2026 means three things for Öhlins: its 50th anniversary, 10 years in the MTB biz, and the brand’s entrance into the world of gravel. With a full range of suspension components for mountain bikes, it’s been a long time coming for the Swedish suspension giant, but with the GXF30 M.1, the brand brings fresh technologies tuned especially for the demands of gravel.
Öhlins recognises that gravel is many things to many people, but with the GXF30 M.1, the brand aims to bring Swedish gold to gravel, finally.
With it, the fork promises 40mm of gravel cushion that’s tuned to “smooth the terrain without sacrificing efficiency and boost traction without dulling the ride”. Though Öhlins stresses that this isn’t its mountain bike suspension that’s been adapted for gravel; rather, it’s the brand’s own vision of what gravel could, or should, be, believing that “every off-road discipline deserves real suspension”.

First up, the chassis. With it, the brand wanted to deliver stiffness that’s comparable to its cross-country fork while reducing the weight. However, some of the gravel-specific decisions pretty much achieved that for Öhlins. For example, equipping the fork with 40mm of travel means lower bushing loads, which boosts durability. Gravel also uses narrower hub spacing, which brings more torsional stiffness, which helps to compensate for the smaller diameter stanchion.
Why 40mm of travel, I hear you ask? Well, the brand reckons that it provides the best balance of efficiency, precision, and comfort. Though stating that “the GXF30 M.1 will initially be available exclusively with 40mm of travel” suggests that we may see more options on the horizon.

That travel is damped thanks to the new FTX14 damper, which utilises a monotube hydraulic system and a new valve philosophy to bring top-notch damping into a small package. With it comes compression adjustment that offers a full manual lockout (Sprint) for maximum efficiency, a middling compression mode (Grind), and a fully open mode (Business), offering the full squish. Better still, the damper offers low-speed compression damping, resulting in a level of adjustability we’ve not yet seen on a gravel fork. Of course, there’s also rebound adjustment.
The GXF30 M.1 is then designed to work with flat mount brakes while being optimised for a 160mm brake rotor. Öhlins says that this rotor size ensures a balance between braking performance, integration and weight savings. There’s then clearance for a tyre up to 52mm in width, which reduces to 47mm with a mudguard installed. We’re told that the fork will weigh 1,249g, too.
At the moment, the Öhlins GXF30 M.1 is available through the brand’s Fast Forward program, and there are only 300 forks up for grabs. As for pricing, we don’t have GBP figures just yet, but if you go by Euros, it’ll set you back €895.
