Sakai, where SHIMANO was founded, has a tradition of blacksmiths and has been known as a town of kitchen knives and guns since the 16th century. It had become the ground. Shimano was founded at the age of 28 by the founder, Shozaburo Shimano, who was an ironworks craftsman in Sakai. It was the largest freewheel manufacturer in Japan. After that, the sports cycle boom that occurred in the United States and Europe in the latter half of the 1960s gave a tailwind to the company, and the company grew rapidly. , and is also famous for coining the concept of components.
It is now the world's largest bicycle parts manufacturer, but the AX series introduced in 1981 caused a situation that shook Shimano's foundation. It was branded as a failed product due to its low degree of perfection, such as damage due to insufficient strength, problems with maintainability and compatibility, and unrealistic aero effects. However, learning from this painful failure, SHIMANO began to carefully conduct actual battle tests before commercialization, transforming into a structure that produces highly reliable products.
In 1984, the Shimano Index System (SIS), which applied positron system technology and provided a ratchet on the shift lever, made shifting easier and more accurate. In addition, the chainwheel and sprockets have been processed to develop a hyperglide system that speeds up gear shifting, and the Shimano Total Integration (STI) system features a dual control lever that integrates a shift lever and brake lever, allowing you to shift gears without taking your hands off the handlebars. appeared, making a decisive difference to other companies, and continues to reign as the world's largest bicycle parts manufacturer.
