What's wrong with Rapid Rise?

ricktabor1

I was just wondering why people are so down on Rapid Rise Derailleurs.

I have a rapid rise XT on my road bike and it's been great. I also have Rapid Rise (Deore though) on my MTB which, once i tightened the clamp bolt so it stopped slipping, has been pretty good too.

One thing I have noticed is that I have to reset the Deore mech quite often. Is this why they're not popular?

Anyone got any ideas/knowledge to pass on?

nicklouse

they are neither popular or not.

when used with the correct levers they are fine, otherwise they switch the way the shifters work.

bomberesque

I use RR derallieurs and like them, however they certainly are not popular in North America, 3 times I've had to buy a RR deralieur in Canada and 3 times it's been a special order.

Personally I think it's simply what people are used to with regard to how the shifters work. RR seems "backwards" so people think it's odd and don't take the time to get used to it. Their call, I did get used to it and now like them

Nick; what's this about styles of shifters? I use rapidfire shifters, which work the other way around with RR than with Top Normal (as one would expect) is there a style of shifter that works the same with both (this lever to shift up, that one to shift down)?

supersonic

Shimano originally thought RR was going to be the next big thing, and the same with DCL. Infact there was a gap in XTR rapidfire shifters.

Then they realised that most peope didn't like RR with rapid fire, nor DCL in general, and in typical Shimano fashion 'reinvented' the traditional set up normal mechs and shifters.

They now market rapid fire as being in fact better suited to normal mechs, and RR for DCL.

But whatever floats your boats.

nicklouse

and Sram stole the show with the re introduction of their triggers while shimano screwed up with DCL.

bomberesque

ah, yes, DCL well there was a superb idea :roll:

as for the SRAM ones I tried them and didn't like them, the shifting was the wrong way round :P

Anonymous

i preferred rr when i used shimano, i also quite liked dcls but it appears i was the only one.

i definately found that even with top end shimano kit, the indexing needed adjustng more often than with sram and the initial setup, although plenty simple, was no where near as quick as with sram.

deore is plenty popular and the newest groupset is ace looking, the necessity for frequent adjustment is an inherrent shimano thing in my opinion. im running a deore fornt mech on my orange and it was the easiest front mech i have ever set up, im not sure why. but it has been on 2 bikes already and both times it was a doddle to get running silently in all combinations.

it all comes down to feel in the end, some like sram, some plonkers like shimano

supersonic

I index my gears on the move (if needs doing, rarely does as I make sure my cables are fully bedded) by simply turning the shifter barrel, usually a quarter half turn does it. Limit stops never need doing.

VWsurfbum

I love my RR, if your a numpty like me and are in the wrong gear too often than not at the start of a climb, it changes much quicker into lower gears. :oops:

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

I index my gears on the move (if needs doing, rarely does as I make sure my cables are fully bedded) by simply turning the shifter barrel, usually a quarter half turn does it. Limit stops never need doing.

this is what i used to do too. i find i never need to do it with sram though. infact, i dont think i have ever needed to do it with sram.

supersonic

I never need to do it with the Shimano, it seems to be the SRAM! But the mech cage is not straight so needs sorting.

Anonymous

VWSurfbum wrote:

I love my RR, if your a numpty like me and are in the wrong gear too often than not at the start of a climb, it changes much quicker into lower gears. :oops:

this is the exact reason why i liked rr!!

VWsurfbum

sheepsteeth wrote:

VWSurfbum wrote:

I love my RR, if your a numpty like me and are in the wrong gear too often than not at the start of a climb, it changes much quicker into lower gears. :oops:

this is the exact reason why i liked rr!!

glad i'm not the only one!

supersonic

I thought it was quicker to press the thumbshifter to change to an easier gear - rapirdfire lets you do 4 gears at once!

But yeah, I understand the principle - the spring changes and will only change on the correct pins and ramps giving a smoother shift.

Anonymous

i found with shimanos vagueness that rr meant it was easier to change one gear at a time on a climb instead of accidently dropping too many with a ham fisted sweep of the thumb.

supersonic

Lol.

-liam-

I don't mind either.

Did have a RR xt which i suppose does give smoother shifts on climbs.

Recently fitted a normal rise xtr (because it was cheap lol) and its fine, although I think the gear changes feel a little more clunky than the old mech.

ricktabor1

Nice one guys. I thought I was the only one who liked RR. Love the smooth changes going uphill.

Might change my shifters though having read your messages.

Everyone seems to rate SRAM. I've never tried it - maybe too afraid to try something different - must be getting old!![/code]

dsmiff

My son has been using these for a couple of years, we replaced the rear mech when he was eight as he was somtimes struggling to downshift on hills - Kid's often find themselves in the wrong gear at the wrong time.

It gives a much "lighter" change, he occasionally switches bikes and can quickly make the transittion back to "normal" gears. His new bike is high normal and I think I probably won't change it.

stubs

Love Rapid Rise. My Commie came with SRAM X9, nice gears if a bit noisy but I just couldnt reprogramme my head I was always changing to a higher ratio on a steep climb and mangling the chain.

Went back to a mix of XT rear Deore front with LX shifters set up and straight away it felt right

I just wish Shimano would make a RR shadow style mech the XT mech is getting a bit scarred

Calusari

Ran RR for years picking them up for peanuts on eBay as riders swapped them out off new bikes. Once the supply dried up I've switched to SRAM which has the bonus of NOT requiring a cable strip every other ride in the winter slop even with full length outers. The Shadow mechs address this but I'd already made the switch when they came out and prefer the solid engagement of the SRAM shifters.