2025 Fox Transfer
Travel Lengths Available:
- 95–120 mm
- 125–150 mm
- 155–180 mm
- 185–210 mm
- 215–240 mm
Diameters Available: 30.9 mm, 31.6 mm, and 34.9 mm
MSRP:
- Transfer Performance Elite: $289 USD / $389 CAD
- Transfer Factory: $339 USD / $449 CAD
Intro
Dropper posts were a huge development when they first became commonplace about 15 years ago. But while their promise was strong, early ones were kind of a pain in the ass. They were mostly unreliable, their drop was limited, and for a while, they were much more a good idea than a fully realized actual product.
Fox made one of the first truly reliable dropper posts with the D.O.S.S. Sure, its remote was weird and clunky, it only stopped in three positions, and it topped out at 125 mm of drop, but it worked, reliably. That was a rare thing in those days.
Then Fox came out with the first-generation Transfer, and… it worked great, too. Plus, it came with 150 mm (and later 175 mm) of drop, could lock anywhere in that range, and didn’t need nearly as complicated a remote. The ergonomics of that original Transfer remote still weren’t great, but there were widely available aftermarket options that were quite good (thanks, Wolf Tooth), and the post itself was my personal go-to for years.
Things got a little rockier with the second-generation Transfer. Early ones worked pretty well, but by that point, there were many more options for good, reliable dropper posts, many of which were cheaper, easier to service, available in longer-drop options, and / or shorter. And then somewhere along the line, Fox started having issues with the Transfer getting sticky and not moving well, especially (but not exclusively) in colder weather — something we’ve experienced on a whole bunch of them recently.
But Fox was listening, and the new third-generation Transfer gets longer drop options, adjustable travel, is fully user-serviceable, and claims to be much smoother sliding and go longer between services, too. Let’s see what they came up with.
Design
Visually, there isn’t anything too wild going on with the new Transfer.
(Not that we’re complaining. Short of someone debuting a linkage dropper post or something like that, there probably aren’t a ton of avenues to get too adventurous there.)
Things are much more interesting internally. For one thing, the new Transfer is said to be fully user-serviceable with no special tools. We haven’t yet seen the instructions for doing so or had the chance to pop one open, so we’re not entirely clear on what a full service entails, but we’ll report back once we’re able to get our hands on one.
Fox has also increased the maximum available drop on the Transfer to 240 mm (from 200 mm on the prior-generation version), and that travel is now adjustable in 5 mm increments. The new Transfer is offered in 120, 150, 180, 210, and 240 mm drop versions, all of which can be lowered by up to 25 mm without tools. The travel adjustment works via clip-on plastic spacers that attach underneath the collar.
The new Transfer also gets user-adjustable air pressure to tweak the return speed, which Fox accomplished in part by moving the air chamber to the top of the post. Doing so also allowed them to remove a couple of dynamic air seals, and Fox says that they’ve made the Transfer hold air for much longer as a result. The air valve is a standard Schader one with a sealed metal valve cap, and it lives at the top of the post underneath the seat clamp.
Fox has also overhauled the bushings in the new Transfer, using a new design that they say has less friction and a longer life. The recommended service interval is now 300 hours (up from 125) and Fox says that they’ve also improved the oil sealing in the new Transfer to help there.
Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About
(1) Fox’s claims of the new Transfer’s reduced friction are certainly welcome — especially in light of how many sticky prior-gen Transfers we’ve seen recently — but is the issue truly resolved?
(2) Full user serviceability is welcome, too, but how hard is it to actually do it yourself?
Bottom Line (For Now)
There are a lot of good dropper posts out there these days, but the new Fox Transfer looks promising on paper, with options for longer drops, full user serviceability, and claims of improved durability and reduced friction. We’ll start spending time on the new Transfer soon and will report back on how it goes. Stay tuned for a Full Review to come.