Customer Review: Fox Shox Transfer Factory Series Dropper Post

One of our customers, David Schaeffer, gave us a great review of his Fox Transfer dropper post. David was actually so pleased with his dropper post that he decided to go ahead and buy a second for his hardtail. Let's take a closer look at what David thinks about how the Transfer dropper post is priced, its reliability, cable routing, Kashima coating, and remote lever.

What’s there to say about the Fox Transfer Dropper Post? Well, you could start by talking about its flawless construction or top-notch aesthetics. Perhaps you’re the function over form type and would rather concern yourself with the buttery smooth movement and the rock-solid reliability that you’ve come to love from Fox? Whatever your preferences, the Fox Transfer Dropper Post has you covered. Let’s talk about what we like, what we don’t, and the all-important question, should you buy one? Finally, I guess I should mention that I’m not associated with Fox products in any way. I’m just a guy who likes bikes, quality products and spending more time on the bike than fixing it.

I purchased a Fox Transfer for my full-suspension trail bike. At 5’10 and on a medium frame, I went with the 125mm externally routed version. Let’s look at some of the features that stand out most.

Easy Cable Routing - Using a cable rather than dot fluid (yuck) is so much better and easy to service. Replacing the cable is a breeze and takes less than 10 minutes. No bleeds, trips to the shop or hazardous messes! Also, the external version places the cam on the post base, not the seat clamp for easy access and a super smooth look. I’m running external on both bikes. (Spoiler alert: I bought two of them)

Kashima Coat - I mean…just look at it. How do you say no to that intoxicating gold finish. However, if you do say no, the Performance black coat is just fine and you probably won’t notice a functional difference.

Competitively priced - This was a little more true for the 2016/17 versions. At I think $264 for the Performance model there wasn’t a better deal in town. However, Fox decided that they weren’t charging enough and upped the price for the “2018 Model” which, I don’t really know what they changed. However, it’ll cost you about $40 more but it’s still competitively priced and as far as I’m concerned, the best value on the market.

Reliability - It’s a Fox so of course it’s going to be good. After over a year of hard riding, my Transfer post feels exactly the way it did when I took it out of the box. I’ve heard of other posts going bad after just one ride and I’m expecting another full year before a rebuild is necessary.

So, it’s reliable, it’s affordable, it’s easy to work on, and it looks great. It also comes in two trims, three different travel lengths, and two post sizes. However, nothing is perfect so let’s try and find some negatives.

Remote, or lack thereof – Well, this is kind of a positive and negative. Fox sells the remote separately so add about $65 to whatever the post costs. However, they’ll argue that you get to choose if you want the longer lever 1x model or the shorter 2x for those of you who still run multiple front rings. Negatively, the remote leaves a bit to be desired. I found the 1x remote to be comfortable but shreds cables and a couple others who have it say the same. I actually upgraded to a Wolftooth remote and have been completely satisfied with it.

All your friends will be jealous – Okay so maybe this belongs in the positive column but once you show up with a brand new Fox Transfer post with the Kashima coat shining in the sun, your friends will be hounding you to ride your bike. It will also make you faster because you can’t get dropped while having one of these bad boys. That would be embarrassing.

If you’ve come this far, we don’t have to get into the whole dropper vs. fixed thing. And let’s face it, you’re not Nino Schurter so a few grams here and there don’t matter. Besides, the only people who should be counting grams are those who count calories and that’s no way to live. As mentioned before, I loved my Fox Transfer so much that I bought a second one for my hardtail. Sure, for a bike I don’t ride as often I could have gotten a cheaper post or the Performance trim but what’s the fun in that? When I buy Fox I know that I’m getting a solid product that looks and performs flawlessly every single time I get on my bike. The Fox Transfer gives me the confidence to ride as hard as possible and lets me shred without having to worry about performance. I don’t think I could ask for anything more out of my seatpost.