Radavist Review of the OM-1

[Drew Fitchette]

Check it out..

https://theradavist.com/rivendell-silver-om-1-derailleur-review

- Drew in ATL

[Kim H.]

Given the tooth capacity of 36T with this OM-1 rear derailleur, has anyone experimented with a Wolf Tooth Road Link to expand the capacity of this rear derailleur?

Kim Hetzel just wondering. 

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[Joe Bernard]

Kim, I'm tempted to find out. I have two older Shimano RapidRise on other bikes with 34t cassettes and hoo boy I like that shifting. My Clem has a 13-40t 7-speed cluster friction-shifted, the OM-1 on a Road Link may do the trick 👍

Joe Bernard 

Clearlake CA 

[Ted Durant]

Has anyone verified that the OM-1 has a 1.72 cable actuation ratio, i.e. compatible with Shimano 6-10 speed (except certain Dura Ace)?

The documentation at one point said it's 9-speed compatible, but didn't say whose 9-speed or which particular version. 

Ted Durant

Milwaukee, WI USA

[Kim H.]

Hi Joe, 

I am anxious to know of your findings. Please proceed !

Kim Hetzel, who received a mighty fine custom decaleur in the mail today from very skilled individual out of Portland, Oregon. 

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[Patrick Moore]

Also, will it shift across 10 cogs (Shimano, in friction)? 11 cogs?

The highly favorable reviews make me want to buy one, even tho’ I’ve avoided reverse pull derailleurs up to this point.

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Patrick Moore

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[Joe Bernard]

It'll shift 9 and 8/9/10 cassettes occupy the same space so you should be good. 11 is no person's land, I doubt Riv even considered the possibility. 

[Joe Bernard]

Does anybody know when the next batch is in? I'm going to try it first without Road Link just to see what's possible, I have 11-36 and 13-40 7-speedwrs to mess with. I'll try it with a 7-speed indexed Shimano DX thumby to see if the derailer uses traditional Shimano pull ratio. 

[Patrick Moore]

Thanks. Of course, I should have remembered that 8 and 10 sp road cassettes are the same width.

I guess that if a DA 7402 rd will shift across 10 cogs, the much more modern OM-1 ought to be able to handle just 1 more cog.

We’ll see ….

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[Drew Fitchette]

Patrick - my Hunq has an OM-1 paired with a silver wide low crank and a 10 speed 11-36 cassette and works flawlessly with silver friction shifters. I’m using a 10 speed chain and a microshift sword front derailleur. 

- Drew in ATL

[Patrick Moore]

Excellent! Thanks, Drew.

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[Oliver Hammond]

I know it may be taboo, but I set up my wife's XO-3 2x11 with friction. Silver bar ends--no problem with a 1:2 pull ratio derailleur. There have been no problems with this setup whatsoever. 

[Eliot Balogh]

I know it’s sacrilege but what about 9 speed Shimano indexed? 

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[Joe Bernard]

Nothing sacrilegious about it, I'm going to try 7-speed indexed when I can order a derailer. It should work with Shimano-compatibile 7/8/9 shifters just as the similar-looking Microshift  R9 does. 

[Joe Bernard]

To expound a bit on what I like about low-normal, it's just easier to operate. You don't realize how much thumb pressure it takes to move a chain up to bigger cogs against a spring - especially if you've waited too late at the beginning of a climb - until you reverse it. Using the spring to get to lower gears just makes sense. 

Joe "bought the hype" Bernard 

Clearlake CA 

[Patrick Moore]

But doesn’t it take just as much thumb pressure to move the chain to smaller cogs with high-normal derailleurs? Is more force required to downshift to bigger cogs than to upshift to smaller cogs? Does cog size affect the amount of force required?

I’m not being contradictory, I’m trying to understand what makes low-normal derailleurs preferable.

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[Joe Bernard]

I'm sure it depends on hand strength, I have basal thumb arthritis so the difference is noticeable to me with an indexed trigger shifter. The big-paddle shift to a smaller cog takes less pressure, plus I'm never in the position of trying to force to a bigger cog on an incline with only my own strength, the spring helps that 'under load' shift. 

[Ted Durant]

On Aug 3, 2026, at 8:30 AM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

But doesn’t it take just as much thumb pressure to move the chain to smaller cogs with high-normal derailleurs? Is more force required to downshift to bigger cogs than to upshift to smaller cogs? Does cog size affect the amount of force required?

I’m not being contradictory, I’m trying to understand what makes low-normal derailleurs preferable.

Derailer return springs are generally progressive, not linear, so the farther away from the resting position that you get, the more force it takes to move the derailer against the spring.

On a high normal derailer, the large cogs are where the spring force is highest, so if there is no counter-force being added by the shift lever (say, a progressive spring in the other direction), it requires progressively more force to shift as you downshift.

On a low normal derailer, the small cogs are where the spring force is highest, so (same caveat) it requires progressively more force to shift as you upshift.

Theoretically this means that with a low normal derailer the last couple of shifts to the biggest cogs are where the return spring is weakest, so you could have slower/delayed/sloppier shifting there, especially if you have some friction in the cable. I’ve never found this to be an issue in practice, but I haven’t spent a lot of time with a low normal rear derailer, and haven’t tried one in muddy sloppy conditions.

[Joe Bernard]

I think my perception of less effort to shift stems from the 'push against the spring direction' not being under load. Nobody is grinding a gear while trying to get to a harder/higher one, that happens on inclines when you want an easier gear but can't take strain off the chain to get it. 

[Ted Durant]

On Aug 3, 2026, at 7:56 PM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

I think my perception of less effort to shift stems from the 'push against the spring direction' not being under load. Nobody is grinding a gear while trying to get to a harder/higher one, that happens on inclines when you want an easier gear but can't take strain off the chain to get it. 

I was going to say something about that but didn’t want to venture too far into an area I don’t really have enough experience. That’s another place where, theoretically, being at the weak end of the spring range potentially causes slower or maybe even failed shifts. I’ve never asked a low normal derailer to downshift under load like that. I take it your experience there has been good?

[Joe Bernard]

Ted, 

Yes, I've experienced that spring assistance as I progress through downshifts as I start to ascend one notoriously steep hill here. The drivetrain is Shimano 7-speed RapidFire (new Altus-level shifter) and vintage XTR RapidRise. I click the small trigger several times and that chain runs right up the cassette with no struggle, it's kind of astonishing to experience. I'm totally sold on the concept now. 

[Joe Putnam]

Excited to try the OM-1 soon (I've got one on the way!) Just to throw another bit of experience out here, I've used a few different Shimano Rapid Rise derailleurs up to this point, and all have operated more smoothly than many of the traditional high-normal RDs I've used. Main caveat here is that I've used friction shifters pretty much exclusively, so the indexed experience may be different. I agree with a previous comment that the shifting action on the low-normal ones to the smaller cogs feels a bit more effortless than shifting to the bigger cogs with high-normal. I am curious how the OM-1 compares to the Shimanos I've used all of them (LX, XT, Nexave) have performed exceptionally well. I can't really imagine anything superior performance-wise, but long-term durability may be a good point of comparison (and having another Rivvy component that matches the aesthetic of their other components is obviously a huge bonus).

Last thing I will say is that as much as I enjoy the low-normal experience, I am not sure if it's necessarily "better" than high-normal, just different. Maybe I just need to ride more steep hills with both types!

[Patrick Moore]

My 2010 Sam Hill came from Rivendell with a low-normal LX rear derailleur, and I recall that it shifted very well, although I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the reversed lever action after decades of high-normal experience. So I sold it and installed a high-normal (the 10 sp Microshift rd, shifted with friction bar ends, also shifted wonderfully). But I could learn to love low-normal if the derailleur was particularly nice in its shifting action.

So, I’ll add to Joe’s question: Does the OM-1 shift nicer than low-normal LX or the other low-normal derailleurs mentioned in this thread?

[John Dewey]

My experience with low-normal sold me. Once I bought in, no reason to look back—it’s challenging to go back and forth. 

YMMV as always. 

JD

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[Valerie Yates]

I agree with Joe. Low normal makes it easy to shift into an easier gear when climbing. It is not hard to shift into a harder gear when you have momentum with you. I prefer low normal overall but my favorite mechanic does not. I have low and high normal derailleurs on different bikes, along with different types of shifting mechanisms, and I think the mental effort of remembering and adapting to each bike is good exercise for my brain. 

[Guy Jett]

This thread has covered quite a range of topics from availability to shifting range to spring rates and shifting effort to which mechanism is better to indexed vs. friction shifting.  I would like to comment on this last issue.

I grew up with friction shifting, first on the downtube then with bar ends.  My 2010 Hilsen came equipped with the Dura Ace XL rapid rise rear derailleur and the matching Dura Ace SL-BS77 bar ends which you can switch between indexed and friction.  I probably rode the first few years in indexed mode.  This was initially nice needing to just a "click" to put the chain on the next gear. Done and done.  But over time I noticed I was constantly getting off the bike and fiddling with the cable adjustments as the "bang-on" shifting gradually drifted off and the shifts were no longer "just right".  Cable stretch, hosing wear, derailleur wear, and just general knocking about all seemed to contribute.

So I spent some time switching back and forth between indexed and friction settling on friction for most of the past six years.  As time went by I found I could shift with nearly as much precision as with indexing but fine adjustments happened automagically via the lever.  So, in my experience, I don't see any benefit to indexed shifting, just a minor learning curve to become proficient at friction shifting.

YMMV,
G.A.Jett 

[Guy Jett]

Valerie,

I have two main bikes, my Hilsen as been low-normal with a DeOre XT since I bought it 16 years ago.  It gets ridden about 75% of the time.  My '74-ish Raleigh Competition has had standard derailleurs since I got it -- a Huret Jubilee, a couple of SunTour Cyclones, and now, a Huret EcoDupPar.  It gets ridden the remaining 25%.  Doesn't take long to switch back and forth.  But I, too, like the mental effort.

Joe,

I'm not a professional bike mechanic but I don't see low-normals as being "finickier to install".  I've swapped back and forth several times with no issues.  But, like Valerie, I've grown to prefer the low-normal | Rapid Rise | reverse action | backwards mechanism.

I will, however, mention one very unusual case that might be considered finicky.  when trying to install a low-normal that's designed to fit a 9-speed cassette in a 130mm rear triangle I found I will need to find longer high and low adjustment screws to fit my Raleigh's 120mm rear with a 5- or 6-speed freewheel.  A project for the future.  But, again, that's an unusual case.  

G.A.Jett

On Friday, August 7, 2026 at 9:26:19 AM UTC-7 Joe Bernard wrote:

Valerie, that's funny about your mechanic. Low-normal is definitely finickier to install, especially if you install the other ones all the time. I probably wouldn't like them either if I was a mechanic! 

Joe "his own mechanic, doesn't install derailers often" Bernard 

[Ant Warland]

I've been using my OM-1 for the first time this week on my Sam with a 9 speed 11-36t cassette and a 40/24 double so it's being run over capacity by two teeth and there's a hint of friction in the cable but compared to the Acera 3020 I was using before (a the XT M8000 on my Appaloosa), shifting against the spring, especially in the lowest few gears, requires far more force through the lever (Riv-Dia Compe bar-end friction), to the point where I'm worried about snapping a shift cable. This is true regardless of which ring I'm in at the front. The shifts themselves are all perfectly smooth, the b screw setting is fine. Anyone else noticed this?

[Richard Rose]

Wow, a lot of variety here regarding OM-1 experience. Here is mine. I run Riv wide/low Silver cranks on both bikes, so 38/24 rings. 9 speed cluster on Clem, 7 speed on Gus, both top out at 36 teeth. I had identical Deore 9 speed rear derailleur’s on both & they work great. But, shifting to a lower gear under load with Silver thumb shifters was very difficult. I found a NOS Nexave rapid rise on the 7 speed & liked it immediately - great for MTB. But it was not the prettiest thing & was a boat anchor. So I sold it & got two OM-1’s. Whala!! They are beautiful & very lightweight. Surprisingly easy to set up & both shift beautifully. Of course downshifting is really easy & natural. But the “pull” for a higher gear is significantly easier than the old pull to a larger cog/lower gear. Consider me a convert.

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 8, 2026, at 4:16 AM, Ant Warland <ant.w...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Dan]

Between you guys and BSNYC I’m really wanting to try one of these!

Is anyone running an OM-1 with thumb shifters flipped and upside down, Riv style? My Appaloosa is set up like that , and, like the previous customer, I’m using Deore 9sp. Works great but now I’m wondering if it could work…. better?!?

[Victor Meng]

I'm really digging the OM-1, and have run it on VO 46/30 and 48/34 cranks and the Silver 3 44/28, all with 9s 11-34 cassettes.  I've run them with flipped thumb shifters, down tube shifters, Gevenalle OM friction shifters, and now the Shimano indexed shifters on the Gevenalle levers.  All work great.