FOX Podium Review: Nearly 1,000 Miles on an Upside-Down E-MTB Fork

The FOX Podium is the best fork I've ever ridden. I've done nearly 1,000 miles on one, on a Mondraker Zendit with DJI Avinox, in the Forest of Dean and at BikePark Wales, and I'd never go back to anything else. It's supple over roots, it grips in the wet, and it needed almost no setup. My only real complaint is the mudguard, though the price is worth weighing up too.

I've ridden e-MTBs here since 2018, and before the Zendit I rode a Specialized Kenevo SL for five years, so I've ridden a few forks. I'm not seeing many Podiums on the trails yet, but everyone who spots mine asks me about it and how I like it. This is what I tell them.

What is the FOX Podium?

The Podium is an upside-down fork from FOX. FOX calls the chassis inverted, with 47 mm upper tubes and what it calls a massive crown, for stiffness fore and aft on rough, steep trails. Its product page is titled for enduro racing and e-MTB. Here's what FOX lists on its US product page (checked September 2026):

	FOX Podium
Chassis	Inverted (upside down), 47 mm upper tubes
Travel	160 mm or 170 mm
Air spring	FLOAT EVOL with GlideCore
Damper	GRIP X2
Axle	20 x 110 mm
Series	Factory
Starting weight	2,695 g
Price	US$2,199 on FOX's US site. We couldn't verify a UK price, so ask a UK dealer.

Two bits of FOX's own explanation are worth knowing, because they line up with how it rides. FOX says the GlideCore air spring moves with the fork under load to cut friction, and it describes the GRIP X2 as its most tunable, smoothest descent-focused damper. I can't see inside it. I can tell you what it feels like.

How does the FOX Podium ride over roots?

"The Podiums are by far the best forks I have ever ridden. They are so supple over roots, which makes off-camber roots, wet roots and just riding technical terrain so much easier. It's more confidence-inspiring. You feel like a better rider."

There are roots to test that all over the Forest of Dean: off-camber ones, wet ones, and the sniper roots that catch you out. The Podium makes all of them easier to ride, and that's where the confidence comes from.

The other thing is harder to explain. Weirdly, on the Zendit you just seem to be able to lean the bike over better. I can't tell you how much of that is the fork and how much is the bike. It's just how it feels.

The Podium in the wet: Mallards Pike

Mallards Pike always runs well in the wet. It's loam cut down to the stone, rutted out, with rocks, drops and roots. My Mallards Pike guide has the parking, the coffee and the rest.

At Mallards in the wet, the Podium just tracks over the roots and gives you grip pretty much wherever you put the front wheel. In a wet Forest of Dean winter, that's where a fork earns its money.

Does the FOX Podium bottom out?

"I've done nearly a thousand miles and only bottomed them out twice: once on a compression G-out at BikePark Wales, and once on a huck to flat. They are so progressive that you don't notice it at all."

Twice in nearly 1,000 miles, and both were big, blunt hits.

E-bikes are heavy, and the fork carries that weight into every landing. The M2S Avinox bikes we checked in E-MOUNTAINBIKE Magazine's list weigh from 21.4 kg to 24.2 kg in the sizes quoted. It's no surprise FOX names e-MTB alongside enduro racing as what the Podium is for. If you're shopping for an Avinox bike, my list of DJI Avinox e-bikes includes the Zendit RR S.

How do you set up a FOX Podium?

"The main thing I've noticed is you don't need to do any setup. Just base settings for your predicted riding style and weight, and then don't touch them. They are so good out of the box. That is why you spend the money on Podiums."

Which is funny, because FOX sells the GRIP X2 as its most tunable damper. The adjustment is all there if you want it. I haven't needed it.

So my advice is simple: get the base settings in, then go and ride. If you're someone who loves turning dials in the car park, give it a few proper rides on the base settings first. You may find, like me, that you never touch them again.

FOX Podium downsides

No fork is perfect. Here's what to weigh up before you buy one.

• The price. US$2,199 on FOX's US site (checked September 2026), and no UK price we could verify. For me, a fork you set once and then forget is exactly what the money buys.
• The mudguard. My one real complaint. It looks too much like a motocross bike for my liking.
• The weight. FOX lists a starting weight of 2,695 g, so compare that with the fork you'd be replacing.
• Two travel options. FOX's US site lists 160 mm and 170 mm. If your bike was designed around a different travel up front, check with the bike maker or your dealer first.
• The axle. It takes a 20 x 110 mm axle, so if you're fitting one to a bike that didn't come with it, check your front hub first.

Looking after an upside-down fork

Is an upside-down fork harder to look after? In my experience it's better: the seals are always covered in oil, and they're protected by the shrouds. That's my view after nearly 1,000 miles, not a FOX claim.

Servicing is where I can't give you a Podium number. FOX's published service table names the air forks it covers (32, 36, F-Series, FLOAT and TALAS), with a lower-leg oil change and air-spring fluid every 100 hours or once a year, and it doesn't name the Podium. So ask FOX or your dealer what yours needs. FOX does say, in general, that if you often ride in the wet and mud, race downhill or ride through the winter, service more often. That's a Forest of Dean winter in one sentence.

What I'd do anyway:

• Keep it clean. Wipe the fork down after a muddy ride, and never pressure-wash an e-bike. My guide to cleaning an e-bike explains why.
• Keep count of the miles. The free Plus1 Garage has the Mondraker Zendit in its bike list with the Podium Factory filled in, or you can add your own bike. Type the miles off your display now and then, and it reminds you on the day the fork is due. Its starting estimates for any fork on an e-bike are a lower-leg service at 340 miles or six months and a full service at 850 miles or 12 months. They're best guesses built from the part makers' intervals, so if FOX or your dealer tells you different, set it in one tap.

My e-MTB suspension service guide covers the signs a fork needs a service now, whatever the count says.

Who is the FOX Podium for?

FOX builds it for enduro racing and e-MTB, and that's who I'd point it at: riders on a heavy, fast bike who spend their time on roots, wet trails and technical ground, and who'd rather ride than fiddle with settings.

If that's you, and the price doesn't put you off, it's the best fork I've ridden. I would never go back to any other.

Next in this series: why I swapped my Kenevo SL for full power.