Fox Transfer Dropper

The Transfer is an all new design from Fox that supersedes their original DOSS dropper. Unlike the three position DOSS, the Transfer features infinite height adjustment and a far more compact handlebar remote. We’d go as far as saying the new lever was the tidiest and most compact of all the under-bar dropper post levers that we seen—a vast change from the behemoth that accompanied the DOSS! Aside from its compact sizing, it offers a simple but useful adjustment range and points the cable in the right general direction.

We reviewed the more affordable ‘Performance’ version – that’s the all-black one – but Fox also offers a Factory level post that costs around $70 more ($527 versus $459 for the post alone). Both rely on the same cartridge and internals but the Factory level post has a machined outer tube and gold Kashima coating on the inner tube — it may be fractionally smoother but more importantly it’ll match up with any other Factory level Fox items you may own!

The post and lever are sold separately — the lever adds $99 to the ticket price so you'd be looking at $558 in total for the Performance setup that we had on test. Fox offers the Transfer in the two most common sizes (30.9 & 31.6mm) and three travel options; 100, 125 and 150mm. 

You can choose between two remote options; the under bar style that we tested as well as a slim 2X or 3X compatible version that can be mounted on either side of the bars. While we tested the internally routed version, they also offer an externally routed Transfer; with this the cable stops at the lower part of the post so it doesn’t move when the saddle position is adjusted — a tidy option.

When it comes to the initial setup, this is one of the easiest droppers on the market. The cable head slips through a small barrel before being fed up to the lever where it’s clamped by a neatly hidden grub screw. Clamping and trimming the inner wire was easy to do up at the lever and the system was not finicky when it came to setting the cable tension. Removing and refitting the post was simple too; cable removal is self-explanatory and the barrel pops easily out of the actuator. 

Up top the Transfer runs a two-bolt head; it was well made, easy to adjust and didn’t creak. Our post measured 460mm fully extended; that’s on the long side for a 150mm dropper — something to be mindful of if you’ve got a frame with limited seat tube insertion.

With our under bar lever, the action was reasonably light with quite a short throw. It didn’t require much weight to drop the saddle and the factory set rebound speed was snappy and responsive without being disconcerting. The speed can be controlled to some extent via the remote; pushing the lever in a little bit less leads to a slower rebound and it’s easy to stop the post halfway up if you want.

Both top-out and bottom out on the post come with an audible clunk; in use I found this reassuring as you were never in doubt that the saddle had reached the end of its travel in either direction. Additionally, when the post is lowered you can still lift the bike by the saddle; it won’t move or do any harm to the internals as can happen with other designs.

While it’s the heaviest dropper we’ve seen, it’s only 64g more than the a RockShox Reverb (one of the lighter droppers on the market), so there really isn’t much in it. Some may prefer a slower rebound speed but we liked the snappy action and feedback that the Transfer gives — it’s fast, intuitive and very easy to control. This combined with the ease of setup makes the Transfer one of our favourite dropper posts. The Performance series post also happens to be one of the more affordable options, which certainly doesn’t hurt.

After six months on the trail with some pretty mixed conditions - from dry and dusty through to thick mud - the Transfer is still performing reliably with no durability issues apparent at this point. Top marks to Fox for this one!

Sola Sport (02) 9550 1655 / www.ridefox.com

Win!

Second prize in our Ultimate Garage Giveaway is a Niner Jet RDO which will be fitted out with a Fox 34 Performance fork and a matching Transfer dropper (plus a swag of other gear). Click here to get one free entry or subscribe for an even better chance of winning!