301:, so it could sell a complete line of SunTour branded components. Under these types of production agreements, companies did not have design control; if a cooperating component manufacturer decided not to upgrade or redesign its products, SunTour could do little about it. Shimano decided to greatly expand its research and development staff to 200 employees, enabling the company to end its component marketing agreements in order to produce hubs, pedals, brakes, and other components on its own in competition with its former partners. In comparison, SunTour chose to continue with its existing research and development staff of some 20 persons, and remained primarily a bicycle gear and shifter manufacturer.
204:
196:
212:
312:. As a result, a Suntour derailleur costing $ 10 competed against similar level products from Campagnolo ($ 40) and Shimano ($ 20). As Suntour derailleurs and shifters could be specified on many more low- and mid-priced bicycles, the company gained a reputation with the general public as a producer of only low-end equipment. This reputation would eventually hurt sales when Suntour introduced a complete high-end component group,
246:
38:
331:
94/56mm BCD five-bolt compact mountain bike crankset, which saved weight, increased ground clearance, and permitted lower gearing for hill-climbing. New, short-cage rear derailleurs were provided to go with the Micro Drive cassette-type cogsets. The new system was very popular, and
Shimano adopted
432:
In 2012, Junzo Kawai, former president of SunTour Japan, returned to bicycle component manufacturing with a new company called SunXCD. Two years later, at age 94, he died and company president Taki
Takimoto took his place as chairman. The new company makes mainly retro components, such as high
369:
came late to the market to compete with
Shimano's new SIS system introduced two years before, which cost SunTour dearly. With two years of lead time, Shimano could afford to require that bicycle manufacturers equip their bikes with complete SIS shifting systems, minimizing problems with product
357:
was revalued in 1985. SunTour could no longer compete on costs with a slew of manufacturers producing in Taiwan and other lower labor-cost countries. Existing orders had been written in foreign currencies, rather than yen, so SunTour suffered a major loss. It had to borrow additional cash to
405:
By 1993, SunTour's share of the market had dropped to five per cent of the U.S. market. At the end of 1994, Mori decided to shut down their bicycle component business. In March 1995 Daisuke
Kobayashi and Hideo Hashizume, the former owners of Sakae Ringyo, arranged a management buyout. The new
223:'s introduction of the "Gran Sport" in 1949, and the slant-parallelogram was an improvement of it that allowed the derailleur to maintain a more constant distance from the sprockets, resulting in easier shifting. The SunTour derailleur cost less than Campagnolo,
386:
on low-end bikes using inventories of older freewheels, hubs, cables, cable housings, and chains from other manufacturers. The practice resulted in a mismatched 'system' that did not provide the critical tolerances needed for reliable indexed shifting.
253:
In 1969, SunTour was the first
Japanese gear and shifter manufacturer to introduce indexed shifting on bicycles (indexed shifting appeared at least as early as the Funiculo derailleur fitted to 1935 Schulz bicycles). Although their system, called
339:
rear derailleur, caused by failures of the innovative spring-loaded jockey wheel that was fitted with a seal that proved inadequate to keep out dirt and mud. In road bicycle components, the company fared no better. SunTour had introduced the
406:
management took over in July, 1995, purchasing the SunTour name and the SR factory in Taiwan. Mori
Industries left the bicycle component business, selling off SunTour's Japanese facilities piecemeal and closing its U.S. offices in early 1995.
262:- which combined freewheel and hub in one component (unit hubs were available at least as early as the 1938 Bayliss-Wiley, probably earlier). The freehub greatly increased the strength of the rear wheel, but the idea was not pursued.
349:
derailleur, resulting in many unhappy customers. SunTour no longer had the resources to debug prototype designs before introducing them to the market, which cost the company in returns, repairs, and damaged reputation.
344:
derailleur in 1983 with a streamlined, enclosed parallelogram. However, the design was too fragile, with internal pivots and the return spring failing frequently. It took special tools to repair and reassemble a
238:
Suntour's slant-parallelogram, spring-loaded top pivot rear derailleur provided the best shifting on the market. When
Suntour's rear derailleur patent expired, the design was promptly copied by
370:
compatibility. SunTour, on the other hand, desperately needed orders, so the company could not insist on complete SunTour component groups that had been tested to ensure compatibility with
398:
In 1988 the SunTour name was purchased and revived by Sakae Ringyo
Company, (now owned by Mori Industries Inc.) with a capital investment of 45,000,000 NT$ in Tokyo, Japan, thus becoming
891:
140:(abbreviated S.R.), a major Japanese maker of aluminum parts, particularly cranks and seat posts. SunTour's sales and commercial success peaked from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.
335:
The company's decision to limit funding and staff for research and development caused running issues with new products. The first sign of trouble came with returns on SunTour's SR
258:, worked well, it proved an idea ahead of its time and did not catch on with the riding public. Another design innovation was the first practical Japanese freehub — the
409:
SR Suntour re-established a US presence in 2011 as SR SUNTOUR North
America Inc. In 2018 they reported experiencing 'Tremendous growth' and moved into a larger facility in
900:
281:
filled the vacuum. SunTour focused on refining existing systems and designs for mid-level and high-end products. Like
Shimano, SunTour initially did not sell complete
884:
815:
327:, it introduced the 110/74mm BCD five-bolt triple crankset for mountain bikes, which soon became an industry standard. Next was the introduction of the
1042:
877:
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604:
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the compact drive concept two years later. SunTour's new thumb and trigger shifters made shifting more convenient when riding off-pavement.
231:
and it performed especially well shifting under load, as when changing to a lower gear while pedaling up a steep incline. A contemporary
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305:
684:
219:
In 1964, Suntour invented the slant-parallelogram rear derailleur. The parallelogram rear derailleur had gained prominence after
733:
530:
395:
In 1987, Japanese engineering company Mori Industries Inc. (with manufacturing plants in Taiwan) bought Sakae Ringyo Company.
1052:
235:
test reported that "SunTour was far and away the easiest to shift and the most certain of arriving at the right sprocket."
358:
finance a transfer of manufacturing facilities to Taiwan, as well as begin development of new mountain bike components.
919:
559:
944:
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Despite emerging problems, Suntour continued to achieve a number of innovations, particularly in components for
1021:
379:
410:
298:
949:
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SR Suntour maintains manufacturing in Taiwan and mainland China. Its products range from suspension
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195:
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709:
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In the 1950s, the company began producing its version of pull-chain, rod-guided, touring
453:
245:
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320:
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270:
46:
1001:
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flange hubs in 120mm, 126mm, and 130mm sizes, and TA cyclotourist-style cranksets.
144:
869:
991:
914:
402:. The new SR-SunTour parts are not compatible with the original SunTour parts.
633:
505:
939:
777:
420:
Until 2011 the company was manufacturing forks for Italian suspension company
220:
184:
180:
37:
929:
421:
294:
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816:"SR Suntour North America expands inventory as it moves to larger location"
765:
729:
517:
361:
In 1987, SunTour introduced its new attempt at an indexed shifting system,
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charged a price that covered costs of production plus a small profit markup
290:
282:
173:
128:) is a Taiwanese manufacturer of bicycle components, formed in 1988 when
84:
1006:
375:
278:
239:
228:
17:
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996:
924:
635:
The Dancing Chain: History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle
592:
The Dancing Chain: History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle
324:
286:
274:
148:
854:
183:, similar to those of French derailleur companies such as Huret and
176:, the company concentrated on producing bicycle gearing components.
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590:
202:
194:
129:
965:
873:
110:
354:
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Unlike other bicycle component manufacturers, Suntour did not
859:
730:"Sun Tour revolutionized bicycle technology in the 1970s"
627:
625:
623:
584:
582:
580:
374:. As a consequence, major bicycle manufacturers such as
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589:
Berto, Frank J.; Ron Shepherd; et al. (2008) .
984:
958:
907:
642:, USA: Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications.
599:, USA: Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications.
105:
95:
79:
64:
56:
44:
285:, so it teamed with other parts makers, such as
553:
551:
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151:components such as motors and battery packs.
8:
30:
476:
474:
448:
446:
136:(Maeda) went bankrupt and was purchased by
892:
878:
870:
865:SR SUNTOUR North America Aftermarket sales
265:In the early 1970s, demand created by the
207:A front derailleur manufactured by Suntour
36:
29:
678:
676:
674:
672:
670:
668:
666:
531:"Stuart Joins SR Suntour's New U.S. Arm"
508:Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Glossary Sp - Ss
244:
210:
780:Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Glossary St - Z
442:
632:Berto, Frank J.; et al. (2016) .
7:
560:"From the mag: SR Suntour's future"
820:Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
710:"Bayliss-Wiley Unit Freewheel Hub"
564:Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
535:Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
27:Manufacturer of bicycle components
25:
306:charge what the market would bear
1043:Manufacturing companies of Japan
199:A Suntour Sprint rear derailleur
756:Mory Industries Company History
901:Japanese bicycle manufacturers
482:"History - SR SUNTOUR Cycling"
454:"Contact - SR SUNTOUR Cycling"
1:
860:SR SUNTOUR North America site
215:a pair of Suntour road brakes
277:manufacturers. SunTour and
353:Another blow came when the
1069:
1048:Cycle parts manufacturers
273:exceeded the capacity of
35:
855:SR Suntour official site
840:SunXCD Corporate Website
166:Maeda Iron Works Company
160:Maeda Iron Works Company
1022:Tange International Co.
323:. In partnership with
249:Suntour sprint crankset
250:
216:
208:
200:
1053:Pricing controversies
520:SunTour, Innovator...
248:
214:
206:
198:
685:"Sunset for SunTour"
138:Sakae Ringyo Company
32:
251:
217:
209:
201:
60:Bicycle components
1030:
1029:
795:SR SUNTOUR NA Inc
649:978-1-892495-77-8
640:San Francisco, CA
606:978-1-892495-59-4
597:San Francisco, CA
486:www.srsuntour.com
458:www.srsuntour.com
164:Begun in 1912 as
119:
118:
111:srsuntour-cycling
16:(Redirected from
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687:. Archived from
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638:(5th ed.).
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595:(3rd ed.).
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256:Five-Speed Click
233:Consumer Reports
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768:SunTour History
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52:SR Suntour Inc.
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849:External links
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754:www.mory.co.jp
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683:Berto, Frank.
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321:mountain bikes
308:, but instead
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734:Sheldon Brown
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691:on 2008-12-05
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558:Wiebe, Matt.
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1002:Inoue Rubber
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823:. Retrieved
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738:. Retrieved
736:. 2008-05-16
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713:. Retrieved
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693:. Retrieved
689:the original
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610:. Retrieved
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80:Headquarters
992:Bridgestone
966:Koga Miyata
915:Bridgestone
347:SuperbeTech
342:SuperbeTech
329:Micro Drive
314:Superbe Pro
181:derailleurs
97:Area served
1037:Categories
985:Components
825:2 February
800:2 February
791:"About Us"
740:2008-10-14
715:2012-10-02
695:2007-03-17
569:2 February
540:2 February
491:2 February
463:2 February
437:References
415:Washington
411:Ridgefield
400:SR-SunTour
391:SR-SunTour
384:Accu-Shift
382:installed
283:group-sets
221:Campagnolo
170:freewheels
126:SR SUNTOUR
122:SR Suntour
31:SR Suntour
930:Panasonic
422:Marzocchi
372:AccuShift
367:AccuShift
363:AccuShift
295:Dia-Compe
291:cranksets
267:bike boom
174:sprockets
101:Worldwide
47:Traded as
935:Nagasawa
920:Kuwahara
337:MounTech
275:European
260:Unit-Hub
85:Changhua
57:Industry
1017:SunTour
1007:Shimano
976:SunTour
959:Defunct
945:Nishiki
908:Current
655:May 30,
612:May 30,
380:Raleigh
376:Schwinn
279:Shimano
269:in the
240:Shimano
229:Simplex
191:SunTour
185:Simplex
155:History
134:SunTour
106:Website
70: (
65:Founded
18:Suntour
1012:Sugino
997:CatEye
950:Yamaha
925:Miyata
646:
603:
428:SunXCD
325:Sugino
299:brakes
287:Sugino
149:e-bike
132:based
90:Taiwan
971:Lotus
225:Huret
145:forks
130:Osaka
940:Fuji
827:2021
802:2021
657:2017
644:ISBN
614:2017
601:ISBN
571:2021
542:2021
493:2021
465:2021
378:and
297:for
293:and
289:for
172:and
113:.com
72:1912
68:1912
365:.
355:yen
147:to
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818:.
793:.
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665:^
622:^
579:^
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533:.
484:.
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456:.
445:^
424:.
417:.
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316:.
242:.
187:.
88:,
893:e
886:t
879:v
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804:.
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573:.
544:.
495:.
467:.
74:)
20:)
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