Management of Technology and Innovation in Japan

38 A. Takeishi and Y. Aoshima
bles must be pulled more on the outside than on the inside as the derailing mechanism
uses a pantograph structure. Fitness of the chain is also an issue. If adjustments
are not made between these, gearshift would actually become problematic.
SIS requires a higher level of precision of each component than the conventional
system. In addition, it also demands more precision in the other parts of the
bicycle, to which SIS is attached. For example, the rear derailleur is attached to
the frame. If the end section of the frame to which the wheel is attached does not
have sufficient accuracy, the derailleur would not be installed correctly. The Index
System will then not function smoothly. In the friction system, riders could make
these adjustments by themselves. In SIS, where the parts related to gearshift are
integrated as a system, the manufacture must achieve necessary precision and
matching.
Critical to realize this superior total system were other technologies that Shimano
had worked on until that time. They included the free hub system that reduced
gear shake, the dual servo slant pantograph system that increased shifting
performance, and the Uniglide Chain (Table 1). The accumulation of these individual
technologies led to the realization of the high precision total system of SIS.
The performance of SIS was superior to the skill of professional riders. SIS can
maintain the same level of precision as professional riders in peak condition. Not
even professional riders can always be in top condition. For example, there are
cases where a race is won or lost in a gear change at the top of a hill after riding
for 250 km. Even the best riders cannot shift gears at the same level as SIS under
these conditions. “Never miss a shift” was the selling point of SIS.
However, such a claim would also hurt the pride of professionals and in some
ways insult them. If anyone could shift gears well regardless of their skill, the
techniques that they had so carefully honed would be worthless. This is like the
way that professional photographers dislike cameras with auto-focus. Fearing their
backlash, initially SIS was designed to also function as friction gears. The traditional
method could be used at the flick of a switch, to send the message that Shimano
respects conventional shifting skills.
Racers never say that they won thanks to the bike. Indeed, it is difficult to ascertain
to what degree the bike made a difference. No one argued that riders
started to win once they switched to SIS. At first there was even some opposition
to SIS. However, it gradually spread. Professional riders are contracted racers.
They move from team to team. If they used Shimano at the previous team, they
would say that they want to use Shimano again. As a marketing strategy, Shimano
made efforts to increase the number of sponsored teams. Once SIS use reached
about 30% of racers, it then grew naturally. The decisive moment was that Campagnolo
began to provide an index system afterwards. Until then it was “friction
versus index” or “the old versus the new”, but when the competition changed to
“index vs. index”, SIS gained citizenship in the racing community. 8
8 Since then SIS’s performance has improved cumulatively. A key has been light action.
The derailleur is a mechanism that is pulled by a spring. The weaker this spring is, the
easier it is for the rider to shift gears. A large amount of fine-tuning has been done over
the past 10 years to make the return of gear changes lighter. For example, efficiency