I usually opt for cheaper components that I can break and not care, but I needed one, the price
wasn't too bad, and I had some space change.
You quickly learn the difference between a conscious shift and a reflex shift. For the first hour,
the reflex ones go the wrong way. I barney'd up half a dozen stream bed climbouts cuz I was shifting
the wrong way. Kinda stops you dead when you realize you don't have the 460 ft/lbs you'd need to
turn the cranks in the gear you just picked.
Once that's sorted itself out, it's an beautiful device. I'm coming from a beater XT with a bent
hangar and twisted chain, so it was a big change :-)
It shifts beautifully. I found myself shifting more often as downshifts were so much faster and more
predictable. I was worried that dropping many gears at once would take longer as you have to hit the
lever once/gear. Turns out you can click it down very rapidly. I also liked being able to grab 4
bigger gears with one thumb mash.
I guess the rapid rise thing really is a personal preference, but I definitely liked it.
$103 at wheelworld, which is not bad considering non rapid rise on ebay usually go for $70+ and most
other shops are asking $163.
-Bruce.