Suntour

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Logo from the early 1990s
Current logo

Suntour was a Japanese brand for bicycle components , primarily drive and shift components .

history

The brand originally belonged to the Maeda ironworks founded in 1912 ( 前 田 鉄 工 所 , Maeda Tekkōjo , later: マ エ ダ 工業 , Maeda Kōgyō ). Until the first bankruptcy in 1994 was Maeda Suntour next Shimano one of the leading companies for bicycle components such. B. Derailleurs, shift levers, brake systems, cranks and hubs. In 1964, Suntour received the patent for the oblique parallelogram rear derailleur, the design of which was taken over by its competitors after patent protection expired in 1984. It was only this structure that enabled the introduction of ratcheted gear levers, so-called index gears. The company was based in Yawara (today: Tsukubamirai ).

Rear derailleur Superbe Pro

Suntour was successful with the XC-Pro group in MTB and Superbe Pro in the racing bike sector. In 1989, however, the company went bankrupt due to complex new developments, price pressure and incompatibility with Shimano. The brand, like Sakae Ringyō , was bought by Mori Kōgyō (Mory Industries) and the companies were combined to form SR SunTour. After that, the brand experienced a brief bloom with the development of PowerFlo pinions, MicroDrive drive train and the S-1 rear derailleur. However, further falling market shares could not stop a further withdrawal from the OEM business for gearshifts and drive components.

The components of the top group of the MTB sector XC Pro stood out from the comparable group Deore XT II of the competitor Shimano in that industrial ball bearings ( roller bearings ) were used to mount pedals, hubs, inner bearings and jockey wheels. Furthermore, thanks to the Grease Guard system licensed by Wilderness Trail Bikes (WTB), the headset, pedals, hubs and bottom bracket could be greased from the outside using a grease gun , which significantly reduced maintenance costs.

In the early 1990s, Suntour manufactured a special form of cantilever brake , the Pedersen brake, which uses a worm drive to continuously increase the braking force when it hits the rim. In the USA this brake was banned because of product lawsuits because its braking effect is too high for inexperienced drivers. This brake is often used on touring bikes. It is only available as a rear brake.

SR Suntour

Today, SR Suntour is a suspension fork manufacturer based in Taiwan , which also manufactures rear derailleurs and disc brakes as well as gear levers designed for ESP ( SRAM compatible).

The company SR Suntour only holds the naming rights of the once so successful component series, so that the partly reissued components only have the name. The forms and specifications have not passed into the company's ownership, so there is no continuity of development. Among other things, all Superbe-Pro cranksets available again are without exception new developments.

photos

  • Suntour "Sprint" group

  • Rear derailleur XC Pro

  • Suntour Blaze rear derailleur

  • XC Pro pedals with GreaseGuard lubrication system

  • Front derailleur of the racing bike Cyclone series

Web links