Suntour (Maeda Industries) was at the very forefront of the Japanese Miracle as that small country enjoyed phenomenal success (from about the middle 1960s through the end of the 1980s) in a host of fields from cars to computers, from fashion to bicycles. From strong engineering and creative design, Suntour's innovative slant parallelogram derailleur body gave them the recognition and grudging respect to open a door to European and American sales.

Cobbled together from a series of subcontractors and partners in the Kansai (Osaka-Kobe) area, Suntour was always quite small compared to its giant competitor, Shimano, but earned an outsized reputation in an era when Japanese design led the industry.

Although Suntour had offered an early index gear system in the late sixties, even before Shimano's Positron system, the worldwide advances in manufacturing quality control in the early 1980s made these designs practical and affordable. Shimano, of course, led the modern effort with their groundbreaking SIS of 1983 and everyone else hurried to field a competitive system. Campagnolo, in the throes of change with the loss of its eponymous leader in 1985, stumbled with the Syncro and Syncro-II. Suntour's indexing system, Accushift, was also rushed to market and wasn't fully functional for a couple of years. By the end, their excellent XCPro and Superbe Pro flagship series were to be found on top end cycles worldwide but the "kiler app" with enough o.e.m. volume to save the company proved elusive.

Suntour's final series of 1992 was fully refined to a robust and affordable set but never gained the support of bicycle designers in sufficient volume. These vintage gear train components, recently acquired in sealed cartons, represent the final and very best examples of Suntour's midprice work.

Suntour Accushift Components

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• Suntour X1 Top Shifters* $89.95
• Suntour X1 Long Rear Derailleur SOLD OUT
• Suntour XCExpert Front Derailleur $54.95
• Suntour 7sp 13~28 or 13~24Cassette Back in stock! $89.95
• Suntour 8sp "MD"11~24 Cassette OUT
• Suntour Winner Freewheel Parts
• Suntour Sprint Road Rear Derailleurs $-out-
• Suntour SL Road Front Derailleurs $69.95
• Suntour Superbe Pro Road Front Derailleurs $89.95

We have NO Suntour XC Pro Rear Derailleurs We have NO Suntour XC Comp Derailleurs We have NO Suntour Superbe Rear Derailleurs We have NO Suntour Superbe Pro Rear Derailleurs We have NO Suntour AccuShift compatible rear derailleurs at all We're available for consultation! Send an email today!

*X.1 Top Shifter sets include gear wires, casing, casing ferrules and instruction manual

Note: Suntour Accushift systems are variegated spacing! Unlike Campagnolo EXA or Shimano HG systems, Suntour Accushift cog spacing is wider between the high gears and narrower at the low end. Other systems are evenly spaced. For that simple reason one normally cannot mix Suntour and non-Suntour equipment and still attain proper index shifting We're available for technical discussion via email

Our 2003 Suntour Accushift Cassette page. Our Suntour Winner & Winner Pro Freewheel page. Our A Whole Bunch of Chains page. Our Suntour Accushift System Tech page. how to order

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