You don’t need to run their dropper to run manual override. Just install the extra pod above the bar, dropper below the bar. That’s what I did.
Some interesting tidbits from Pinkbike’s world cup coverage. Sounds like the pro bikes are getting independent manual control of the front/rear shocks. They’re also giving downhill riders a light on the handlebar to give them a position indicator.
I use it without the override. I have a tuned transfer SL on my bike
I’ve tilted my chest mount gopro downward to see the crown lights for a preride of an xc course, and it was pedal or open more often than I’d like. If it’s smooth gravel, then it does lock out, but once I hit a small bump it goes into and stays in pedal or open more than I’d like. I ended up using the manual lock for that section during the race, but am in the process of manually setting the powerzones to see if that would help.
You can also play with the bias adjustment to make it go firmer quicker. In my experience, the only 2 modes the rear is in while pedaling with any pressure is pedal and lock, so I’m surprised to hear it’s staying open. Mine is only in open when coasting/descending or very soft pedaling. Also, if you are new to a 3-way lock with the pedal (middle) mode, you might give pedal mode a chance before assuming you want it locked more often. I’ve spent a ton of time on manual 3-way lockouts (both fox and rockshox) and pedal mode was where I spent the vast majority of the time. Open for descending, only locked for super smooth or out of saddle. But that’s me, I know some folks coming from hard tails that don’t want the rear moving at all unless then are descending.
Yeah, I ride with the bias maxed out to be more locked out. I just checked the video and there are definitely very short periods (2-3 secs?) when I’m continuously pedaling at 250-300w+ and it remains open, but I think that it’s open because I just hit a small bump. But I do see a tendency to revert back to pedal and not stay in open for a long period while pedaling 200W+.
That’s one nit pic I have on FA, it definitely has an internal clock for making some adjustments and I don’t think there is any way to configure it. I get why they need to have a balance between constant adjustments vs waiting, I just wish it was a configurable thing. For a 10 hour marathon event, a couple seconds in the “wrong” setting is probably a good trade off for battery life, but for a 1 hour xc event I could see the advantage of quicker changes. It’s really more of an annoyance than a real impact, the system works incredibly well but everything has room for improvement.