New Fox Transfer Dropper Seatpost - Everything You Need & Nothing You Don't

 

Fox has had a dropper post in their lineup since 2012 with the D.O.S.S., and the Transfer since 2016. Since its inception into the mountain bike world, dropper post technology as well as integration has improved drastically and it's starting to feel like we're getting to a point where these components are nearly fully optimized. The previous Fox Transfers were excellent posts, yet they left some things to be desired like the ability to easily service, add pressure or change the travel - features that many other posts on the market offer. Now we're stoked to see these features make their way to the Transfer and we can authentically say this is the best dropper post Fox has ever made, and one of the best dropper posts we've ever used.

 

 

During their development process for this new post, Fox realized that their previous design of initially charging the post with nitrogen from the factory and not allowing the end user to change the pressure in the post was creating headaches in the long run and customers were needing to send their post in for a factory service and get their post rebuilt and recharged with nitrogen. They found that even the best seals in the world were not able to keep the desired pressure in the post for the necessary and desired duration in the long run. This led them to their new design of being able to fully adjust the pressure in the post with a shock pump underneath the saddle clamp interface, like many other posts on the market, as well as improve other aspects and offer more features as well. They also saw the need for riders to adjust travel, so now there is a post with an appropriate amount for travel for all riders and frame sizes. 

 

 

You may notice that Fox has also redesigned the saddle clamp area and gone away from the previous version that was quite unique. This new design has allowed them to integrate the air valve and maintain a low stack as well as reduce weight and complexity. All in all, the updates from Fox are welcomed and appreciated in this new post as it seems they have taken a holistic and realistic approach to this new design.

 

I first installed the 31.6mm diameter, 180mm travel post on my Forbidden Druid V2 mated to a OneUp V2 Remote. The post has that familiar light actuation that we know and love from the previous Fox posts, unlike some other dropper posts where you kind of need to mash your thumb into the remote in order to get some action out of it. Once actuated, the Transfer returns to the top out position with the smoothness and enthusiasm that I have never experienced with a Transfer right out of the box (not including the SL). It has that signature Fox Transfer top out sound that lets you know with absolute certainty that your post is fully extended, and during my tests, time after time it would return to the top of its travel without any notches or hang ups. I recently had the chance to test this post while on a riding trip in Southern Utah where dropper posts are used quite frequently on nearly every ride, and I was thankful that I never had any issues with the new Transfer and no matter the position the post was at in the travel it would easily return to the top. The light action of the actuation is also something I was grateful for as you can effortlessly adjust your saddle height for technical climbs and then easily pop it back up. It's not something you normally notice but for me it was noticeable compared to some other dropper posts I've been using and I came to appreciate it. The new Transfer also seems to be less picky about the seat post collar torque than the previous versions which is a welcome improvement. The knurled collar on the post itself unthreads easily and allows the user to service the post as well as change the travel in 5mm increments. I've only got a few weeks on the post so far, but with that said, after my experience in Utah I was certainly impressed and I'm looking forward to putting some more time on this post in the coming months to see how it holds up in the long term.