Suntour - the Japanese who disappeared
Nowadays, it might not be many who will remember or even know that there have been two great competing Japanese component marks on the road side, Shimano, and SunTour. One is left but the other disappeared.
Here is the story of how the Japanese competitors got a grip on the continental market competition and what happened to the once great and mighty company SunTour.
The seventies
It was during the seventies as a Japanese bicycle components gained a foothold on the international bicycle market. With a bike boom in the world and a stagnant French bicycle industry that could not handle the demand, there was a large market potential for new entrants. Bicycle boom that swept the western world was a result …show more content…
The exception was the Belgian team, Flandria. They tried to compete on Shimano for some years in the seventies. Shimano had developed a new top series just for them named Dura-Ace; there was a further development of their Shimano Crane.
It was long as the common man most thought that 'Made in Japan' represented poor copies of Western products. It was an attitude that slowly was changing people's minds but partly survived. The conservative pro cycling world was no exception. There was hardly anyone there who thought it was even possible to compete on Japanese equipment. So it was not easy and uncontroversial for the Flandria team to start competing at Shimano. It was something they soon came to …show more content…
Some days before the Cycling World Championships, the Belgian superstar Eddy Merckx received a message by Tullio Campagnolo, the owner of Campagnolo. It said that Maertens did not get to win World Championship gold. "- That under no circumstances Shimano wins" was the order to Merckx.
During the World Championships in Barcelona in autumn 1973, the two Belgians with a splinter group of a total of four riders. The young Maertens task was primarily to provide support to Merckx and not himself win at a possible joint sprint finish. The last hundred meters before the finish Merckx got tired and dropped meters. According to the agreement was Maertens forced to continue to help him. He realized that there was still the chance to win, so Maertens raced up with the others but could finish second. The Italian Felice Gimondi won the sprint on his Bianchi and thus was Campagnolo victory over Shimano secured.
Rumour has it that Merckx would rather sacrifice himself and played tired than letting Maertens win on a bike with Shimano. Not to fight to the last drop of blood were normally unthinkable for
Nowadays, it might not be many who will remember or even know that there have been two great competing Japanese component marks on the road side, Shimano, and SunTour. One is left but the other disappeared.
Here is the story of how the Japanese competitors got a grip on the continental market competition and what happened to the once great and mighty company SunTour.
The seventies
It was during the seventies as a Japanese bicycle components gained a foothold on the international bicycle market. With a bike boom in the world and a stagnant French bicycle industry that could not handle the demand, there was a large market potential for new entrants. Bicycle boom that swept the western world was a result …show more content…
The exception was the Belgian team, Flandria. They tried to compete on Shimano for some years in the seventies. Shimano had developed a new top series just for them named Dura-Ace; there was a further development of their Shimano Crane.
It was long as the common man most thought that 'Made in Japan' represented poor copies of Western products. It was an attitude that slowly was changing people's minds but partly survived. The conservative pro cycling world was no exception. There was hardly anyone there who thought it was even possible to compete on Japanese equipment. So it was not easy and uncontroversial for the Flandria team to start competing at Shimano. It was something they soon came to …show more content…
Some days before the Cycling World Championships, the Belgian superstar Eddy Merckx received a message by Tullio Campagnolo, the owner of Campagnolo. It said that Maertens did not get to win World Championship gold. "- That under no circumstances Shimano wins" was the order to Merckx.
During the World Championships in Barcelona in autumn 1973, the two Belgians with a splinter group of a total of four riders. The young Maertens task was primarily to provide support to Merckx and not himself win at a possible joint sprint finish. The last hundred meters before the finish Merckx got tired and dropped meters. According to the agreement was Maertens forced to continue to help him. He realized that there was still the chance to win, so Maertens raced up with the others but could finish second. The Italian Felice Gimondi won the sprint on his Bianchi and thus was Campagnolo victory over Shimano secured.
Rumour has it that Merckx would rather sacrifice himself and played tired than letting Maertens win on a bike with Shimano. Not to fight to the last drop of blood were normally unthinkable for