Fox Transfer Dropper Post Test

Fox has a certain way of doing things. Its engineers don’t want to come to the trail with a product that’s not thoroughly tested and completely reliable. They are not afraid to reject a project if it doesn’t meet the standards of their parts testing ground, fondly referred to as Area 51, a place in the Fox factory that’s so secret most employees can’t step foot in it without access granted from their racing development department. Fox is also unwilling to release a product that hasn’t passed the real on-trail test of hours and hours of testing under their world-class athletes. This explains why Fox’s first internally routed dropper post took this long to land in our hands for testing. We hoped it would be well worth the wait.

Tech features:

The Transfer post is Fox’s first stealth (internally routed) post. It features a remote-controlled 100, 125, or 150 millimeters of travel metered by an air-pressure and oil-damped cartridge that fills the entire volume of the upper tube. The post also features two lever options: one for single-ring riders with the lever mounted under the bar and one for multi-ring setups that will mount next to the grip collar. The lever is designed to have a low leverage force that’s easy to activate and can modulate the speed of the return to full extension.

In true Fox fashion, the Transfer is avail- able in several versions and coatings. The top-of-the-line Factory series features a Kashima coating, while the Performance series features a stealthy black coating for the upper tube. The post is available in 30.9- and 31.6-millimeter versions and is also available with external cable routing in case your frame doesn’t support internal routing. Our 31.6-millimeter test post weighed 520 grams (1.15 pounds) with the remote installed and sells for $379 through any authorized Fox dealer.

Field test results:

The Transfer enters a dropper-post market that has come a very long way in a very short time. While a few years ago there were almost no offerings that were reliable and offered the features riders demanded, today the field is much more sophisticated and deeper. In typical Fox fashion, the Transfer wasn’t rushed to bike-shop shelves. It went through years of prototyping before gracing our Intense test bikes. Installation is as easy as, if not easier, than with some other dropper posts. The cable-actuated post puts the head of the cable on the post side rather than at the lever. This not only offers a quick-release system if you need to remove the post, but eliminates the clunky measurements and fine-tuning we’ve seen with other posts that put the cable head at the lever. We set the Transfer post up with the over-the-bar lever on a bike equipped with a double-ring drivetrain, and we also set it up with the under-the-bar lever on a single-ring bike. Both levers are included in the aftermarket kit, although most riders will likely prefer the under-the-bar lever for its ergonomics. For our bike equipped with a front shifter, the over-the-bar lever did its job, but it isn’t as easy to access as the under-the-bar lever, which offers quick and extremely ergonomic action. Speaking of the lever, one of the coolest features of the Transfer post is that lever pressure controls return speed. Pushing the lever fully is rewarded with a quick return up and a satisfying “clunk” to let you know you’re at full extension. Partially pushing the lever moves the post more slowly and allows riders to fine-tune height. The feature works surprisingly well and becomes second nature after only a few rides.

During our testing the Transfer post delivered on its promise of reliable performance and ease of use. The lever is what really sets this post apart. Whether using the under-the-bar or over-the-bar version, the ergonomic design is easy to use, requires very little pressure to activate, and mounts cleanly and easily. Fox obviously didn’t rush into the stealth-routed post market for a reason. Fox wanted to get it right the first time. Now, you can have Fox quality and reliability for your dropper post without the clunky levers or awkward cable routing of previous posts.

THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO GET MOUNTAIN BIKE ACTION