I’m not sure how a 2 position mechanism would work. As far as I know, most dropper mechanisms are just lock/unlock with a spring (air or mechanical) pushing the post up when unlocked and unweighted. I think the infinite adjustability is primarily a byproduct of the simple locking design, not something they had to add complexity to achieve. Maybe there are other dropper designs out there that I’m not aware of, but I can’t think how a 2 position design would be simpler or more reliable.
The Fox Transfer SL is a 2 position and that’s where much of it’s weight savings comes from. It’s a simple mechanical spring with a lock at top and bottom, so very little to fail.
I personally don’t feel like I need the infinite adjustability most of the time but also don’t think that droppers are particularly unreliable as it is so I run one with infinite with no concern.
As mentioned above, the Fox Transfer SL does just that, 2 mechanical positions. The dropper that comes with the new Giant Anthem is similar as well
Interesting, so does it just pop back up and re-lock at the top if you aren’t all the way at the bottom and release the lever too soon? Makes sense as a trade off for weight, I’m just surprised the locking mech would be any lighter or more reliable by only having it lock at the top or bottom. Clearly, I have no clue on such things.
Looking a a Specialized Chisel Comp as a NICA bike for me ever growing son. The 2025 models are specced with mechanical GX while the 26 are specced with Transmission 70. Which would you opt for? I’ve enjoyed a bike with GX but don’t know anything about the bottom tier Transmission group.
The only other difference is Level T 2 piston vs DB6 4 piston. Not a fan of the levels, but I can always pull the Guide RSC 4 pistons off his current bike.
Get the color he likes the most. Scientifically proven a bike that looks good is faster. 
I have the Transfer SL on my Epic 8 coming off an AXS Reverb that I have on a Supercaliber. The Transfer SL is great and for the most part don’t miss the infinite adjustment. I really like to positive action the Transfer SL has and it gives a satisfying “thunk” when you pop it back up. The weight savings is a great bonus.
Has anybody considered/looked at/ridden the new Fox 34 SL 130mm forks? I’m thinking about it as a relatively cheap performance upgrade for my 22 SC Blur TR. I’d get more travel, slightly longer wheelbase, slightly slacker head angle for not that much spend - and it’s basically the same weight as my current fork. The performance version of the fork looks like it is in the same weight range as the elite and factory versions, just the less sophisticated damper (and different stanchion coating than the Factory).
Assuming that you’re coming from a 130mm fork, and while all the geometry impacts that you mentioned are true, those will be small enough that you’ll forget about them after a couple of riding hours. Those will not make the bike “more capable”. Just my 2.c
Ahhh yeah good catch. I forgot to mention I’m coming from the stock 120mm fork. Looking at axle to crown lengths, I think there’s about a 14mm difference. Accounting for usage, that’s about a 12mm effective A-C length change - about 1/2 degree in HTA and probably about 5mm wheelbase difference?
Keep in mind that SC only approves up to 120mm forks for the Blur. It’s possible that overforking voids the warranty.
Then again, maybe SC just sets a limit so that it doesn’t overlap with the Tallboy.
For me, 120mm felt like I was overforking that frame. It seemed like they designed that bike as 100/100 and then the TR was an afterthought when the winds of XC bikes changed.
They need a big update to that bike IMO.
Along this topic, I have an Epic 8 Evo Pro that came with a Fox 34 Factory. I’m assuming that a Fox 34 SL would be kind of a useless upgrade, even if my goal was to better set the bike up for riding Leadville?
IMO I don’t think the cost is worth the minuscule weight savings. The damper on that fork is way better than what you would get on the SL also. Just my 2 cents. I have the previous version Epic Evo that also came with a standard fox factory 34 instead of the stepcast version. The beefier fork and damper are better for virtually all other types of riding even if not 100% optimal for leadville.
I tried many different forks through the years, and honestly, for XC travel, anything above a certain level (like Select+ for RS) is not a great investment. I would much rather spend that money to max out on wheel spec or to buy a bunch of different tires to try
That’s what I needed to hear, thanks. I’m trying to figure out where to strip some weight out. I was hoping to get the non Evo version, but couldn’t say no to the 8 Evo for the price.
Depends on which damper came with the original fork, and how you get along with it. If it was the FIT4 damper, the new GripX might be an upgrade in terms of setup possibilities, alternatively the GripSL is lighter.
Overall, the 34 SL is 300g lighter than a standard 34, if that’s enough weight difference to sway your decision.
Looks nice. Was that an Epic Evo (7) or Epic Evo 8 you went from?
Seeing quite a few folks ending up on the ASR at the moment. Annoyingly my local dealer for Yeti (and Giant, Specialized and Santa Cruz) only has two XC bikes in stock, and both are Epic 8’s.
Epic 7 Evo