In a world of competition between bike riders, bike manufacturers and bike components there seems to be a never ending choice of what parts you can put on your bike. The dropper seatpost is one of the greatest bike inventions ever made and it's hard to even comprehend what it's like to not have one. Fortunately we don't have to worry about that ever again... at least we hope not! |
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In this review we are going to talk about the FOX Transfer dropper post and out experience with it so far. We have been using the Transfer Factory Series post with the Kashima coating option in the 125mm version with internal routing. There is also the Performance Series which is all black. We went for a Wolftooth lever rather than the $65 Fox option that you can order separately with the post since it doesn't come with one in the box. I think the Fox option is worth trying because the Wolftooth lever is average and we don't like the way the mounting piece connects to the handlebars.
The Transfer seatpost comes in 3 different sizes but it would be nice to have another size up for the extra tall riders.
100mm (4 in) - 361mm total length
125mm (5 in) - 406mm total length
150mm (6 in) - 461mm total length
The internal cartridge used on the seatpost is a nitrogen spring type (at 400 psi) and the hydraulics are housed in the post itself. There is also a built in pressure relief valve and anti-rotation pins. All this technology makes for a smooth and reliable performing seatpost. And when it comes time to remove the cable to remove or adjust the post its very easy to do so thanks to a tool free quick release configuration. Fox also went with a two bolt saddle clamp to keep the seat from rotating or slipping when things get rough.
As for lever options you have the 1x version for the single derailleur folks which mounts under the handlebars and the 2x/3x version that mounts above the bars for the people who still have a front derailleur. The 2x/3x version does have a barrel adjuster for fine tuning. Like we mentioned before the lever is not included so you need to shell out another $65 for that. The cables are not included either which is kind of a bummer and there is also an internal or external routing option.
As for the weight it will vary depending on if you have the 30.9mm or 31.6mm post size and of course which length you require. From what we have read the 30.9mm post comes in at 517g and I guess we should have weighed ours before installing it!
As for the way it performs we couldn't be happier and so far it's been working flawlessly. The operation is very smooth and you get a nice clunk sound when it goes all the way up and down. It does go up quickly but not so quick that it will hurt you. It would be nice if it had aspeed adjustment like the Rockshox Reverb even though we always used those at full speed anyway. As for seatpost adjustment in the frame we thought it was cool how they spelled out TRANSFER with lines in between so you can use them as markers for raising or lowering the seatpost.
It seems very rugged and like it can take a beating and keep on going. The Kashima coating looks great and if you have a Kashima coated fork and shock it looks even better when they all match. The price point is great as well when compared to the competition so you can't go wrong there. If you want the black Performance Series it will run you around $264 and if you want the fancy Kashima coated Factory Series you are looking at $314.
