Fox Transfer SL review

 The last "heavy" part on my hei hei was the seatpost. The 170mm standard transfer came in at 631g when I put it on our scale. That's a lot, and it bugged me having that on an XC bike. Also, it had started acting a little finicky in cold weather so I figured something else to put in there while I send it in to be serviced wasn't a bad idea anyway.

Enter the fox transfer SL, one of the lightest dropper posts out there

Two years ago I didn't even ride with a dropper but now I'm finding it to be pretty invaluable. While it saves weight, I'm noticing some compromises with the SL version of the Transfer. The main things are that it can only be up or down, and only has 100mm of travel. For trail riding steeper and rougher terrain on the hei hei, that's kind of not enough. I'd estimate I generally dropped the old post down in the 125-150mm range, not usually all the way, but still more. The lack of intermediate positions isn't as important with the shorter travel though.

The other issue is that it has thin walls and is really sensitive to clamping pressure. With the stock kona clamp I couldn't get it to stay in place without sticking, and swapped to a bikeyoke squeezy, which is super slick and low profile and light and has a titanium bolt.

It also seems to not have the tightest fit in my seat tube, which is likely more the frame's issue although I haven't measured it, and could also be why the old post was getting finicky.

When you actuate it, you can't just be sitting on the saddle with your full weight either, as it will get hung up on whatever little latch releases the post and not drop down. You have to unweight, push lever, drop post down. Then make sure to go all the way down.

So anyway my impression is yes, lighter. A full 253g of savings, over 1/2 a pound, and the best value in g/$ I've done. But also, good for racing, not ideal for a trail bike, so I might go with something with more travel and a little heavier.

I estimate it will come in a bit under 26lbs when I go to XC tires, which is still heavier than I want for a race bike. I'm "on a list" for an orbea alma hardtail frame, and then will use my nice wheels on it and piece together the rest. I don't have my hopes up about having it for xc season though.