Management of Technology and Innovation in Japan

Table 1. (Continued)
Shimano Linear Response
Case Study Shimano: Market Creation Through Component Integration 43
This system reduces the overall friction of the brake system. Previously,
springs were only attached to the brake arch (caliper).
This system adds a small spring to the brake lever. These two
springs reduce the load upon the arch. For cables, this system
uses a resin liner and a low-viscosity oil, instead of a coil spring
solidified with resin. Overall, friction of lever, arch (caliper), and
cable was reduced, and braking performance (braking force, light
operation, precision) correspondingly improves.
The dual control lever for road racers works by moving the lever vertically for
braking and horizontally for the shift lever. In other words, the shift lever and the
brake lever were made into one. In the mid 1980s, Shimano’s engineers who were
working on faster and more reliable shift levers for road bikes came up with the
idea that “the shift lever should be contained within the brake lever,” rather than
“where the shift lever should be placed”. One problem was that for SIS the shift
lever remained in place after being moved, but for STI the lever should be returned
to its initial position after each gearshift. This made the mechanism quite
complex.
The market quickly responded. The decisive benefit of STI was that riders
could shift and brake without moving their hand. Being able to shift gears while
standing and pedaling up a hill was a great advance. Removing the hand leads to a
great setback. Racers could slow down and then quickly speed up at the final corner
toward the finish without moving their hands and miss-shift. Racers were also
pleased that other riders could no longer see gear changes through the movement
of their hands. STI rapidly spread when users quickly realized its value.
The Rapid Fire for mountain bikes did not join the shift lever and the brake
lever into one as breaking is more important off road than on road. In contrast to
road race bikes that conventionally had the shift lever on the downtube of the
frame, mountain bikes already had this on top of the handlebars near the hands.
This was because the movement of hands must be small as possible off road. This
system was called “Thumb Shifter,” in which the shift lever was pushed by the
thumb and pulled back by the index finger. When this lever was moved closer to
the brake lever and placed on the bottom, the rider cannot put enough power of
his/her arm when pushing the shift lever. Riders should be able to push the lever
only by the thumb and could not use the index finger to pull back (Figure 5).
Therefore, in order to move the shift lever closer to the brake lever, the shifting
must be made lighter and it must be designed so that gears can be changed without
the use of the index finger. Rapid Fire realized this goal.
Off road, it is even more important than on road to change gears and brake precisely,
quickly and smoothly. The STI for mountain bikes gained a good reputation
and quickly penetrated the market. It was in this manner that Shimano created
an unshakeable position through a component system that drastically improved
shifting and braking, which are the core functions of a bicycle, for both the road
and mountain bike markets. Shimano succeeded in further advancing its competitive
base, from mainly in shifting to both shifting and braking.