koine2002

It seems that Shimano is in the mode of marketing pre-modern technology as innovation. The new "reverse" system was the standard until the 1950's when the current parellogram derailleur was introduced by Campy. Sheldon Brown talks all about that here. Now, Shimano's new Saint and Hone groups have an "...innovative mounting system that fixes the rear derailleur directly to the rear hub axle..."--isn't that the way we used to do it, years and years ago? You can see it here .

phantomcow2

My entire drivetrain (excluding BB if you count htat) is sram, I am very pleased.
I believe that the X.7 series of their stuff is the best when price and performance is taken into consideration. I know pricepoint used to offer the x7 trigger set+rear derailleur combo for 79.95. I think it's gone up $10. Still, its the best deal going for drivetrain components.

Maelstrom 

I did not know that hubs used to mountain to the axle? I would love to see a pic of this, nice blast from the past.

CranxOC

Actually, it's very intuitive. I actually liked the dual-control lever action to some extent however, after a couple of rides with the thumb-triggers, I'm finding that they're much easier to use "on the fly." Conventional wisdom says that you use your thumbs for gripping but, when you really get down to it when it comes to MTB'ing, your thumbs are probably the most useless finger on your hand so, when you need to make a shift in technical conditions, using your thumb instead of having to disengage your fingers, is simply a good idea.

As for them getting in your way; they don't...especially if you're running the X.0's since you can adjust the pulling trigger (the silver one) so that it fits where you want it to. Try them once and you'll see that they're very intuitive.

Mechanically, it's actually supposed to be superior. Less tension/wear on the spring or something to that effect. In practice however, it's not. Think of it this way: when you're dumping gears on a hard climb, would you rather use your "pull" action which allows you to move several cogs at once or would you rather use the "release" (the "clicking") action which - in theory at least - moves the chain one cog at a time thus necessitating a greater number of movements and more time.

I rode a rapid-demise derailleur for almost two years and, regardless of any claimed benefit, it is absolutely NOT superior to traditional pull derailleurs. Why do you think Specialized - the World's largest high-end bike manufacturer - has refused to put them on their bikes? They simply don't work as well and the guys who use this stuff for a living feel the same.

CranxOC

More durable, maybe, but if you do catch the thing on something and give it a solid rip, there's a good chance you're going to be taking the hub out along with your derailleur. There's a reason dropouts are replaceable.

born2bahick

The Only good aspect of Rapid rise I've noticed is on an ascent when your standing and attacking the hill
the ergonomics for dropping a gear are great, it's right there with your finger instead of flexing your wrist to get to the thumb lever. But like Maelstrom mentioned more often than not you would rather drop several gears at one time than jump up several. So Put me down as "not too impressed" with the rapid rise!

jalexei

Works well for me - spent the first 2 rides with my index finger wagging at nothing, but once I got adjusted it's second nature. Plus, it really helps with braking while shifting. My only small complaint (I have X.9s) is that when the forward lever is adjusted to my taste the rear (closer) one is a bit higher than I'd like, and I don't see any way to adjust the angle of one independently from the other.

In terms of overall performance, I came from a mixed LX/XT group before going to X.9, and I'll echo the chorus here. I was hoping shifting would be better, but I was absolutely blown away by how much better the SRAM felt. No hesitation, no noise, just a quick push on the lever and it's like the bike is reading my mind. In Shimano's defense, I haven't ridden a full XTR setup, but it would have to be pretty d*mn amazing to beat my current stuff.

nav

That might be an excuse for you to pick up a set of X.0 triggers someday (various adjustments are available on the triggers, including angle). I think they'd do what you want, but they're still very expensive.

jalexei

Totally, once the price comes down a bit. I'll admit to a bit of X.O lust...

CranxOC

The X.0's remedy that problem. Don't worry, it's only $250+ on a pair of shifters!

Agent B

I think I'll wait until my current stuff packs up then I'll change to x.9's and see what happens.