Mondraker's completely redesigned F-Podium XC MTB is the lightest version ever
The new F-Podium features an updated Zero Suspension System and a lightweight carbon frame across the entire range
The Mondraker F-Podium has racing in its DNA. Already ridden at the highest level by World Cup XCO podium regulars Ondrej Cink and Rebecca Henderson, the F-Podium has a proven racing pedigree. The Spanish mountain bike brand have now reworked their World Cup level MTB and introduces the latest Mondraker F-Podium, which features an updated Zero Suspension System that the brand claims sets a new benchmark and makes the F-Podium one of the best cross-country mountain bikes on the market.
Five XCO seasons have passed since the F-Podium first made a name for itself on World Cup Cross Country tracks. With XCO becoming more technical than ever, and the demands on bikes and riders increasing almost yearly. Mondraker has gone back to the drawing board for the new F-Podium, and the new bike is redesigned and ready for modern XCO racing, becoming stiffer, with optimized geometry and shedding weight.
Updated Zero Suspension System
Like the brand's recently released and hefty-priced lightweight Mondraker NEAT e-MTB, the F-Podium also has an updated Zero Suspension System. It gives the bike a minimalist aesthetic, with the rear shock sitting lower in the frame, a rear triangle which is far more compact compared to the original, smaller dropouts and slender seatstays. Mondraker also adds that this total redesign of the swingarm architecture makes for a more rigid, stronger and tougher structure.
The new Zero Suspension System also delivers claimed greater compliance and better overall shock absorption. Mondraker say it also has a more progressive suspension travel, that is lighter, with greater rigidity, with the entire system becoming more compact with lower sprung mass.
Race ready geometry and a lightweight frame
Like the NEAT, which is the lightest e-MTB in the history of Mondraker, the F-Podium weighs in with a claimed overall frame weight of under 2kg. The F-Podium builds come with a race-ready geometry with a head angle of 66.5 degrees, a 76.0-degree effective seat tube angle, 435mm chainstays and a BB height of 335mm. The Reach is from 430mm to 505mm, depending on size.
The four builds start with the top-of-the-range RR SL, the RR, the R and the F-Podium. All have the same Stealth Air Carbon frame with 110mm of rear travel and 120mm forks from either Fox or RockShox. All four builds also benefit from a three-position remote shock and fork lockout. The F-Podium's new frame again shares design cues from the NEAT, featuring similar straighter, more angular lines, a flattened, straight top tube, with a more stylized and compact head tube and a shorter, more minimalist seat tube which allows for longer travel dropper seatposts, again across the four builds.
Elsewhere, the racing pedigree build continues with the brand showcasing their new Onoff integrated carbon bar/stem combo, which features on the top-of-the-range RR SL. The other builds also receive the brand's own Onoff cockpits. The F-Podium and F-Podium R come factory-fitted with a Sulfur 0.2 double-butted, 6061 aluminum handlebar, and the RR comes factory-fitted with an Onoff Helium Carbon 0.2 handlebar with a Pija dropper seatpost (125mm to 170mm travel depending on frame size) completing the build.
Pricing and specification
All models are available now with the F-Podium RR SL priced at $13,999 / £10,799 / €10,999, the RR at $9,199 / £7,699 / €7,999 and the R at $7,799 / £6,299 / €6,799, and the F-Podium at $6,299 / £4,999 / €4,999. More information on spec can be found below and at Mondraker.com.
F-Podium RR SL
- Frame: F-Podium 29 Stealth Air Full Carbon
- Fork: Rockshox SID Ultimate 3P Remote 29, 120mm
- Shock: Rockshox SID Luxe Ultimate 3P Remote
- Rear Derailleur: Sram XX SL Eagle AXS, T-Type, 1x12s
- Shifters: SRAM Eagle AXS Pod Ultimate, 12s
- Stem: Onoff Helium 7075 alloy
- Bar: Onoff Helium Carbon 0.2
- Crankset: Sram XX SL Carbon Eagle T-Type
- Seatpost: RockShox Reverb Stealth AXS
- Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X5
- Brakes: SRAM Level Ultimate 2P Stealth, 180F, 160R
- Wheels: Mavic CrossMax SL Ultimate 29
- Tires: Maxxis Rekon Race 29x2.4
- Color: Midnight Blue / Marlin Blue / White / Flame Red
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Price: $13,999 / £10,799 / €10,999
F-Podium RR
- Frame: F-Podium 29 Stealth Air Full Carbon
- Fork: Fox 34 Step-Cast Float FIT4 EVOL Factory Kashima, 120mm
- Shock: Fox Float SL Factory Kashima SV EVOL
- Rear Derailleur: SRAM X01 Eagle, Type 2.1
- Shifters: SRAM Eagle GX, 12s
- Stem: MDK, 6061 T6 Alloy
- Bar: Onoff Helium Carbon 0.2
- Crankset: SRAM X1 Carbon Eagle
- Seatpost: Onoff Pija dropper internal
- Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X5
- Brakes: SRAM Level Bronze 2P Stealth, 180F, 160R
- Wheels: Mavic CrossMax Carbon XL R
- Tires: Maxxis Rekon Race 29x2.4
- Color: Black / Polaris / Racing Silver
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Price: $9,199 / £7,699 / €7,999
F-Podium R
- Frame: F-Podium 29 Stealth Air Full Carbon
- Fork: Fox 34 Step Cast Float Grip EVOL Performance, 120mm
- Shock: Fox Float SL Performance SV EVOL
- Rear Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle, Type 3
- Shifters: SRAM Eagle GX, 12s
- Stem: MDK, 6061 T6 Alloy
- Bar: Onoff Sulfur 0.2, double butted 6061 alloy
- Crankset: SRAM GX Eagle
- Seatpost: Onoff Pija dropper internal
- Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X5
- Brakes: SRAM Level Bronze 2P Stealth, 180F, 160R
- Wheels: Mavic CrossMax XL S
- Tires: Maxxis Rekon Race 29x2.4
- Color: Bunker Grey / Flame Red / Vortex Grey
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Price: $7,799 / £6,299 / €6,799
F-Podium
- Frame: F-Podium 29 Stealth Air Full Carbon
- Fork: Rockshox SID Base 3P Remote 29, 120mm
- Shock: Rockshox SID Luxe 3P Remote
- Rear Derailleur: SRAM GX Eagle, Type 3
- Shifters: SRAM Eagle GX, 12s
- Stem: MDK, 6061 T6 Alloy
- Bar: Onoff Sulfur 0.2, double butted 6061 alloy
- Crankset: SRAM NX Eagle
- Seatpost: Onoff Pija dropper internal
- Saddle: Fizik Vento Argo X5
- Brakes: SRAM Level T 2P, 180F, 160R
- Wheels: Mavic CrossMax 29
- Tires: Maxxis Rekon Race 29x2.4
- Color: Carbon / Carrera Blue / Midnight Blue
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL
- Price: $6,299 / £4,999 / €4,999
Paul Brett joined BikePerfect as a staff writer in 2022. He has been an avid cyclist for as long as he can remember, initially catching the mountain biking bug in the 1990s, and he raced mountain bikes for over a decade before injury cut short a glittering career. An award-winning photographer, when not riding a bike, he can be found at the side of a cyclocross track or a downhill mountain bike world championship shooting the action. Paul was the founder, editor and writer of Proper Cycling magazine, and he's traveled the world interviewing some of the biggest names in mountain biking and writing about some of the biggest cycling brands.
Current rides: Canyon Inflite, Specialized Diverge, Marin Alpine Trail 2