Truthfully after working on, using, and now owning the new STI XT shifters Rapidfire feels like a trip to the Paleozoic era... I've had my XT's apart and think they are at least as easy, if not easier to work on than the old RF's since the shifter mechanisms are more readily accessible by simply removing the top cover... no need to take them off the bars even. Lots of crashes and still going... just like any brake lever, don't tighten the shifter onto the bar so much that it doesn't give under an impact... actually mine took the entire force of an impact coming down about 4ft onto concrete at speed... just a bit scratched.