Review: TranzX EDP Dropper Post – Bling on a Budget

Have you noticed lately that it’s actually quite hard to buy a modern MTB *without* a dropper post?

I remember when these things came to be. Initially spring-controlled mechanisms that allowed you to stop, undo your seat clamp quick release and return the saddle to the position you had it before. Remember ‘Hite Rite’?

Then came the questionable quality hydraulic-actuated posts with stanchions, usually operated by some kind of under-saddle lever (I had a Maverick Speedball on my first Nicolai).

Eventually cable-actuated setups appeared, making the already-busy bike with its front and rear derailleur cables and hydraulic brake hoses criss-crossing the frame even busier with a cable that snuck up the side of the seat tube in a particularly clunky manner.

And then – perhaps inevitably, what with the advent of SRAM’s AXS kit and Shimano’s Di2 (on the road at least) going part-wireless – those cables disappeared again, replaced by an electronic signal opening the valve on the dropper post’s internals that allowed it to sink down so that you don’t get punched in the gut by your saddle when you lean back over that rock roll…

But that tech came at a price. The SRAM/RockShox Reverb AXS wireless dropper currently retails at around AU$1500. That’s a set of wheels. Carbon ones if you shop carefully.

Others have tried to emulate the success-despite-expense of the AXS dropper, but have never quite pulled it off. The Magura Australian distributor doesn’t bring their attempt into the country, which could be saying plenty about how good (or otherwise) those are. The KS Lev Circuit kept getting delayed, but is finally available – it looks like it’s trying too hard to be an AXS copy with its silver collar, and reviews point to niggles with the saddle clamp arrangements. Its carbon lower tube is a nice touch, though, even if it appears to do little to assist in dropping weight.

Enter, then, TranzX. A long-term cable-actuated dropper producer who often produces for own-brand droppers and apparently even makes some of the more well-known droppers on the market, turned AXS competitor? I could only find one review of their cleverly named ‘EDP’ (three guesses what that stands for?) out there, and that seemed pretty non-committal. After trying to convince a third customer that it could be a valid option despite the lack of solid information, I needed to find out for myself.

Luckily the Australian distributor – KWT Imports – were on the same page when I spoke to them about obtaining one for test purposes at a slightly preferential rate in the hope that a brief loan could help a customer make a more informed decision; and for me to form my own conclusions based on fact and experience rather than just heresay and an inconclusive internet review. To be clear, yes, I paid for this out of my own hard-earned.

Initial impressions were very good. An otherwise unexciting brand have done an excellent job, presenting the post in a packaging solution worthy of an internet unboxing video. You’ll not find one of those here, but someone somewhere probably will do one at some point…

It’s a great-looking and well-finished post too. Sure, the head is a little chunky, but so are the SRAM/RockShox, Magura and KS Lev solutions. Saddle fitting went without hitch (and, to cut to the chase on that, has stayed rock solid from day 1), and the battery charging and install was easy enough once it was clear how that all worked.

The ‘lever’ (button?) is neat, simple and effective. Whilst arguably missing some of the class and solidity of the SRAM/RockShox equivalent, any fears I had initially over the comparatively flimsy feel of the lever are most definitely unfounded – that too has been rock solid since day 1, and has held up well despite not having been babied.

Having gone for the 170mm drop version, it was ideal for my slightly-more-enduro-bro Nicolai (which is actually really a trail [or downcountry, for the PinkBike fans] bike, if I’m honest about the way I use it). The 200mm version would have been even better in terms of making use of the dropper range that the bike has, but that isn’t yet available in Australia at the time of publication; and I also had to remember that the intent was to loan this out when the need arose, so a level of versatility had to remain.

Weight-wise, I was pleasantly surprised to find the post coming in at 703g (published weight is more like 730g), but still, let’s not confuse this for a light weight option! Again, this is a known drawback of the electronic dropper solutions, so if this is your realm then you are no doubt already at peace with this.

Despite that extra heft, the EDP is curently holding fort on my XC/Trail hardtail. I mean, it’s a steel hardtail, so minimal weight clearly isn’t my priority. Perhaps the only thing I find myself wanting for with it on that bike is a little less travel – it’s definitely a setup where the 150mm version would be more than enough. This is another area where many cable droppers benefit as these electronic solutions aren’t travel adjustable.

I complained (lightly) about the ambiguity of that other EDP review, so here’s some detail that I think that review missed:

1. Whilst ultimately responsive, it is possible to sit on the post before you have quite reached full extension due to a very (VERY) slight delay in the signal from button release to valve closure – this could, in part, be because…
2. The post is slow to return to full height. Now, I think this is a wear thing – by which I mean if you undo the top collar of the post and actuate it, its return speed is nothing to qualm about at all. Screw that top collar back on and it slows again. This leads me to believe it is a tight tolerance on the seal of that top collar that is slowing the post down. I personally don’t consider that a bad thing. It is there to keep the crap out after all.
3. I do, sometimes, find myself checking that the post is at full extension – usually on a pedally bit after I’ve had the post dropped down for a less pedally bit. I think this is because of No.1, which I think is because of No.2, so if No.2 sorts itself out (which I do believe is slowly happening, and which a touch of Slickoleum seems to help with), then I believe 1 & 3 go away.
4. I’m being *very* nit-picky here, but – by comparison to the AXS dropper – the battery setup is on the fiddly side. This definitely should not be a red flag or cause to disregard the post, but I do feel it is worthy of calling out.

For anyone who has had the pleasure of installing a cable-actuated dropper post (or more than one), the benefits of electronic droppers are crystal clear. No, having to install a cable and feed it through a fiddly-arse routing solution inside a frame – or many different frames, if you do what I do – is not justification to spend two or three times as much on one that makes robot-like zappy noises. However, the ease of serviceability, the ease of cleaning, and eliminating damaged cables that screw up the whole setup certainly start to add up. Over time those benefits will, eventually, provide equilibrium. You just have to remember to charge them…

If you already run a SRAM AXS drivetrain then adding a different battery format makes no sense – even if the SRAM/RockShox alternative does have an RRP of another 50% over this TranzX EDP. If, like me, you run Shimano, or SRAM mechanical, or anything other than SRAM AXS for that matter, there is absolutely no reason to disregard this as an electronic dropper option.

At the AU$999 RRP it’s still not cheap, but I’ve seen deals out there on them that bring them much closer to expensive cable dropper territory. Factor in paying a wrench to solve a couple of failed cables and add the cost of one of those delicious Hope dropper levers and you’re right there cost-wise anyway. At that point I’d be hard pushed not to take this option…