Fox continues to innovate, pushing the potential of mountain bike suspension to provide gravity riders and racers with an edge on World Cup courses, technical descents, and everything in between. The Podium is designed to be ridden like a downhill fork, offering complete confidence that the front wheel will hold its line regardless of speed or terrain, all while maintaining a familiar range of travel and geometry in a single crown package.
Chassis and Rigidity
The Podium features incredible fore-aft rigidity, achieved through a combination of oversized 47mm upper tubes and a massive, generatively-designed crown. This creates a stiff chassis that allows riders to power through the roughest and steepest trails with confidence. To address torsional stiffness, Fox utilises a custom steel 20 x 110mm Boost DH axle, which provides optimal stability and responsiveness. The inverted chassis configuration allows for a massive 175mm of bushing overlap, which is 32% more than the 38 and 7% more than the 200mm-travel Fox 40 DH race fork. This overlap contributes to greater fore-aft rigidity and reduces chassis friction.
Damping and Air Spring Performance
The GlideCore air spring is built with lateral compliance, allowing it to flex with bending loads rather than resisting them. By decoupling the stanchion from the air shaft, the piston remains axially aligned, resulting in smoother suspension action under high loads. The custom-tuned GRIP X2 damper provides increased compression support, allowing tyres to stay glued to the ground for improved traction and reduced rider fatigue. Additionally, the shorter distance from the lower fork bushing to the axle ensures that the fork motion feels smoother the deeper it goes into its travel.
Maintenance and Durability
The inverted design allows for full oil immersion, where gravity pulls bath oil down to the seals for constant lubrication. This also helps debris fall away from the seals, reducing the risk of contamination. The fork includes easy-access, tool-free air bleeders to ensure sustained suppleness in varying conditions. Motocross-inspired composite lower leg guards protect the Kashima-coated stanchions from external damage while keeping unsprung weight to a minimum.
Key Features & Benefits:
- GRIP X2 Damper: A custom-tuned damper that offers unrivalled sensitivity, tunability, and increased compression support for better traction.
- Inverted Chassis Design: Features a massive 175mm of bushing overlap for superior fore-aft rigidity and reduced friction during high-speed riding.
- GlideCore Air Spring: Engineered with lateral compliance to decouple the stanchion from the air shaft, ensuring smoother suspension action under heavy loads.
Full Specification:
- Wheel Size: 29"
- Travel: 160mm, 170mm
- Offset: 44mm
- Axle: 110 x 20mm Boost double pinch bolt
- Rotor Size: 200-230mm
- Crown Options: 58 and 68mm
- Damper: Custom tuned GRIP X2
- Upper and Lower Tubes: 7050 aluminium
- System Weight Limit: Up to 169kg (e-MTB approved)