Review: Bicycling - Fox transfer Neo Dropper Post

Bicycling has reviewed the Fox Transfer Neo Seatpost. Here is what they had to say:

Fox joins the bleep-bloop dropper party with the superb Transfer Neo. It’s fast and light action, and the remote is excellent too. Fox offers the Neo in more drops than the RockShox Reverb AXS—200mm, most notably where RockShox tops out at 170mm—and Fox lets riders customize drop force and return speed with air pressure while RockShox does not. All together, Fox’s Transfer Neo is the best wireless dropper—and one of the best droppers mechanical or wireless—you can buy today.

It wasn’t the first, and it is not the only wireless dropper post—other available electronic droppers include the Magura Vyron, KS LEV Circuit, and TranszX EDP01—but the RockShox Reverb AXS has owned the category since its debut in early 2019.

But if anyone can knock them from that perch, it is Fox. It seemingly took the brand forever to respond, but it finally unveiled its first electronic and wireless dropper. The Transfer Neo (Neo is the tag for all things Fox wireless) is essentially an electronically actuated version of the updated—and much improved—mechanically actuated Transfer that Fox debuted earlier this year. But there is a lot more to it than that, of course.

Wireless Built For Speed

The core of Fox’s new dropper is a wireless protocol the company developed for it, and future wireless products.

As the brand describes, other wireless protocols are slower than Fox demands—the protocols are designed to move more information than the company needs for its products. So, Fox developed a minimalist protocol that is, it claims, 100 times faster than Bluetooth and 20 times faster “than our closest competitor” (RockShox, it is safe to assume). Fox claims “virtually zero latency” which results in almost instantaneous actuation.

Members from various Fox teams presented these details to me at an event in Whistler, BC, during Crankworx. During a free-flowing discussion, the subject of wires came up. Fox’s team freely admitted that “Wires are inherently the fastest communication method.”

But if wires are faster—and if latency is so important—why did it go wire-less, I asked? Surprisingly, the answer was for durability and simplicity.

Fox argues that wires can be cut or damaged and have connections that are another potential failure point. Plus, wires need to be routed from point A to point B, which has drawbacks, especially as full suspension frames become more intricate.

Though unsaid, I assume that Fox feels that wireless is seen by the buying public as not only expected in 2024 but also more desirable. Plus, removing wires makes a bike look cleaner. Certainly, wireless has drawbacks and compromises. However, in Fox’s view, it can be fast enough but also brings a level of reliability and simplicity not possible with wires.

The Neo Battery

I wish for a utopia where competing bike industry members think of the rider first and agree to a standard battery design for the growing number of wireless components.

But that is not our world, so Fox’s Neo uses a proprietary-designed battery. And this also means it has a unique charging dock. At least the charger employs a USB-C connection.

Fox claims a 40-hour battery life with charge times of 1.5 hours or less. For context, RockShox claims up to 60 hours for the Reverb AXS.

Fox has a “Transport Mode” option within its app that prevents motion from waking the system. This allows riders to leave the battery in place with minimal drain for long road trips or flying. If you’ve ever removed a RockShox Reverb AXS battery for travel only to arrive at the trailhead and realize its sitting on your bench at home (guilty!), you will understand why this is a helpful feature.

I asked Fox if it coordinated with Shimano on the battery design. We know that wireless Shimano mountain bike drivetrains are on the horizon (sources say Sea Otter 2025 for the new XTR 13-speed wireless system, though that could always change). It would be handy if new Shimano components used the same battery as Fox’s Neo components. Alas, Fox said there was no coordination on the battery design.

Why would I ask if there was coordination? In 2012, Fox and Shimano partnered on the iCD electronic remote lockout system powered by a Shimano Di2 drivetrain battery.

However, Fox’s Transfer Neo product presentation did say that the battery is compatible with “future Neo products.”