Rapid rise rear mech.

[montytri]

Is it possible to use ordinary shifters with a rapid rise rear mech.

 

[Piers]

Yes

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Sure is, but keep in mind it'll do the exact opposite of what you'll expect.
I put that combination on a friend's bike last year and keep messing up the gears whenever I need to ride it.

 

[jimo746]

Yes

Agreed. I changed to a RR rear mech recently and to be honest I think I prefer it, took me couple of rides to get 100% used to it, but shifting "up" the cassette seems more responsive.

 

[hamster]

Wait until the spring weakens, then it will up shift whenever you stomp on the pedals...

 

[montytri]

Somebody else has recently said the same thing about the weak spring, i'm now thinking it might not be such a good idea.

 

[jimo746]

How long does it take for the spring to weaken?

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Depends how often you ride it and change gear. The boys are right, a slack RR mech is a pain, whereas a slack top normal Will usually unacceptably well until something falls off it entirely.

 

[mattr]

How long does it take for the spring to weaken?

years and years and years. My original xtr rr rear mech (951?) only got binned when I smacked it off a rock, after I'd been using it for about 8 seasons/years, still worked until the moment of impact. Some of the bits live on in a newer xtr rr. I've also got the latest and greatest xtr rr on my best bike and another one of some description on my fs.
All of them all work perfectly. (As does the xt rr on my wife's winter bike)

I'm actually putting off going to 10 speed on my best bike as I'll have to ditch the rr.

A mate is also still running an original xtr rr on an old proflex carbon.

 

[jimo746]

I guess the spring will last as long as in a regular mech, which is probably many years, or at least longer than I will have the bike, probably.