Shimano Tourney "Rapid Rise" Rear Derailleur Installation

Question

I'm trying to set up an old mountain bike that has a Shimano Tourney "Rapid Rise" rear derailleur which appears to operate in the opposite direction to the Shimano Acera derailleur on my own hybrid-style bike.

When changing the gear cable on my own bike, what I do (before pushing the new cable taut through the derailleur and tightening the bolt) is put the chain on the smallest cog and put the Rapidfire gear shifter on number 1.

This doesn't seem to be the correct way to do it with the Rapid Rise derailleur. Could anyone tell me:

Before tightening the cable to the Rapid Rise derailleur, what cog the chain should be on and what number the Rapidfire shifter should be on.

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EDIT Thanks for the answers. Just to be sure, should the chain be on the largest sprocket when I do this?

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Update: I followed Argenti's instructions (with the chain on the largest sprocket) and that seems to have worked. I can shift through the 7 cogs fairly smoothly and just need to fine tune it now.

Answer 1

AS you have found out Rapid Rise systems reverse the derailleur spring and direction of positive pull from the shifter. The idea was to make it easier for inexperienced riders to quickly change to lower gears.

You just need to reverse what you would do on a normal derailleur setup:

If you detach the cable the derailleur cage should want to move to the most inboard position over the largest sprocket as you turn the cranks. If the cage does not do this then you'll need to check for an obstruction or the lower derailleur limit adjustment may be incorrect.

Put the shifter in the lowest gear position, then attach the cable. If you are unsure about which end of the shifter range is low or high - when the shifter shifts towards lower gears it should pay out cable, when shifting to higher gears it should pull in cable.