Your FOX Podium Questions Answered - The Inside Line 20

You asked, Team Robot answered.

sspomer
6/27/2025 7:50am
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Vital's FOX Podium fork review dropped on Tuesday and our tester, Charlie Sponsel, encouraged you to leave any questions that remained. Sorting through dozens of great inquiries, the highlights have been pulled and Charlie answers them so you can learn more about this expensive, heavy, but incredibly-performing enduro fork. 

Thank you to all who participated. The Vital community is crushing it right now with civil discussion and thoughtful, informed questions!

Listen

Watch

  • 0:00 - Intro, baggage fee avoidance struggles
  • 10:00 - Charlie's Zeb setup (it's not stock)
  • 13:46 - Is This basically a prototype for sale?
  • 16:40 - Did the CSU Creak?
  • 19:06 - Why is it 29er only and does it matter?
  • 20:03 - Is the FOX 38 really just the 38SL and Podium is burlier version?
  • 21:19 - Won't the stanchions be really easy to damage?
  • 27:28 - Podium's crown, weight and why no 180mm
  • 33:25 - Would you run 180mm if they offered it?
  • 34:07 - Why is it so heavy?
  • 36:16 - Could a lighter fork be as stiff?
  • 37:48 - Currently compatible 20mm hubs?
  • 39:26 - Why not have swappable axle size options like EXT?
  • 42:50 - Do you think axle size was a reason for your positive experience?
  • 46:23 - Why not put the airspring on the opposite side to avoid brake rotor contamination?
  • 51:06 - How does Podium differ from an Intend or a Push fork?
  • 52:37 - Would you buy one?
  • 57:23 - Would the Podium work on a TrailDuro setup?
  • 1:03:57 - Burly Freeride build, Podium or a 190mm dual crown?
  • 1:05:23 - Why would Podium be better for ebikes?
  • 1:07:56 - Is Vital's testing method flawed?
  • 1:13:49 - Why Charlie really enjoyed the Podium
  • 1:17:05 - Berm performance, less compromise on setup because of less binding

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20 comments

View replies to: Your FOX Podium Questions Answered - The Inside Line

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LePigPen
11 months ago

"The worst thing you can do to your bike is take it anywhere." - Team Robot 

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jbfiets
11 months ago

In my head, I turned it into "the only safe place for your bike is on the trail." Hanging in the garage next to other bikes/cars/landscape equipment, hitch racks, roof racks, trunks, etc. are all a death sentence for bikes.

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seanestes
11 months ago

Great video! Nice work, guys. FYI, in the video Charlie says Podium is more than a pound heavier than 38. Podium is only 314g heavier than a comparably spec'd 38, for the record. 1 pound = 454g. 314g equates to almost exactly 2/3 of a pound.

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TEAMROBOT
11 months ago

Hey Sean, thanks for the clarification on hollow crowns and fork weight. I went on the Fox site and saw 2194 grams for a FOX 38 Factory. The Podium is 2695, which is a difference of 501 grams. Which of those numbers is wrong?

For reference, the RS site says a 29" Zeb Ultimate is 2341 grams (354 grams less than a Podium), so I'm wondering if the Zeb and 38 are closer in weight than my numbers.

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seanestes
10 months ago

Hey Charlie, the "starting weights" we show on the website represent the lightest available configuration for a given product. In the case of 38 that is with a Grip X damper, which weighs about 175g less than a Grip X damper on average. To compare apples-to-apples, you'd have to compare both forks with the same damper and Podium only comes with Grip X2 so you have to compare it to a 38 with Grip X2. That where the 314g figure comes from, give or take a few grams. 

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seanestes
11 months ago

The crown on Podium is hollowed out. We tested multiple variants with more and less material removed, that's how we settled on the exact amount of hollowing there is on the production fork. We refer to these holes as "lightening bores". As Charlie noted, we were chasing the sweet spot of stiffness to satisfy our pro athletes and weight was a secondary concern. Some other USD forks on the market are lighter and while they may work well for many people out there, they are not being raced by the best riders at the highest level. We chose the name Podium in part because we wanted to make it clear that this fork is designed to be capable of winning at the highest level. Not implying one approach is "better" than the other, just clarifying FOX's approach so that folks can make a educated decisions as to what fork is right for their wants and needs. Better is obviously very subjective. What is better for Richie Rude may not be better for the average rider.

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StudBeefpile
11 months ago

As someone who is not an engineer, are you guys drilling speed holes in the crown or is there a process where you can form voids in the crown as you are fabricating it?  Also what material is the crown?

I know koenigsegg, the super car company,  3d prints their turbo.  This allows them to make something that would otherwise be impossible to manufacture.  Have you guys messed around with this at all?  I’m sure it’s not cheep, with their cars costing seven figures, but a cool piece of tech no less. 

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seanestes
10 months ago

We machine bores in the crown, accessing via the openings for the steer tube and the upper tubes before they are pressed in. In the case of Podium, we could effectively drill as many as 3 bores to remove material but in the end we settled on 2 bores (as I recall) to remove as much weight as possible without negatively affecting our rigorous stiffness requirements. This approach is cost effective and in this case we are able to remove as much material as needed without having to resort to more expensive manufacturing methods, such as the one you describe (which is very cool!).

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ZAKBROWN!
11 months ago

If Charlie would just reissue some old Team Robot t-shirts he could afford at least half a Podium.  I know I'd buy a couple, my old ones are worn out. 

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StudBeefpile
11 months ago

@sspomer that felt like being in high school English all over again.  I’m sorry you had to read that poorly worded paragraph.  

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Oakhills
11 months ago

Good stuff, thanks for the Q&A!

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Squamishish - Hips down with good body position 3
Ride2day
11 months ago

Totally enjoyed listening to this.  Spomer and Charlie need to do their own podcast. 

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NoahColorado
11 months ago

@11:34 - We offer Lift V2 Dampers in 5 tunes.

Thanks for the shout!

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luisgutrod
11 months ago

I'm sure it s a fantastic fork, cause its very difficult to come up with an USD fork that was benchmarked to the stiffness we see in todays RSU 36/38 stanchion ones, and compromising on weight.. But to reply to Charlie's comment on " fox has way more engineering resources than intend or push", that might be true ($$$), but at some point this can be a misleading argument, how much money do you need to come up with a stiffer crown design or CSU interface.. The problem with FOX is they historically drop the ball in the execution...manufacturing becomes the weak link, and of course in mass production you get some lemons every now and then, but Diaz already played with one sticky fork a few days ago.. Tolerances, tolerances..

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patricke.kramar
10 months ago

Sorry, as nice as the guy is: without that he has had the forks in his habds or ridden then, saying they are less stiff,than the intend and push or better, is just stupid.

Intend has the Edge at 2100 gram up to 180mm, the Flash with up to 190mm travel and 2390 gramm real World weight, while the fox 38 ist over 2400 gram in the real world and now they Release the Flash 38 with probably real 2600 gram. I am sure not only the Flash 38 will be able to compete with the Podium.

Besides in germany the intends are around 2200 Euro and the fox is the same. So no disadvantage there neither.

 

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luisgutrod
10 months ago

we have to understand the game.. this is Fox.. many americans involved in the brand, there is rapport with the media.. the guys have media visibility etc, it's normal they get all this press..they are the first (of the 2) main suspension companies with the architecture.. but honestly what is a little bit annoying is the self centered attitude, or at least they come across like they did all the research and assessed the USD design viabilityand went for it (from the interviews with fox).. come on.. you were playing catch up my friends (designing and executing it to modern standards).. you just dont accept it, too american corporate attitude guys.. and Im sure, as I said, the fork is great.. just dont like the attitude.

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