FOX Podium Inverted MTB Fork - Questions, Answers, Reviews

Is this why you made that thread about 20mm axles?

why not more than 170mm travel? 

why so heavy? 

is the stated weight with the leg protectors or without? 

if without, how much in full configuration?

I haven't had time to watch any of these deep dive videos, so this is a hasty judgement, but I gotta say that products like this make me think we're starting to completely lose the plot of mountain biking. Who wants to spend $2000 on JUST THE FORK for their mountain bike? And that fork likely requires you to get at least a new front wheel, so tack on a few extra benjies at minimum. And in return you get a fork that weighs as much as a DH fork.

Look, I've blown a stupid amount of disposable cash on this sport since I started about a decade ago, but I’m at the point I’m wondering why I should still care about new products? New stuff costs an obscene amount and provide—at best—marginal gains, to the point I’m just not interested in them.

It would be cool to have a comparison between some other inverted forks like Intend Edge, Push 9.1 or even a Dorado. The Edge is a whopping 570g lighter than this fork!

It looks cool and by the review it sounds like you really like the action. Now to wait long enough for some competition so the pricing can level out. 

Avalanche charges almost $1k just for the damper alone, has been doing that for years, and there's a persistent 4+months long backlog if you want one. I don't think your observation of the "loss of plot of mountain biking" is exactly an accurate one.

It's clearly intended to be a Halo product. I assume the regular 38 will continue to exist and will be significantly cheaper than the Podium.

I don't understand where the sentiment of this fork being better for eebs comes in. You've got almost the weight of a dual crown (heavier than my 35mm Boxxer) on an already heavy bike. Maybe the less unsprung mass argument but ebikes already have a ton of sprung mass which makes me forget about the unsprung mass of my fork lowers in the real world.

slapping in fox's exploded PR image of the fork

Having ridden one of these for a few days I can confirm its a truly amazing fork. The front wheel gives so much more grip and tracks the ground like no other fork I have ridden. The support and composure are fantastic, out of the box it is just great. I pumped it up to the recommended pressure, dialed in the rebound and compression as Fox advised and rode it, I have yet to feel the need to change anything. 

Great work on everything. 

Here is my million dolla...err, $2,000 question. Knowing what you know now, having ridden the fork, if Fox took it back would you go out and buy one?

and travel is up to 190mm.

That is indeed a hasty judgement! If you read the review he says it is easily better than any other Fox or Rockshox fork, and I can't remember the last time one of those brands put out a product that was legitimately head and shoulders above the previous generation. Maybe the 2014 Pike? 

As for price - sure its a lot, but ENVE wheels have been over $2000 USD for a long time, and which one do you think makes a bigger improvement to the bike? It's not like ALL forks are suddenly 2 grand, there are still plenty of cheaper options if thats what you need!

My perspective is that Fox knows what it has on their hands and until other competitors catch up, the demand will be there to justify the cost. In my opinion, we're also at an inflection point in the industry where e-bikes adoption is really taking off (like it or not). The target market for eebs seem to have the disposable income to pay the ~1-$2K premium for an e-bike. I would imagine that they would also be the target market to bite the bullet for this fork, as both weight and cost might not be as much of a burden to bear for them.

that's the Flash, the Edge goes to 180

I've got precious few educated things to say about USD forks, but just jumping in to say that Robot is easily the best podcaster-interviewer in the MTB world. I could listen to him talk for hours about, well, anything... including comparing axle thickness and wine tastings! :-)

I think the cost will go down eventually as the technology becomes more widespread etc but we're reaching the point where bike geometry and standards have mostly plateaued so it makes sense to have some more expensive options for suspension, brakes etc that can be installed on frames that people are keeping for longer.  Also parts seem to last quite a bit longer now.

My ebike is a 2021 Model and is the longest I've ever kept a bike.  At this point I've upgraded or swapped almost everything on the bike with the exception of the cranks.  

When you amortize the costs over a 5 year period instead of 2-3 it makes more sense.  

The important part for most people is that most shops will service this brand over the other high-end inverted forks. That said, I'd like to try one, but I just don't believe this fork is for me.

I still believe the Intend Hero will suit me better as a trail rider, and with a lot less weight as well. I still would like to Smashpot the Fox 36 I have first though just for the lols and to have that fork just as a different alternative. It may be I really like it and will just continue to use it that way, but I'm also accepting that my current fork will have to go into experimental mode at some point.

First things first though, EXT Storia V4 coil shock. That thing I can actually have serviced where I live, so it makes it a bit easier to go all in at that point.

I believe the good reviews and what not on this new Fox inverted fork, but for that kind of money Intend has a better option for me personally. 

Not gonna lie, I’m disappointed it’s that good and that expensive

Thing that stood out to me the most is that it has more bushing overlap than a 40. 

I trust robots opinion on it, I get the feeling he would call a spade a spade if this was a flop. If it's that good, consider me curious, but not financially that curios. I'll wait for the firesales. 

Fox released a new and different fork and people everywhere went nuts about it. In the same time, there are other usd-single crowns from earlier that are lighter and longer travel, and are equally boutique, and people aren’t raving about them as much. Fox’ marketing ftw! 😁 

so you would buy a very heavy fork on the verdict of an advertising review but not a lighter fork from a smaller manufacturer based on positive user reviews?

I'm honestly considering buying one to do my own little test on my uber tiny YouTube channel, just cause I'm a spaz, but for those questioning Charlie's integrity I am 1000% sure he'd call it out as being a let down if indeed it was. 

Is it a massive leap forward in suspension performance? I think we all know the answer to that. Same-ish damper. Same-ish air spring. Same seals (as a 36). Yes, bushings are better/overlap better/different chassis. But guys at the EWS level aren't bolting this to their bike and going oodles faster (but not slower, it appears, either). Robot hasn't had tons of time on it on trails he knows and he was caught trying to test as much as he can on a whirlwind media trip, so I don't think its fair we expect him to have all the answers. Its brand new. If you listen, he did a great job asking the right questions, and getting some really interesting answers (listen to what Jordi says...there is real, brutal honestly in what he says and how he says it.)

The thing I'm most curious about is at this fork's weight and pricepoint Boxxers, Dorados and 40s can (and often should) be considered too. I know, for certain bikes its a no, but for me - on a Spire - I can ride any of these forks (lowered) and when you open the lens to real DH forks against this fork, I think it'd get really interesting. To date the most recent gen boxxer is the best fork I've ridden, and a lot of that has to do with the engineering around bushings, tolerances and sure - the dual crown nature of the fork. 

I know, I just mansplained a bunch of stuff nobody asked for, but these are my Wednesday morning thoughts. 

Now, should I go spend my own money on this thing and tell y'all how I really feel. Lol. 
 

dealer/service network

I’m super curious to see how this stacks up against the push fork, a170mm vaia, as well as the intend moto fork.  Is it fox’s marketing machine or did they really do something special?

this has me wondering.... if fox was able figure out how to get more bushing overlap in a single crown fork vs  their non-USD DH fork, what could they do if they used this new configuration / tech in a dual crown fork?