Fox’s new Transfer Neo dropper post is 20 times quicker than a Reverb AXS, won’t lose its battery to a tire strike and claims an impressively low stack height. That’s the claim from the latest wireless dropper on the market, which Fox says uses a wireless protocol of its own making that’s 100 times speedier than Bluetooth and “20x faster than our closest competitor”.

The new Fox Transfer Neo sits the battery on the collar, it doesn’t project as far as the Reverb AXS power unit

Great stats then, which could help it to become one of the best dropper seatposts out there. What won’t help it much is the price – at £1,129 or €1319 it’s easily the most expensive post we’ve clapped eyes on. A spare battery is similarly pricey, at £99.95 (€99). It gets worse if you’re from the UK or a European nation too because the Transfer Neo is just $859 in the US – we’ve reached out to Fox to try and figure out this price discrepancy. We’re not expecting to see many Transfer Neos on UK-specced bikes anytime soon then.

Fox Transfer Neo need to know

• Transfer Neo Factory is £1,129 (€1319) for post, lever and battery and charger. Replacement lever £229
• 100mm, 125mm, 150mm, 175mm and 200mm drop lengths, in 30.9mm, 31.6mm and 34.9mm diameter (except 100mm which is 30.9mm or 31.6mm only)
• 26 millisecond release time, 100x faster than bluetooth and 20x faster than the competition
• Low 47mm stack height when post is depressed
• Two bolt head type, removable dust wiper for regreasing, 8000 activation service interval
• Shake to wake power on, 30- 40 hour battery life, 1.25-1.5 hour charge time
• 528g in 30.9mm x 100mm, up to 800g in 34.9 x 200mm

The Transfer Neo tops out at 200mm, and weighs 800g at its 34.9mm chunkiest diameter

How fast is the Fox Transfer Neo then?

Really bloody fast, it claims to take just 26 milliseconds from the time you press the lever to the post beginning its ascent or descent. Fox says it couldn’t find a wireless protocol fast enough for its needs, so it designed its own system that’s over 100 times faster than Bluetooth and 20 times faster than the competition.

Whether all this speed is really necessary remains to be seen though, we’ve been riding and testing the RockShox Reverb AXS for more than five years now and never felt it too slow. Fox could well be in danger of inventing a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

On the other hand, none of us realised AXS electronic shifting or Flight Attendant AI-controlled suspension damping control was missing in our lives until SRAM invented it.

Shifting the battey down to the collar is key to the Transfer Neo’s low stack height

Low stack height

The speedy electronic shifting looks interesting, but more importantly it seems the Transfer Neo has a usefully low stack height. That’s the amount of post sticking up from the bottom of the collar to the saddle’s rails, and is really important if you need to slam your saddle very low.

Fox claims 47mm from bottom of the controller to centre of saddle rails with the post depressed, which is actually very low even by regular cable or hose operated droppers. Fox has managed this by designing a shallow head to the Neo, and by placing the battery on the collar where it touches the frame, rather than more conventionally placing it right up by the saddle.

There’s clearance even for big-travel 29ers with short chainstays

Tyre strikes be gone

It’s rare but we’ve had a rear wheel kiss a Reverb battery. This only happens under full compression and on certain full 29er bikes with short chainstays, but nevertheless it’s still a minor issue. The Neo’s battery placement makes this impossible, but from the images it might open itself up to snagging shorts or pants… we’ll let you know when we get a dropper to test.

The Transfer Neo lever will let you ‘feel’ the shift via haptics

The Transfer Neo Lever is actually a lever

It’s not a button, it’s not a rocker paddle. No, the Transfer Neo controller is actually a lever, actuated by your thumb. It’s very much a digital on or off switch of course, but I’m a big fan of a dropper post lever because it feels very natural.

The Neo Lever’s throw is reportedly a sixth that of the standard Fox Transfer, the idea being to stop it conflicting with anything else on your bars. What’s really cool is the haptics Fox has introduced, so much like pressing a button on your phone you should actually feel when the post has actuated.

There’s a rubbery interface for your thumb, helping the Transfer lever feel more natural

The unit itself has an  IPX7 waterproof rating, and it’s powered by a CR2032 battery with a life expectancy of around a year.

Transfer Neo details

The post uses an air spring, like pretty much all posts out there. You use your own but-energy to compress it, and the spring pushes it back up when released. The difference between the Neo and the rest is the Neo has its valve up top rather than hidden right at the bottom. This should make it easier to adjust.

The Transfer Neo has the same sleek new head design as the new Transfer, providing ultra-low stack and bullet-proof 2-bolt security and infinite angle adjustment.

Transfer Neo comes in a dedicated 34.9mm diameter option. Both the upper and lower post are optimized. This results in a lighter post with less friction as compared to other 34.9 posts that use the 31.6mm upper tube with a thicker lower tube.

The Fox app lets you lockout the post when you’re at the bike park, and will even let you know how many cycles its achieved

The New Fox Bike App

Transfer Neo is fully supported by the FOX Bike app. Riders can quicky access an overview of Transfer Neo components, download firmware updates and activate useful features like Bike Park Mode, Transport Mode, and monitor service interval tracking.