Fox Transfer Neo dropper post first ride review – untethered, ultra-fast, and an unbelievably high price tag!

Fox might have been a bit slow with the release of its first electric dropper post; after all, SRAM launched its first wireless dropper over five years ago. However, Fox claims the Transfer Neo is the fastest-actuating wireless dropper ever, with an almost instantaneous 26-millisecond response time. Alongside the quick-fire trigger action, the Transfer Neo offers fast actuation, tunability, and the signature Kashima Gold stanchions, elevating it to be one of the best dropper posts out there – if you can afford it.

Design and Specifications 

A lot of the Transfer Neo’s architecture is similar to the 2025 Fox Transfer. The low-profile seat clamp reduces stack height and the air pressure-adjusted return gives riders options to tune the dropper. Inside, metal-backed Ekanol bushings, new static sealing, and separate air and oil chambers help keep dirt out and reduce servicing requirements.

The Transfer Neo comes in three seat tube diameters—30.9mm, 31.6mm, and 34.9mm—and five lengths, with 25mm increments between 100mm and 200mm. However, the travel is not adjustable. While the Transfer Neo is one of the longer electronic dropper posts, offering a 200mm drop, it doesn't match its cable-actuated cousin's 240mm option.

Efforts have been made to lower the stack height of the clamp and collar, but the Transfer Neo may not be ideal for those seeking maximum drop with limited insertion length. The insertion length for my 175mm, 31.6mm post is 290mm, which is slightly longer than the RockShox Reverb AXS (170mm) at 268mm or the Crankbrothers Highline 7 (170mm) at 287mm, which I previously used. Additionally, there is no travel adjustment to fine-tune the length for the perfect slam.

What sets the Transfer Neo apart from other electronic dropper posts is Fox's decision to mount the wireless controller and battery on the collar of the post, rather than under the seat. Although this positioning may not appear as sleek, it offers several advantages. First, it provides more clearance and maintains the ISO-recommended 6mm of space between the tire and the battery when the suspension bottoms out, reducing the risk of dislodging the battery during big compressions. Second, it allows Fox to utilize its low-stack seat clamp, enabling more drop in a smaller package. Inside the post, a coreless 7V motor with Fox-customized steel planetary gears drives the seatpost into its extended position. To protect the electronics and battery from rear-wheel spray, the Transfer Neo has an IPX7 waterproof rating (protection against immersion in water up to 1 meter for 30 minutes).

The battery securely clips into place, and its life is estimated to last between 30 to 40 hours, though Fox notes that this depends on the frequency of dropper post actuation. The battery takes approximately 1.25 to 1.5 hours to charge using the supplied charging cradle and USB-A to USB-C cable. The battery is specific to the Transfer Neo, but Fox has stated that it will be compatible with future Neo products, though the specifics remain unclear.

Claimed weights range from 528g for the 30.9mm diameter 100mm post up to 800g for the 34.9mm diameter 200mm post. My 175mm, 31.6mm test sample weighs a confirmed 696g for the post (including the battery) and 62g for the lever.

Fox’s electronic shifter has a similar shape to the cable version and features a small lever with a textured rubber finish on the paddle for grip. The compact, flat shape and short throw allow it to hug the underside of your brake lever, keeping it out of the way to prevent damage and reduce potential knee strikes. The shifter uses a CR2032 battery and is expected to last for around a year. If the battery runs out, the dropper can still be moved up and down by holding the button on the control unit.

The shifter can be mounted using a standard 22.2mm split band, Matchmaker, or I-Spec EV clamp options, all of which are included in the box. The remote has a slotted interface, allowing for side-to-side adjustment to fine-tune the lever position with the mount.

Communication between the shifter and dropper uses Fox’s proprietary Neo wireless protocol. Fox claims Neo is "over 100x faster than Bluetooth and 20x faster than our closest competitor," which gives the Transfer Neo a reaction time of just 26 milliseconds. Does communication between a dropper post and lever need to be that fast? Probably not, but it's impressive nonetheless.

As with all electronic goodies these days, there is a companion app to go alongside the Transfer Neo. The app guides you through the pairing process, which doesn’t require more than a couple of button presses to pair the post with the remote lever. Once everything is linked, the app keeps track of battery levels, firmware versions, and service interval notifications, so you don’t need to keep count of the 1,000 actuations between recommended dust wiper cleaning or the 8,000 actuations between full factory services. Servicing can also be booked with the Fox Service Center directly through the app.

The app also offers the option to activate a travel mode to prevent the dropper from shaking awake and draining its battery in transit and a bike park mode which disables the dropper to avoid any surprise ejecto-seat activations. 

Without cables, fitting the Transfer Neo is simply a case of sliding the post into the frame, bolting a saddle on, and attaching the shifter to the bars. The two-bolt seat clamp makes it easy to adjust saddle tilt, and although it doesn’t have measurements printed on the post, the vertical Transfer graphic provides some reference to saddle height

Performance

Although Fox made a big deal about the ultra-fast actuation speed, out on the trail, it doesn’t make any discernable difference. To drop the saddle down for a descent, the limiting factor is the reaction speed of my butt and how fast I can squat, not the dropper's communication time. At the bottom of the trail, I’ve never been so desperate to sit down that I needed a dropper post capable of reacting in the literal blink of an eye.

While the dropper action is very smooth, what makes the Transfer Neo so exquisite to use is the lever. However, the communication between the lever and post makes the transfer Neo fast on paper, the short throw, smooth lever action, and clear click translate to the tactile feeling of instantaneous action when riding. Even the lightest cable lever is still physically pulling a cable through over a meter of housing, once your thumb gets a taste of the good life, it’s hard to go back.

Out of the box, the Transfer Neo blasts back to full extension, however, if you want a less aggressive return this can be adjusted by changing the air spring's pressure with a standard shock pump. There is a Schrader valve under the saddle clamp, and pressures can be adjusted up to 325psi. The process is a bit fiddly, you need to remove the saddle to access the valve and unscrew the shock pump to test the pressures, but it's nice to be able to dial down the return speed back a little.

The Transfer Neo pricing is pretty insane, particularly in the UK. We balked at the price of the RockShox Reverb AXS when it was released, at the time it cost twice as much as Magura’s Veyron post but the Transfer Neo is roughly twice the price of a Reverb. It's wild that at $859 / £1,129 / €1,319, the Transfer Neo is the same price as many of the best budget mountain bikes, some of which are specced with dropper posts although admittedly not wireless, Kashima-coated ones.

It’s early days though, there are hints of more Neo products in the pipeline (the app already has the menu to pair a Neo shock) which could unlock extra Transfer Neo features as the Neo infrastructure grows around it. Even then, there would have to be some pretty spectacular features added to justify the price.

 Verdict

Although the new Fox Transfer Neo is probably one of the best dropper posts available, the reality is it doesn’t do anything unique compared to other dropper posts. Much like electronic shifting, you don’t need an electronic dropper post, but once you use one, it's hard to go back. The Fox Transfer Neo impresses with its super-smooth, almost instantaneous actuation; however, it's the lever feel that makes the Transfer Neo feel special. The excellent ergonomics of the short-throw lever require no effort to actuate, giving precise control when riding and accentuating the overall experience.

There is no getting away from the astronomical price, which will make the Transfer Neo the reserve of those who can afford it. For most riders, the benefits offered by conductors rather than cables won’t be enough to justify the extra outlay over an analog Transfer, which still offers the tunable return speed, low-profile saddle clamp, and the lovely Kashima finish without the bulky control unit and battery charging needs.

Tech specs: Fox Transfer Neo dropper post

• Price: $859 USD / $1,149 CAD / £1,129 / €1,319
• Travel: 100mm, 125mm, 150mm, 175mm, and 200mm
• Sizes: 30.9mm, 31.6mm, 34.9mm
• Weight: Dropper post 696g (175mm, 31.6, including battery), lever 62g