FANTIC XF1 INTEGRA 160 RACE ENDURO

Founded in 1968, the Fantic motorcycle brand was purchased by a group of investors in 2015 who decided to bring the Italian marque back to its original glory. In addition to a revamped line of motorcycles, the new owners also saw fit to add an electric bicycle division. 

Like two leading American brands—Foes and Intense—Fantic, too, has been experimenting with the staggered-wheel-size idea that uses a 29-inch wheel up front and a 27-inch in the rear. The mixed wheel sizes are intended to offer specific handling advantages, especially in the turns. The larger front wheel goes over objects more easily and, with a narrower width, offers knife-edge precision for steering. The rear tire is usually a plus-sized tire (2.6 inches or wider) offering outstanding grip for power and braking.

THE BIKE

The XF1 starts out with an aluminum frame with 160mm of travel in the front and rear. A RockShox Lyrik Select fork is paired with a RockShox Super Deluxe Select+ shock. This has proven to be a good combination and will allow for the bike to be used with matched or staggered 27.5- or 29-inch wheels, depending on rider preference. 

There are lots of nice aesthetic accents on this bike, including touches of red in the seat clamp, caliper mounts and suspension linkage that tie into the red of the bike graphics and play well against the black and white parts.

THE PARTS

The XF1 is set up with a SRAM EX1 1x drivetrain with an 11-48T cassette. An e-bike-specific KMC chain was chosen for its strength. Knock on wood, we’ve yet to snap one of these on a ride, and it isn’t for lack of trying.

There’s a Switch adjustable dropper seatpost, with small and medium frames getting 100mm of travel and large frames getting 125mm. Braking is accomplished by SRAM Code-R four-piston hydraulic disc brakes with 203mm rotors. These allow for powerful braking and very good modulation.

THE MOTOR 

The motor is Brose’s latest S-Mag mid-drive, engineered for lighter weight and smaller size, but still kicking out a mighty 90 N/m of torque. The “mag” part is magnesium, which is for strength and weight savings. Internally, there’s a Gates belt drive, which makes this one of the quietest motors on the market.

The 630-Wh battery is a staple for Brose, and it’s semi-integrated into the frame (hence the name “Integra”). They’ve had this bigger battery for several years now, ahead of the curve against companies like Bosch, Yamaha and Shimano. It offers better range or just simply the ability to use more assist and still make your entire ride. The Marquardt display and mode controller is one of our favorites for being bright, easy to use, and they seem to be relatively bulletproof. 

 

WHO IT’S MADE FOR

This bike is aimed squarely at serious enduro riders. It has plenty of travel and great components, but with an aluminum frame instead of the higher-end carbon, it won’t break the bank. And as the name implies, it’s race-ready! They do have carbon versions available, if you have deeper pockets and want an even lighter bike.

THE RIDE

The staggered tire sizes worked out really well, the front wheel rolled over everything we threw at it, and you can really precisely steer it. In hard braking, both tires had plenty of bite, so we could ride into corners a little faster with confidence. There’s a reason Maxxis Minion tires are so popular, and they certainly shined for us. 

The Brose motor offers plenty of power and torque, and it’s just so quiet! The 1×8 rear cassette was perfect. A 1×11 often has us shifting two gears at once, because you need fewer in-between gears with an e-bike. The big battery on this bike let us ride without any sort of range anxiety, and we were able to ride all day on one battery. 

The bike corners well, feels planted and the suspension setup seems just right for an enduro-travel bike. The Fantic handled every trail we threw at it, and owing to the bigger battery, we felt free to explore a few new ones. Even if we got in over our heads, the bike kept us rubber-side down, thankfully.

The handlebar is 760mm, which is a little narrow for a modern bike compared to many that are 780+ mm, but this was manageable and may have helped on some narrower sections. There were some other handling quirks, such as the bottom bracket was 358mm from the ground, making it feel a little less stable, though it did help avoid pedal strikes in technical situations. 

THE VERDICT

The Fantic XF1 Integra 160 Race is a mouthful to say, but the bike itself shows Fantic’s commitment to making solid enduro e-bikes that handle well, are very planted and make a good rider even more confident on the trail. The powerful Brose S-mag motor loves to climb hills, especially technical uphill trails.

SPECS

FANTIC XF1 INTEGRA 160 RACE

Price: $7990

Motor: Brose S-Mag 36V, 250W

Battery: Brose 630 Wh

Charge time: 4-5 hours

Top speed: 25 km/h

Range: 20–40 miles

Drive: SRAM GX Eagle

Brakes: SRAM Code R hydraulic disc brakes, 203mm rotor f/r

Controls: Marquardt

Fork: RockShox Lyric Select, 160mm travel

Rear shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Select, 160mm travel

Frame: Aluminum

Tires: Front: Maxxis Minion DHF 29×2.5”. Rear: Maxxis Minion DHR II 27.5×2.6”

Weight: 52 pounds

Color Choice: Black with red/white

Sizes: S, M, L

www.fantic-bikes.com 

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