Press Release + Deniz's thoughts
Fox Podium Fork
A note from Deniz: We have a fork on its way to test through the summer, and I am excited to report back my findings. It will be a 170mm version, and both Whistler Bike Park and Grouse Bike Park will be the testing grounds. I will also pedal the fork around on the Orbea Rallon and the Rossignol Heretic to see if the juice is worth the squeeze. The promise of all the bushing overlap improvements and the shorter bushing to axle distance makes me think these forks will perform better the harder they are pushed. Constantly lubricated wipers and seals should also add to the overall feeling of the fork. We'll see if the service intervals have increased or reduced, but for a product aimed at hard charging race crowd who need frequent servicing, being able to remove a single leg to service may be a blessing. Some new tools will be necessary to remove airsprings and dampers but otherwise the process should be simple.
Information below is all supplied by Fox
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.
I first caught a glimpse of the fork in February on a Pivot E-MTB.
Pre-production sample without a doubt. But the lower shields seemed like a finalized design.
This is how they look on a bike. Imagine a mudguard. Maybe polarising, but different can be good too. Photo: Fox Suspension
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.
20x110 Steel! axle to add some needed stiffness
200mm Rotors standard. Here seen with a 220mm, max is 230mm
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.
Grip X2 damper with a revised tune for the Podium.
Cable guides and lower shield clamps.
Yes, there is a fender for this fork, and no, it is not a part of the shields. It looks "moto as hell". Photo: Fox suspension.
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
Podium MSRP: $1999.99 USD / $2679.00 CAD / 2.399,00 € EUR / $3349 AUD
5'8"
162lbs
Playful, lively riding style
Photographer and Story Teller
Lenticular Aesthetician
Comments
Mike Ferrentino
2 weeks, 3 days ago
The Push Nine One doesn't seem so overpriced anymore, eh?
Reply
Jerry Willows
2 weeks, 3 days ago
and you don't need to buy a new front wheel.
Reply
RNAYEL
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Many 110x15 front hubs only need new end caps. Both my Project 321 and Race Face Vault hubs are just a $25 end cap away from converting. I think that it's the same for i9 Hydra.
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Hope, too.
Reply
Heinous
2 weeks, 3 days ago
I've been hoarding an OG CK-LF hub for 10 years just in case this happened. Finally, VINDICATED!
Reply
Peter Leeds
2 weeks, 1 day ago
It needs to be 20mm 110 boost, not 20mm 110. Otherwise the brakes will not align properly.
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Strangely, no media reviews of the Push fork though. Curious why they haven't shopped it around to get some buzz going. Maybe it's niche enough they're just relying on fanboy word of mouth?
Reply
earle.b
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Darren from Push has replied to this in some forum posts on other sites. They've basically been sold out and at their production capacity since they released it. No extra forks to send out, and no struggle to sell them.
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Seems a little disingenuous, they don't have a single fork they could send to NSMB and then service and send to another outlet? I think the no struggle to sell them is probably somewhat accurate, although they did just drop their prices about $1000.
Reply
earle.b
2 weeks, 3 days ago
I see $2600 usd at launch and $2250 usd now on their site. Where is that $1000? It's also sold out.
If you can sell all of the product you produce without the need to send stuff out to media it's a good position to be in and I see no fault in it.
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Oh, I thought it was close to 3k originally, they had a sale a few weeks ago for 2k. Not getting a single review is a titch suspicious, in my opinion. Seems like a bit of fear that your product won't hold up in comparison.
jdunne
2 weeks, 3 days ago
I own a Nine One. I originally speced it on a Pivot Firebird. Then I have moved it to a new Pivot Shuttle LT.
_I love the fork. _
The difference between Podium and Nine is coil vs air. I have found no matter how hard I try, air suspensions just feel too harsh. I love the progressiveness of air, but Push does a pretty good job of adding progressively to their suspension products.
Pairing a Nine One and ElevenSix is just the best feeling suspension on the market. At least compared to everything I have tried. I do not have experience with Olins or Ext. So perhaps they too would offer good performance. But Fox and Rockshox are just not in the same performance __category. Nor are they trying to be. They are catering to a lower common denominator. Of course if you had Jordy custom tuning your Fox air shock I suppose that might make a difference :)
I am so bored with all the post about "it cost too much". Then don't buy it. and don't comment, since you don't know,
Is Push expensive???
_I have purchased 2 ElevenSix, and 1 Nine One. In addition I have purchased every conversion product Push sells to convert air to coil, or improve the dampers on Fox and RS. _
_The only reason I purchased 2 ElevenSixes is because my bike got stolen. I have had the shocks on 4 bikes... I have never had to purchase a new __shock. Push will retune your existing shock to match your new bike. _
_So essentially I have had 4 bikes with Push suspension. I did not have to buy a new shocks for each bike. I would say that impacts the factoring of cost. _
_For me the cost of 1 Push shock equals cost of 4 RS or Fox shocks... _
_Seems to me, Push not only makes a great product. They offer a very reasonable price point if you change bikes on a some what regular basis. _
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 2 days ago
The bummer with the 11.6 retuning is that they have a relatively narrow selection of approved bikes. No nicolai, for instance. Also, the price.
Heinous
2 weeks, 3 days ago
The Nine One (comparatively speaking) looks like great value. It's user serviceable, travel is quickly, widely, and user adjustable, there's a pneumatic bottom out circuit, the weight different is small even though it's a coil, and the QC is likely going to be better. The mud guard also looks like it'll work better.
I think Push has really dropped the ball on not getting some forks out for review - all the talk about USD flex etc seems put to bed by the early Podium reviews, and if the Push got validated by a few reviews then it would be a real contender. That's assuming they actually want to and are able to sell loads more, which may not be the case. We might actually see the Nine one price go up...
Reply
jdunne
2 weeks, 3 days ago
It is a shame that RS and Fox get such overwhelming coverage compared to the other vendors. Marketing does work. There is a reason companies have them.
On the other hand, industry reviewers, if they are being paid, should be going out of their way to include more thorough coverage of the various products. Yes RS and Fox are what most people have, so they can argue that is what they cover most. But on the other hand, they are contributing to that mindset by not covering the others. DVO, MRP, Push, Ext, Olins, Vorsprung... I am forgetting more.
Reply
Mike Ferrentino
2 weeks, 2 days ago
It's not always that easy. Product reviewers review what product they can get their hands on. Bigger companies are more able to supply product for review than small ones. In the case of PUSH, Darren was up front about the demand for the fork being higher than their production capacity straight out of the gate, so no need to send it out. With other brands, it is a matter of how responsive they are to our requests, as well as how much room we have in our own test schedules.
Reply
jdunne
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Understood. And understandable. But. At some point you will or have gotten your hands on a Nine One? I think a thorough review and even better, a comparison is great.
I don’t think the rush to put out a “breaking news” is very valuable. I mean just look at how many posts and videos are all out at the same time. It’s a bit ridiculous
Reply
Mike Ferrentino
2 weeks, 1 day ago
At some point? That depends entirely on PUSH. I probably won't be the one to test it though, if that ever becomes a possibility. My ability to really put a longer travel fork to the test in any meaningful way is questionable, so any potential testing would fall on the harder charging northern contingent of nsmb.com
Pete Roggeman
2 weeks, 1 day ago
We have covered many of the brands you mention, jdunne. There's a Formula Selva article today, following up on one Dave wrote from just two weeks ago. We covered Smashpot, we've done some of the other brands you mention...but as Mike says, often brands aren't interested or able to cover every review request. We do our best to balance it out between the brands that make their equipment available to review, and other stuff that we know our readers are interested in, that may be less mainstream but still interesting.
Putting stuff out when it goes live may not seem important to you, but timeliness matters in these days of search engine results and SEO. Sorry, that's just the game. There are a lot of things we don't do that would help our search rankings but make our content suffer, so we avoid them, but you start to lose your relevance as a gear/news/review site if you can't track new releases.
Reply
jdunne
1 week, 6 days ago
Yeah I get it with SEO and general marketing 101 for the web.
I appreciate you guys chiming in. It shows you do care about what people are saying.
if Push does not get you a review product. That is their problem. Smaller companies do have more constraints.
I will leave it at this. At some point I am sure you guys will get access to a push. I hope at that point you do a full comparison. Even if they are not “just released”
Just released product reviews are almost all the same. And while I guess it’s a price of doing business. I get really sick of seeing everyone saying and doing the same thing for what? Clicks?
Side by side Comparisons are the best. Something we mere consumers cannot really do.
Just my curmudgeony opinion
Here I am sitting in my car just finished another lap with the Nine One tackling very rocky, very steep, So Cal ride. On a full travel, heavy eMTB. The Push fork and shock are just great. I can charge down very technical lines and just have that magic carpet feel. Night and day difference vs the Fox 38 and X2 that originally came with the bike. Big smile every time I ride
Reply
Timer
1 week, 4 days ago
I seem to recall an article from several years ago which showed that at SRAM, marketing is by far the largest department, both in terms of budget and head count. Not sure how accurate that still is, but doesn’t seem outlandish to me.
Reply
Andy Eunson
1 week, 4 days ago
Interesting comparison. I was an insurance adjuster in the 90s handling leaky condo claims. Developers often spent more money on a display suite than on Architectural fees. And where did that get us?
Reply
Mike Ferrentino
1 week, 4 days ago
There was some talk back around 2010 when numbers became visible as SRAM prepared to float some sort of stock thing, which was (I think) the last time SRAM made those numbers publicly visible. At the time they were claiming $500 million in total revenue, and $40 million spent on sales and marketing. So, 8 percent of gross revenue, and about on par with the budget for product development. Rule of thumb for marketing in the bike industry around then was between 5 and 10 percent of gross. I would suspect that SRAM's marketing spend since then, if anything, has declined as a percentage of overall revenue - company has grown massively, race team investment has - maybe - not stayed apace with company growth, and media has basically evaporated.
They are definitely generating more sophisticated marketing material in house across all channels, and athlete management and social media and SEO staff has undoubtedly increased, but I am still a little skeptical about marketing being the dominant budget and head count draw. Then again, I got fired for sucking at marketing, so take anything I speculate with a huge grain of salt...
Reply
fartymarty
2 weeks, 2 days ago
It makes Intend look "affordable" as well - something I though I would never say.
Reply
Peter Leeds
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Intend are nice, but niche. I learned from wanting a Foes F1 fork for many years to pair up with my Flys that niche forks may be hard to get parts, are not universal and if something goes wrong Germany is a long ways away. Not Fox. The F1 needed a 30mm custom hub (but made by Hadley so you are getting the best) and this seems the case for niche builders. With Fox you have more assurance that service will be more available as well as the parts. Hopefully you won't need them often....
Reply
Perry Schebel
2 weeks, 3 days ago
love it (aesthetically).
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 3 days ago
My dorado is amazing. I'll try it for sure in 5 years when there's some cheap used ones on buy and sell.
Reply
Mammal
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Same. Mine is the older gen 27.5 from 2014(?) era, and it eats everything so well. I'd certainly give this a try if there was a way forward that's compatible with my overwhelming value-driven tendancies.
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 1 day ago
I just sold my 2013 so I could get full travel on my 29" DH bike. It felt great, especially with the IRT. I don't think any of the other production forks that I've ridden had eclipsed the 2013 Dorado, which is kinda crazy.
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 3 days ago
I feel like you could fashion an integrated mudguard/lower stanchion guard that would slide with the lower stanchions and maintain the accepted aesthetic. It turns out, there's already one for the dorado:
https://gritshift.com/products/manitou-dorado-mudguard-fender-kit?srsltid=AfmBOora4XfcAFWkZ-D58axGqI5i9wVNlMhoWqsjPERiJgTBjmtXq8Sd
Reply
ultimatist
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Why is this heavier than a Fox 40?
Reply
RNAYEL
2 weeks, 3 days ago
More material needed to reduce flex. Those uppers of beefy,
Reply
Sethimus
2 weeks ago
the beefcake intend flash is just 2350g
Reply
leon-forfar
2 weeks, 3 days ago
A 40 weighs 2745g, so it's slightly lighter at 2695g
Reply
fartymarty
2 weeks, 2 days ago
If I was looking for a long travel fork for a long travel bike (which I'm not 'cause I like short travel bikes which keep me at "safe" speeds) I would be looking at a cut down double crown fork - 40, Boxxer, Dorado. Why piss about with single crown forks when you can get the extra beef of a double crown.
Reply
IslandLife
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Reduce flex because it's essentially an ebike fork.
Reply
Mark
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Reading that made me want to barf. Fox is out here like they invented the first ever inverted fork. I agree with Dr. Perception that the copy is ridiculous and insulting.
Reply
Eastieboy
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Oh good! Another inverted fork for the pile of moth-balled attempts at making this design commercially viable for MTB's!
We've been trying this since 1988, and EVERY one has failed miserably...Why should we think this time will be different?!?!?
Reply
Thomas_79
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Intend BC is just doing very good.
Reply
Dr.Perceptron
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Don't you know - it's built like a steakhouse, but handles like a bistro. If the ad is to be believed, it'll be different because it'll magically transform your front end. Didn't you see? "No barriers. No hesitation. Complete confidence that your front wheel will hold the line, no matter how fast—or how big—you push it." Hmm, I think my riding could put that to the test. I'd wager that even at a medium speed, I could get that fork to dodge off my line, push into corners, slide out, whatever. Man, I kind of dig USD forks, but that ad copy is ridiculous and borderline insulting.
Reply
Znarf
2 weeks, 3 days ago
I love your Futurama reference! Made my day =)
And btw. YOU NEED TO RELAX MORE!
Reply
Jotegir
2 weeks, 2 days ago
I thought we had changed places.
Reply
Shinook
2 weeks, 2 days ago
A lot of things have changed since the 90s and early 2000s when these were tried before.
On the cycling side, people are more receptive to heavier components than they used to be, a lot of riders were more weight weenies in that era than they are now, this allows better design. The longer frames, 29in wheels, heavier casing tires, inserts, etc have all kindof boiled the frog for many into not being as concerned about weight especially in enduro disciplines. Bikes are also designed entirely differently, forks are as well (tapered steerers, larger tubes, better valving, etc). Effectively nothing on your bike is even close to what it was 20-30+ years ago.
Manufacturing and design has changed a lot since then, also.
Many things we use regularly on bikes today were...not great...in the 90s and early 2000s, yet they are commonplace on bikes today. Even FS bikes in that era were terrible. So I'm not sure "it didn't work 30 years ago" is really the best litmus test for how well this will perform.
Reply
Curveball
2 weeks, 3 days ago
That weight. Ugh. I don't ride an e-bike and that much weight is just too much.
Reply
Peter Leeds
2 weeks, 1 day ago
Before you complain, you should try a bike with a Monster T on it. My Podium is available for that.....
Reply
SockPuppet
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Weight.
I have a 2600 gram 160mm Lyrik on the trailbike. - Avalanche damper and Smashpot coil conversion.
Yes, it is heavy, but I only notice it when putting the bike on or taking it off the rack tray. For actual riding, I felt a difference the first day, acclimated quickly and and since then not really noticed it.
One thing to note is that I am also 6'2" and 200 lbs, so your mileage may vary.
Reply
ackshunW
2 weeks, 2 days ago
I ride a 26” coil avalanche Lyrik which probably weighs even more! Would love to try the Push one day….. given my frugality, it will have to be a used model, maybe 10 years from now. Oh well.
Reply
Dr.Perceptron
2 weeks, 3 days ago
Right on!!
Reply
geno
2 weeks, 2 days ago
Maybe you could team up with Olli Lowthorpe, as he rides Intend BC forks? Would be an interesting comparison - if Fox allows to do so 😬
Reply
Sethimus
2 weeks, 2 days ago
nonono, that would be bad for business. no hidden advertising for the lighter, cheaper and more travel fork that doesn’t even need a 20mm hub. think of the sweet sweet ad money, every serious mtb website is depending on that! now be a good customer and buy the overpriced asia product!
Reply
ReformedRoadie
2 weeks, 2 days ago
It's almost a full kilo heavier than a Maverick SC32...
Just sayin'
Reply
SomeBikeGuy
2 weeks, 2 days ago
For as near as makes no difference $3000 CAD, also known as "dangerously close to the price of an entry-level full suspension bike," this fork needs to perform at a level far, far beyond the forks already on the market. Period. It looks cool, so that's a plus. It weighs more than the moon which for a lot of riders won't be a plus.
The front hub will be the undoing of this fork as 20X110 "Boost DH" A- isn't actually the same as the old 20X110 DH front hub and B- really isn't that common. But of course RaceFace will sell you a front wheel (insert eye-roll here) and a limited number of RaceFace front hubs already out in the wild can be converted via end caps and, presumably, a hub axle kit. I do wonder if something as simple as a 15mm axle plus Torque Cap style hub end caps might have reduced the weight while also providing the torsional stiffness they were looking for. Then again we're talking about Fox suspension, meaning Torque Caps would have suffered from Not Invented Here syndrome so they wouldn't have even tested such a thing. In a perfect world we'd see Torque Cap style end caps on all front hubs but short of that I do wonder if they could have been made the "standard" for USD-fork-compatible front hubs.
I'm looking forward to the now-inevitable RockShox USD long-travel fork. Fox has made some design decisions that leave a lot of room for another big brand to jump into this market segment with something potentially really interesting. I'm also hoping this release means price drops for RSU forks. One can dream, right?
Reply
Perry Schebel
2 weeks, 2 days ago
i'd think fox isn't that concerned about those (potential) detractors of aftermarket sales, as most of the volume will likely be oem spec on high end ebikes. and the people who need to have the trickest new thing that are buying aftermarket won't be dissuaded by said factors either. i'm sure we'll see these things all over the place by next season. even if the fork were no better than a 38 (initial reviews are gushing tho), the new chassis (from a major player) is kinda brilliant from a pure marketing perspective.
Reply
Morgan Heater
2 weeks, 2 days ago
An old non-boost DH hub, or non boost 100mm hub with 20mm end caps will work with a 5mm break spacer, I think. Shouldn't be too hard to adapt something, but honestly, most people probably have a boost 29" front wheel, which will work with new 20mm end-caps alone if the hub manufacturer provides them. This is yet another reason to buy Hope front hubs. Great front/backwards compatibility.
Reply
Peter Leeds
2 weeks, 1 day ago
I agree the hub issue is going to be big. The fact a 20mm 110 boost front is not very compatible with what is out there is a big negative. At least with a rear hub there are more options.
But wait: since the industry loves new standards just wait until Fox discovers the 20mm 110 hub is sooo much better and then convert the rest of their lineup to that standard. Don't think I'm joking.
Reply
leon-forfar
2 weeks ago
It's a non-issue. As mentioned above, you only need a 5mm spacer on the rotor bolts to get 20x110 to 20x110 boost, and most hub manufacturers make the necessary end cap conversions otherwise. If anything, I welcome DH and trail bikes moving to the same hub spacing. Lots of DH frames are now 148mm, and it would be awesome if the fronts all ran 20x110. 15x110 was pointless with no benefit over a 20mm axle.
Reply
Peter Leeds
2 weeks ago
I could never understand why the 15mm conversion when 20mm was working so fine. It was universal and since it is not a rear hub with a freehub/cassette limiting the bearing size I could see why 20mm was chosen. I never heard why a 20mm should be smaller to save weight or it was not stiff enough.... but look how many forks were made obsolete by the change. Note the word "obsolete". Seems a theme in biking today, not "innovation".
Reply
leon-forfar
2 weeks ago
This comment has been removed.
Please log in to leave a comment.