Richie Rude-approved inverted enduro fork gets the official release. Oh so desirable! Oh so expensive!
Fox Podium technical specifications
- SERIES: Factory
- CHASSIS: Inverted
- CROWN DIAMETER: 58mm and 68mm Options
- WHEEL SIZE: 29in
- TRAVEL: 170mm and 160mm Options
- DAMPER: GRIP X2
- DAMPER CONTROLS: HSC – LSC – HSR – LSR
- AXLE: 20 x 110mm Boost
- RAKE: 44mm
- STEERER: 1.5 Tapered
- LOWER TUBE FINISH: Kashima
- BYPASS CHANNELS: No (unnecessary due to inverted design)
- BLEEDERS: Yes
- FLOATING AXLE: Yes
- ROTOR SIZE: 200mm direct Post Mount, 230mm max
- MUD GUARD MOUNT: FOX Mud Guard available Fall 2025
- AIR SPRING: FLOAT EVOL GlideCore
- STARTING WEIGHT: 2695g
- SRP: £2,199
Fox press release:
FOX Launches the All-New Podium Inverted Fork: Unleash Your Unfair Advantage
Engineered for unforgiving descents, technical race lines, and the world’s most demanding riders, FOX introduces Podium, a new benchmark in single crown fork performance. Delivering exceptional fore-aft rigidity, ultra-smooth travel, and DH-style confidence, Podium brings an unfair advantage to enduro racers and all-mountain riders alike.
Podium is designed to be ridden like a downhill fork. No barriers. No hesitation. Complete confidence that your front wheel will hold the line, no matter how fast—or how big—you push it. All this while keeping your bike in a familiar range of travel and geometry in a single crown package.
Fox designed this inverted fork to get the absolute maximum performance out of the industry leading GRIP X2 damper, with every possible gain for smoothness in its travel and confidence-inducing fore-aft rigidity in the chassis.
Welcome to the Unfair Advantage. Welcome to Podium.
The Pinnacle Of Performance
To take full advantage of a damper’s capabilities, FOX engineers pursued the optimal design to provide ultra-low friction under load. The solution was to turn traditional fork design on its head with an inverted chassis, providing unmatched damping sensitivity when combined with our award-winning Grip X2 damper.
At the core of Podium is uncompromising fore-aft stiffness made possible by oversized 47mm upper tubes and a generatively-designed crown structure. This setup delivers stiffness approaching that of the dual-crown FOX 40, allowing riders to hold precise lines with total confidence—even at downhill speeds.
To further increase torsional stiffness, FOX replaced the standard 15mm axle with a steel 20 x 110mm Boost DH axle, distributing forces more evenly across the lower leg interface. Combined with 175mm of bushing overlap—32% more than the 38 and even 7% more than the FOX 40—Podium delivers an unbeatable chassis stiffness and reduced friction under heavy loads.
The Harder You Push, The Smoother The Ride
Podium’s GlideCore air spring delivers next-level smoothness. Designed with built-in lateral and axial compliance, it allows the spring to flex with the fork under high loads, reducing binding and stiction. The result? A smoother ride feel, improved small bump sensitivity, and better control when the terrain gets wild.
The inverted design also shortens the distance from the lower fork bushing to the axle as the fork compresses. This reduces leverage on the bushing, minimizing friction just when riders need it most—charging hard into deep travel on technical terrain.
Custom-Tuned GRIP X2 Damper
Podium is equipped with a specially tuned GRIP X2 damper, known for its four-way adjustability and race-proven control. With enhanced compression damping to match the fork’s reduced friction and slightly softened rebound to balance lower unsprung mass, Podium’s damping curve is designed for aggressive descending, enduro competition, and eMTB domination.
Unfair Smoothness by Design
- Every aspect of Podium is engineered for reduced friction and increased sensitivity:
- Full oil immersion keeps seals constantly lubricated while gravity helps shed contamination.
- Reduced unsprung mass—thanks to the inverted design—improves suspension responsiveness.
- Custom tuned GRIP X2 Damper
Built Like a DH Fork, Rides Like a Podium
Podium isn’t just a new fork—it’s a new category. Designed to feel like a DH fork in a single crown chassis, Podium erases hesitation, boosts confidence, and delivers world-class control at high speed.
From full-power eMTBs to enduro race bikes, Podium gives riders everything they need to go faster, harder, and deeper into technical terrain.
Some choice quotes from the tech PDF:
“Podium’s damping performance is powered by the award-winning GRIP X2 damper, tuned specifically for more compression support. Given the incredible rigidity and smoothness of Podium, we needed to add some additional compression damping to account for the reduced chassis friction. We also toned down the rebound damping slightly to account for the lower unsprung weight of the system.
“Riders on GRIP X2 reap the benefits of sitting higher in the travel while their tires stay glued to the ground. They can corner with increased traction, giving them the confidence to push the limits of enduro racing and full power eMTB riding, all while reducing hand and arm fatigue significantly.”
============
“Amongst early testers and FOX athletes, a consistent piece of feedback was “the harder I push it, the smoother it feels”. A big part of this performance gain is due to the shorter distance from the lower fork bushing to the axle.
“On a traditional fork, the bushing to axle distance is fixed. When an inverted fork compresses throughout its travel, the axle moves closer to the lower bushing and the bending leverage on that lower bushing is decreased, and as a result, the fork motion feels smoother the deeper the fork goes into its travel. When the trail conditions get tough,
Podium rises to the occasion.”
============
“Unsprung mass consists of everything on the bike that’s below the suspension’s spring and damper. On a standard fork, this mass includes the wheel, tire, front brake and lower fork legs. On an inverted fork, the heavier fork “lowers” are now the upper tubes, reducing the unsprung weight significantly.
“What’s the benefit of lower unsprung mass? Inertia. Less mass requires less force to move it in either direction, meaning suspension is more sensitive and more active on both the compression and rebound strokes.”
Marzocchi Shiver SC, Maverick SC32, Manitou Dorado, Rockshox RS-1, Magura Boltron etc. These forks never seem to last that long in the real world. Why’s that?
I remember those. They were dead on arrival because Marzocchi has just released the Bomber which brought real, functional suspension to MTB’s for the first time.
I was a kid at the time so they were all out of reach anyway.
How long is ‘not that long’? There’s 20+ year old Dorados still in regular use. A lot of older Intends too. Most of rest of your selection are getting on for 15+ years old, what are you expecting?
I meant they are never on sale that long, seem to be one offs. Whereas normal forks get an update every year or so and incrementally improved.
Dorados have been on sale longer than pretty much anything comparable, except maybe Boxxers
My Dorado SC still work. Perfectly. Sturdy chassis and axle, coil springs and TPC damper means heavy but pretty much invincible. Very little use now though, as they’re small wheels only… and getting back on diddy wheels is always an eye opener (as I fly over the bars as I get caught by a wheelstopper I expect to roll over).
Apart from DH, SC forks don’t sell (so don’t stay in the range) because they are either heavy or have disconcerting flex. The correct approach is to say to hell with the weight, and build ’em sturdy. With the weight in a different place, and what flex there still is also being in a different place, all the “compromises" are different to a right side up fork… but people avoid forks with a high overall weight… or with odd flex behaviour (which SC all have to some degree… and can become a serious turn off if built light).
Boxxers are definitely older. The X Vert DH/Carbon came out after the Boxxer, then Dorado after that
I think he meant they disappeared from the market, i.e. the fact that a lot of those forks are 15 years old and no longer sold is the proof that ultimately riders don’t want USD forks.
I doubt anyone has managed to break a set of dual crown Shivers 😂
I suppose the benefits should stack up as well though. If you replaced the air with a coil spring in a USD fork it’s still removing an extra few sets of seals.
Lefty’s have been around a while too.
And don’t struggle with the whole weight/stiffness thing
The keyed approach has other drawbacks though, especially in UK conditions.
Yes. Sealing wasn’t great. I’ve got a vintage one seized up in my shed. Would like to try a modern one.
I’m confused. If they are Ritchie Rude approved why wasn’t he racing them at last weekends enduro. I’m sure he has had plenty of time to get them set up properly before release.
Edit. Already picked up
I saw this fork on YouTube the other day, and briefly thought “oooh nice" then thought “why, I had a Lefty in the mid 2000s this isn’t on the face of it anything special…. apart from the price"