Haha, it's true that the Rapid Rise rear derailleur serves as a kind of personality test. Whether or not somebody says it's good tells us more about that person than it does about the bike part. Stubbornness, resistance to change, etc can indeed make a person a bad match for a rapid rise rear derailleur.
Bill Lindsay El Cerrito, CA On Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 12:06:20 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > From my experience with the rapid rise rear derailleur was from decades > ago in the 1990's, when a friend of mine, Garrett Polehonka, a former > Suntour regional sales manager handed me a rear derailleur. > > "Here try this !" > > I swapped out my first generation Suntour Cyclone rear derailleur and > mounted this Shimano Rapid Rise derailleur. I rode around the block. > > Mind you, I have had been riding my favorite road bike with a first > generation Suntour Cyclone front and rear derailleurs since 1973 with a lot > of varied mileage from steep hills to flat terrain. > > Upon shifting with this Rapid Rise rear derailleur, I instantly disliked > it immediately proclaiming that it was all backasswards ! ! ! > Needless to say, it had a very short life on my road bike. I returned it > to my friend. > > I am not a fan of the Rapid Rise rear derailleur in all of my profound > stubbornness for change. > > However, I am glad to see a large following of these Rapid Rise rear > derailleurs in supporting Rivendell Bicycle Works. > > Kim Hetzel > > > > > On Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 10:40 AM Joe Bernard <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I've never had much to interest but grabbed one of these from Bill. I use >> a Shimano trigger shifter on a bike and struggle with the arthritis in my >> hands to push that big paddle against the spring for lower gears. Maybe >> using the small trigger to let the spring do the work up to big cogs will >> be the ticket 🤞 >> >> Joe "gimme the easy way" Bernard >> Clearlake CA >> >> On Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 7:24:35 AM UTC-7 John Dewey wrote: >> >>> I bought into the Rapid Rise program a long time ago and never looked >>> back. Over the years, I’ve managed to accumulate quite a collection and for >>> that I’m truly grateful. >>> >>> The RR’s big spring now does its work in the proper sequence…power when >>> you need it most. >>> >>> Why aren’t all RDs rapid rise I wonder? >>> >>> Jock >>> >>> On Wed, Jun 17, 2026 at 7:05 PM J <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> I've had zero interest in Rapid Rise derailleurs until a couple weeks >>>> ago when I was standing up in a probably too high gear to get up the hill >>>> in my alley, riding my noodley ghost shifting Romanceur. The though >>>> occurred to me, would it ghost shift into an easier and more appropriate >>>> gear in this situation with a rapid rise derailleur? >>>> >>>> On Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 9:26:22 PM UTC-4 Bill Lindsay wrote: >>>> >>>>> 1. XTR M952 GS used $100 plus shipping >>>>> 2. Deore XT M760 GS used $80 plus shipping >>>>> 3. Deore XT M760 GS -*SOLD*- >>>>> >>>>> Three Ders >>>>> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/55324681448/in/album-72157634724093620> >>>>> >>>>> BL in EC >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 2:34:58 PM UTC-7 Bill Lindsay wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> The last email newsletter said Riv would put 80 OM-1 rear derailleurs >>>>>> into the store. I checked just now and there are 4. >>>>>> >>>>>> Meanwhile, I'm offering up three Rapid Rise Derailleurs from my >>>>>> stash. All three are the "GS" cage length, called by some "mid cage" , >>>>>> considered "short cage" from a mountain bike perspective. The cage >>>>>> length >>>>>> means less wrap, meaning they are optimal for a 2x setup. They index at >>>>>> 8 >>>>>> or 9 or 10 speeds with a compatible Shimano indexed shifter. They >>>>>> friction >>>>>> shift as well as anything. If Shimano still made these, Rivendell >>>>>> wouldn't >>>>>> have had to make the OM-1. Even though I'm selling these three, I still >>>>>> have a half-dozen of them deployed in my stable. They are: >>>>>> >>>>>> 1. XTR M952 GS used $100 plus shipping >>>>>> 2. Deore XT M760 GS used $80 plus shipping >>>>>> 3. Deore XT M760 GS new $100 plus shipping >>>>>> >>>>>> Three Ders >>>>>> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/55324681448/in/album-72157634724093620> >>>>>> >>>>>> Bill Lindsay >>>>>> El Cerrito, CA >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> To view this discussion visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ca67ce44-5ff9-4741-b4c1-02c5fd466d55n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ca67ce44-5ff9-4741-b4c1-02c5fd466d55n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> > To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/73012b67-548c-454d-ac9f-e4b5b02adeebn%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/73012b67-548c-454d-ac9f-e4b5b02adeebn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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