With so many brands coming out with dropper seatposts these days, one has to ask “What makes your special?” With the new Fox Transfer, turns out quite a bit.
The design is a complete departure from the original Fox D.O.S.S., which is immediately recognizable from the outside thanks to both stealth routing and a new, low-mount external routing option. Gone is the top, saddle-clamp cable mount. You’ll also notice both Kashima and black coatings. And the lever, which has two options, is more refined, too. But like good relationships, what’s really important is what’s on the inside…
To make the post user-friendly, the cable attachment is fixed at the lever and puts the “end” at the post, letting you quickly pull it out and disconnect if you need to remove the post.
Inside, Fox eschewed the traditional drop-in cartridge in favor of building the hydraulic system directly into the upper tube. That allowed for more room, which means more fluid, which allows for lower pressures. The benefit is lighter lever feel, which is compounded by the additional mechanical leverage designed into the cable interface on the post. The result is an easy-to-depress lever that lets you finely control the speed and amount of drop or rise. (Images above: Stealth dropper internals shown at top, external on bottom.)
Push the thumb lever and the cable’s mechanism depresses the Push Rod into the Spool Valve. Glide Bands inside the Spool Valve sit below the upper flow port, blocking fluid movement, until you push the lever to move the Glide Band past the valve and open flow. This lets fluid move from either side of the Main Piston, which allows gravity and your weight to push the post down, or nitrogen at the bottom of the post (behind the IFP) to push it back up.
Another unique feature is the Pressure Relief Valve, which lets the system equalize pressure between the two sides. It’s mainly to adjust for temperature and altitude changes that could cause pressure differentials, but also in the odd event that your post is loaded with a massive, instant force. Fox’s technical marketing rep told us the chances you ever noticing anything happening with the PRV is virtually nil, but it’s there as a precaution. No, it does not mean the post will sink into its travel if you land hard while sitting.
The post will come in 30.9 and 31.6 diameters and get 4″ (100mm), 5″ (125mm) and 6″ (150mm) travel options. All are infinitely adjustable within their travel range – no more stepped/fixed drop increments.
Two remotes will be offered, sold a la carte. So, pick your post, then pick your remote, they won’t ship with each other. The remote on the left is the 1x version, designed to mount under your handlebar on the left side only, basically replacing the front shifter. On the right is the 2x/3x remote, which can mount on either side of the bar, with lever facing up or down. Its cable noodle rotates to maintain smooth cable runs. Both versions have an inline barrel adjuster, and both will sell for $65.
The posts will be offered in Factory Kashima ($314) and Performance ($264) with the black anodized upper tube. Other than the stanchion coating, the posts are identical.
A two-bolt saddle clamp that looks an awful lot like a Thomson seatpost clamp allows for easy saddle angle adjustments. Available now.
