Spotted: A Wireless Fox Electronic Dropper Post
Whether you like it or not, premium components are shifting to wireless actuation and Fox looks to be the latest to enter the game. A keen eye caught this Kashima-coated dropper post with an electronic gubbin located above the seat collar - a different orientation for any motor components than RockShox's Reverb AXS.
On the handlebars, there's the expected wireless lever, but also two addition clamped components. A wireless pod on the inside of the brake clamp could be part of a system which pairs to an electronically synced RAD shock, which has been appearing on various racers bikes over the last two years.
It's possible that the shock's compression circuit could partially close, or completely lock out, based on the height of the post. This would allow the rider to control the threshold of the rear shock with more input than something like the RAD shock system, which relied on the pitch of the bike, measured by two more sensors placed on the front and rear axles.
The outer controller looks to have a bi-directional button. This could be an increase and decrease override selector to change the threshold of the shock independent of the seat post height.
We reached out to Fox for more information but they remained tight-lipped, sharing only the following statement.
 | In an effort to continually develop highly advanced suspension products, Fox constantly tests prototype components in the field under the world’s best racers. Some of these components – or parts of them – eventually make it into production, many of them do not. Testing in real-world environments is a critical part of how we determine what works best – not only for our professional athletes but ultimately for every rider who puts their trust in Fox products. This field-testing protocol is part of our proven and longstanding RAD (Racing Application Development) program. |
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Squamish, BC, Canada
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My current Reeb SST is all external cable routing, but hot damn the small section of cable that I have to run in the seat tube is a pain. So much of a pain that I delay dropper service for too long.
The second the wireless Revive is available I'm on board. It will be the first and only wireless item on my bike.
With the new welfare version of AXS that SCAM just put out electric bike parts will be on department store bikes too in a few years I bet.
I called it a fad because I hope it doesn’t get forced upon us all eventually….but something tells me it is not a fad!
I’m open to things being better, but my anecdotal experience is that wireless drivetrain is no better (and arguably feels worse) than standard. This is purely what friends that have bought them have told me. They are all switching back to cable actuated, claim the feel isnt as good etc.
It feels like just another way to force us to buy shit, and not even with much upside (if any).
I’m just shouting into the void, it doesn’t matter.
Heading out for a ride to forget about all this crap!
The internet is a great place to complain about things - manufacturers actually read the PB comments. If you've got something to say, say it. It does actually matter.
Some of this is "self induced" because for some weird reason I try to keep all of my cables inside of the shock mount/bracket to keep it looking tidy...but it's still a bit of a tight turn no matter how I run it.
The second issue is just the simple fact of having to loosen all of the external cable housing bolts to give the dropper cable some play to remove it. The forward most one is a tight squeeze and annoying to get at, all of the cables then just fly all over the place...all so I can just pull my darn dropper out and service it.
That second issue is just the nature of the beast of external routing...but it's still a PITA to turn my handebar sideways (or disconnect my dropper lever), loosen all of the bolts on the external guides, have cable spaghetti, and still have to guide the dropper cable while pulling the post because it catches on the edge of the hole.
A wireless dropper would take my only complaint of working on this bike away (well that and my rear tire slowly rubbing through my seat-tube).
The stuff just works. It's been foolproof to setup, micro-adjustments are really easy (only needed one right after setup), and it's been set and forget since (after only about 20 hours of riding so far, mind you). If you're on it, you can shift faster on XT. But that requires a bit of attention, whereas the AXS stuff is just doing it, no drama. I don't ride in places that are uber rocky, so the more exposed derailleur isn't that big a deal for me. Not ever having to use my derailleur alignment tool again seems like a nice bonus, but it's not like I had to do a lot of that before.
So no, it's not the insane must have break-through the SRAM marketing hype would have you believe, but I'm no longer thinking wireless shifting is the downfall of civilization. Given how much cheaper it's going to get over time, it may turn out to be a small but not insignificant net positive.
You may need to side the housing alittle for maintenence and change the cable some day. But that one time installing the housing ang getting past that little bend is hardly a reason to "need" a wireless dropper...
However 27.5 wheels were not a fad.
The UCI changed the rules allowing Mixed wheel setups. 29 wheels just roll faster, and with gravity bikes, the 29er never caught on until Greg Minnaar did it. Alot of smaller races like Troy Brosnan stayed on the 27.5 wheel u til the rule change. So was it a fad? No, because it was an evolutionary step.
A few pro riders might have special versions, or they do the same thing Seth did. Perhaps it will get fixed in the future, but current riders with axs droppers cannot just spin it around. I still think it's one of the best droppers on the market after using it, but just wanted to point out it may not work well for all bikes.
If this initial version is 200mm+, they'll have a nice little advantage until SRAM catches up...at least with the longer-legged ka$hima fiends.
www.mtbr.com/threads/new-fox-wireless-dropper-on-the-way.1230805/?post_id=16231373#post-16231373
2Bike yoke
3Bike yoke
The top three posts I’d put on my bike.
Easy to pull off for park/jump days.
Or you can get three cable actuated dropper posts for the (likely) same price as this one.
5+ batteries per bike
My current Reeb SST is all external cable routing, but hot damn the small section of cable that I have to run in the seat tube is a pain. So much of a pain that I delay dropper service for too long.
The second the wireless Revive is available I'm on board. It will be the first and only wireless item on my bike.
www.mtbr.com/threads/new-fox-wireless-dropper-on-the-way.1230805
We are obviously on a path to longer travel bikes pedaling better and shorter travel bike descending better. Having suspension firmness tied to dropper height is a great idea...bring it on!