Shozaburo shimano biography of michael

^{Story by Andrew Juiliano / Photos from Shimano Archive} 

It was a long way from the original Shimano Iron Works machine shop in Sakai City, Japan, to the upper echelon of the cycling world now dominated by DURA-ACE drivetrains, and it didn’t happen all at once.

No, Shozaburo Shimano didn’t start spinning World Championship winning components on that first borrowed lathe in But the founder of Shimano did begin building a culture and an ethos to always evolve toward perfection–to tackle the most challenging of technical tasks, to solve problems, to always strive for the best.

Shozaburo shimano biography of michael

During the early years, the Shimano family business began with single-speed freewheels, and quickly evolved to encompass a number of bicycle components, like external speed shifters, internally geared hubs and cold forged wheel bearings.

From nearly five decades of component manufacturing expertise and experience, the first DURA-ACE components were born. Over the next 50 ye