Wireless electronic dropper posts have been in existence since 2017, when Magura's Vyron post debuted. RockShox released their Reverb AXS dropper two years later, and in the years since it's become the most commonly seen housing-free option. There's just one problem – there's still no 200mm version, and no clear answers as to if / when we'll see one. That hole in the marketplace is slowly starting to fill with alternatives, including the TranzX EDP01 reviewed here.
EDP01 Dropper Details• Travel amounts: 150, 170, 200mm (tested)
• 30.9 or 31.6mm diameters
• Weight: 767 grams / remote: 52 grams
• Two-year warranty
• MSRP: $499 USD (includes battery + remote)
• More info:
na.tranzx.com The EDP01 is available in 31.6 and 30.9mm diameters with either 150, 170, or 200mm of drop. The post is powered by a rechargeable 7.4 volt battery, and the remote uses a CR2032 battery. TranzX claims the post can be activated 6,000 times before needing a charge, although my fear of being stuck out on the trail with a non-functioning dropper caused me to charge it every handful of rides just to be safe.
INSTALLATIONThere isn't any performance aspect of a wireless dropper post that makes it a must-have over a cable-actuated version, although the ease of installation does count for something. There's no cable and housing to deal with, and getting it up and running is as simple as putting the post in the frame, pairing it with the remote, and hitting the trail.
TranzX touts the post's short insertion depth, and while it is low at 290mm, the total length of the EDP01 from the bottom to the rails when fully extended is 545mm, while a 200mm OneUp dropper measures 530mm – the distance from the bottom of the collar to the seat rails is longer on the EDP01, due to the motorized mechanism. That means that to achieve the same seat height, the TranzX would need to be inserted further into a frame than the OneUp.
The post uses a one bolt design to clamp the seat into the rails, with another bolt at the front of the post that's used to adjust the seat angle. It's a convenient system, and I found it to be quicker to use than some of the more fiddly two-bolt options out there.
PERFORMANCEInitially, the EDP01's return speed was on the slower side, that is until I increased the air pressure in the cartridge to 350 psi (the maximum recommended) via the air valve on the bottom of the post. That helped speed things up, and while it still doesn't extend as quickly as a RockShox AXS, that faster return rate was an improvement. The effort it takes to lower the seat is fairly average – it's not as silky smooth as a BikeYoke, for example, or even the aforementioned Reverb AXS.
The good news is that it didn't develop any squishiness during the test period – the cartridge is still going strong. TranzX also sells replacement cartridges separately, and should an issue arise they can be swapped out in a matter of minutes. They may look and function similarly, but TranzX is adamant that the cartridges are not manufactured by Wintek, the company that makes the internals for many other dropper posts.
The remote lever is easy to access, and while it may not be the most elegant looking component, I don't have any complaints about its functionality.
As for the run time of the post, I did have the battery die on me partway through a ride. I'd left the battery installed during a three-hour drive with my bike on a vertical hitch rack, and then forgot to check its status before my next ride. It's a good reminder to take the battery out when driving longer distances; otherwise the road vibrations can potentially cause it to constantly try to pair with the remote and run the battery down, at least I'm assuming that's what happened.
That was the only hiccup I experienced, although I'd be tempted to purchase a spare battery to bring along on mega-rides, just in case (they're available for $49 USD). It's wishful thinking, but it sure would have been nice if the EDP01 battery was compatible with SRAM's AXS batteries, and vice versa.
ISSUESAfter a few months of use the post started making a knocking noise when the seat was lowered and I went over chattery sections of trail. I eventually narrowed it down to the nut that attaches to the cartridge at the base of the post. That had loosened slightly, and was allowing the cartridge to move up and down and make a racket. I snugged it down, and it's been smooth sailing since.
Pros
+ Very easy installation
+ No need to worry about cable routing or contaminated housing
+ Easy to disassemble for basic servicing
Cons
- Going wireless isn't cheap
- Not the fastest return speed
- Heavier than cable-actuated posts, even when factoring in the weight of cable + housing
Pinkbike's Take![bigquotes](https://es.pinkbike.org/246/sprt/i/bigquotes-left.svg) | For riders dead set on a wireless dropper, the EDP01 could fit the bill. It's still more expensive (and heavier) than the sea of fully functional cable-actuated options out there, but it's also not as pricey as a RockShox Reverb AXS, and it's available with 200mm of drop. I am glad of its existence, mainly for the ease that I can install it when a review bike inevitably arrives with a dropper that's too short. That said, I'm not entirely convinced that needing to remember to charge a battery is worth the tradeoff for a cleaner-looking cockpit.— Mike Kazimer |
pretty impossible with a broken cable....
And you couldn't figure out a way to move your post to get home after your cable "failed"? Really? That's what you're claiming happens to you regularly enough to justify spending more than 2x the price of any cable post?
I have some AXS shifting and droppers, some completely mechanical, and some a mix of AXS shifting and mechanical droppers. AXS droppers are the best I have ever used, two quick taps and it drops 10mm for better tech climbing, brilliant. I change batteries every few rides and carry a couple with me mostly for my kid that never charges his... never had an issue. I don't understand the "back in my day" attitude either. Buy it or don't, hope he has fun with his Model T.
I guess I just don't get the "thneed" for certain things, so I totally get wanting a long dropper, I run 200+ on all my bikes, but it's hard to justify something when what you have works well.
Have I ever broken a cable, yeah, like once on a dropper and I got home fine cuz I know how to operate it without a cable.
But to take a dropper post which is already a potential weak leak (failed cartridges happen), then add a second weak leak, AND make it weigh a bunch more, wow, I just gotta wonder what folks are thinking.
I have a dropper and a QR binder so I can tweak it up or down, so simple, not much different from the days when a QR binder was your dropper.
You guys with your doodads are kinda wierd, like Strava users, it's the "keeping up with the Joneses" that allows manufacturers to keep selling us the goods, and you guys are driving this market.
How about putting your energies into something worthy, like a gearbox? Talk about beneficial and low maintenance, only cost is initial expense and the weight ... and if you use an electric dropper then clearly you don't care about that )
Waiting for a rigid single speed rider without a dropper to swoop in here and complain about your "gears and dropper post doodads..."
Buy electronic if you like, but not sure it dresses up well as a practical purchase.
You're advocating for _more_ maintenance, when the aim should be _less_ maintenance.
Regularly 40 hours riding with the Reverb before hitting the 'low' battery warning. As @warmerdamj says if you can manage a cell phone you can manage AXS and it is by far the best dropper I have ever used (equal to BikeYoke and 9point
Not sure we'll ever get a gearbox for the masses because the main players make money from new mechs, hangers, shifters etc every few years. It's one of the few old school things that probably could be improved, but isn't.
Agree.
Consider this also: you're replacing a steel cable and spring with a secret/proprietary radio communications protocol.
Odd segue here, we pay $6.50 ish USD for 10 mixed grade eggs, how much where you live?
#PoweredByFarts
I want my dropper to work using the labour of slaves that run beside me and my bike on the trail.
Like the Sun God intended.
I bought a used bike that came with an AXS post and I’ll never go back to cable actuated. It just works perfectly with zero maintenance ever.
Far more tedious than a quick charge.
I know your answer: "I just pay someone to do it 'cos I'm lazy and left-handed".
But outside of that, I have literally never had to touch the thing in the 100’s of rides I’ve used it on.
Also EDP is a terrible name for anything haha
Eventual DP - when the battery fails
Extra DP - the cost of the battery
Envy DP - your friends think the grass is greener
Exotic DP - Transx?
www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-edp445
My reverb was garbage and my non-cartridge 9.8 was not great but my coil sprung PNW droppers have been dead reliable. I just grease every few months, which takes all of 1 minute.
I have a fox transfer, Bike Yoke, YT Postman and a PNW on my bikes and my wife have OneUp on both her mtbs.
Fox failed in Golden, lever broke, so not a post failure but it was the shit fox transfer lever
YT most recently got stuck down
PNW had bad seals and would sag.
Wifes OneUp was the one that broke in Sun Peaks.
The only one a wireless dopper would have been good would have been my wives here. I just tend to have shot luck with these things. Oddly my old KS Lev with external routing never had a single issue.
All have been fix with the exception of the YT because it’s on my capra. Oldly the YT had the best feel.
Even if you make a completely new battery format, you can't use it for the front and rear mechs, because sram has the patent for that.
Why has no one just made a seald enclosure for an omnious 18650, I'll never understand.
I love seeing all the advancements and appreciate that companies are not resting on just cable( or hydraulic) activation.
The E-grift has gotten out of hand.
A dirty housing isn't going to leave you with a stuck high dropper on the trail, but a blown IC or fried motor definitely will. And if you think the long term reliability of a brushed motor and plastic gearbox is higher than that of a Bowden tube (shifter housing) then I'd just straight up disagree.
Maintain your shit then goddamn it
When we've gotten to a point that not even a bicycle can survive an EMP, then we're up in the night as a society.
Middle aged rant off
That's also fine and it's not a condemnation on anyone's choice to accept AXS into their life, so take solace in that.
In my experience when it comes to tech, nothing seems to works right without a fight. Every patch has a patch to fix the bugs in the previous patch. Daily life is over complicated enough by tech that supposed to make our lives better. How anyone would want an app to ride their bike is beyond me.
LOL that's rich. Sram's AXS components have TONS of bugs and glitches. As does this tranz-x dropper.
> Cables get dirty, they stretch and can start to give resistance to the lever.
Cables do not get dirty. I don't know which cable actuated droppers you have used but mine has full housing from the lever all the way to the dropper. There is no room for dirt to enter.
Cable do stretch mostly at the beginning of their life...and that is what barrel adjusters are for. You typically only use them once a few days after installation and...that's it. I can't recall the last time I had to adjust the cable tension, I think it was + 3years ago.
Cables do age and get corroded as do housing but it literally takes years, especially for a fully routed cable. It is not like the exposed derailleur cable of an old road bike. The cable on my dropper is I think 4 year old.
Just look at the comments in here: there's people stumbling all over themselves to point out how it's totally worth it to add 200 grams of weight, a bunch of extra complexity, and a battery that needs charging. But at least there's no cable!
^^^
Still my overarching opinion about electronics and batteries on MTBs in general.
[I've ridden AXS and it's really good... so I'm glad it's out there for folks who want it. But I still prefer cheaper and simpler mechanical solutions on my personal bikes]
just from the comments it would be rad if mechanical droppers had a secondary (manual) means of operating the dropper, say, a lever under the seat if the main mechanism failed, or cable broke.
First it was Lycra - or not. We argued that one within the community for years.
Then
Helmets - or not.
Then
Suspension - or not.
Then
26 - or not.
Then...
There’s a pattern here. Now remote droppers or not.
Mountain bikers of the world unite!
Stop arguing - it’s what the deep State wants!
Unite! Ride! Scrub!
Nothing can hold us back from world domination!
Bike Yoke Revive = ~$350
Get a bike shop to install it for you = $100 at most
So, for $50 LESS, you get a smoother dropper, less stack height, easy post recharging, zero battery recharging needed, and a zero-hassle install (because you're not doing it yourself). I guess you might be in for slightly more maintenance in the future but as long as there's cable/housing in the frame already, replacing it is really not bad.