Originally Posted by
Jeff Wills
Mostly true- Sante came around when manufacturers were still switching from (universal fit) freewheels to (dedicated hub) cassettes. Since Sante was an orphan group (^^^I agree with Andy) it's hard to say, but the freewheels were definitely more popular in that time. That's probably because they were a cheaper alternative the Dura-Ace 7-speed freewheels.
I'm not sure why Sante would be looked at any differently than the rest. It combined the pull ratio used on 600EX and 105 with the Biopace and SLR of 105 and the 7 speed sprocket of Dura Ace. The only real difference between it and Ultegra or gun metal 7 speed 105 was the lever mounted QR buttons - which Shimano used later with Exage. You can take any component from Sante and swap it for any for just about any non-DA component and it will work 100%. Like how Croce D'aune was the group between Chorus and C-Record, Sante was simply the nicest non-pro group Shimano made until Ultegra popularity eclipsed it and it was dropped. It was probably a price point and color problem.