we could expect a lot of attention,” summarises Ondřej.
Moving onto the XR, Ondřej thinks that the first thing that will surprise people will be that it is a gravel bike but it looks more like a road bike. According to him, the bike will please those who demand gravel specs but want the bike to look like a road one – clean design, fine lines and aero elements.
Jaroslav, who also took part in Sunday’s Elite Men’s Race and has been test-riding the Superior X-ROAD for 7 months now, including races, claims that what makes the bike truly special is basically the trifecta of low weight, top components, and racing geometry. “The ergonomic combo of the handlebars and stem is brilliant, the shape of the bike gives excellent handling, there’s a great range of work with the centre of gravity off-road, and the aerodynamics really show at higher speeds,” he specifies, adding that he conveyed all his prototype testing feedback and suggestions to the development team, which improved the model accordingly.
Regarding the development itself, Martin outlined the individual steps, guesstimating that the entire process took about three years. “We start working on a new frame platform essentially right after the previous generation, by gathering feedback and defining where to take the new bike in terms of features and design. The really intensive phase, when the bike takes on more concrete features, takes about two years. Sketches are fine-tuned and several prototypes of the frame are created by 3D printing on a real scale. Recently, we have also been using virtual reality modelling, which gives us a much more realistic idea of the final design and makes the whole process more efficient. Once the digital data is finalised, the first real carbon-fibre prototypes are created, which go through rigorous laboratory testing and first riding tests.”
And why did they go with the bold claim about one of the fastest gravel bikes available? “Thanks to its geometry, uncompromising power transfer due to the high stiffness of the key parts of the frame and low weight, the bike is really incredibly fast. It’s hard to describe – it has to be experienced,” Jaroslav adds with a smile.
And as a cherry on top, Superior had a little surprise for the UCI World Gravel Championships visitors who wandered into the Gravel Expo – a zone with stalls of leading bike brands in Leuven. “For the occasion of the race, we have also prepared a special edition gravel bike, the Superior XR 9.9 GR LTD, which combines the best of Superior and component partners DT Swiss, Schwalbe, Fizik and, as a highlight, the new Sram RED XPLR AXS groupset. It’s going to be the best thing to ride in gravel right now. Weighing in at 7.4 kg, this is a bike we’re deservedly proud of. We will release it on the eve of the race,” teased Ondřej, also outlining Superior’s ambitious future aspirations – to make their XR models synonymous with gravel.
