Thanks for that hint.

I have to say that if components weren't Japanese I didn't know much about them. European bikes fascinate me but not to the point where I ever owned one. I like to haunt Sheldon Brown's site for details on the European bikes.

The history of off-road bikes in the U.S. is quite interesting and I'm learning a lot about it lately just by re-living those days and writing about my experiences. I know that a lot of cyclists have a love/hate relationship with Shimano. For some the only 'love' is in that the Shimano product is easily available. I wouldn't put Shimano and Microsoft in the same sentence (but I did) except that I could never figure out why Shimano couldn't make a component set that wasn't obsolete the day you purchased it.

If it weren't for the availability of Shimano MTB components, though, we wouldn't have seen as many early off-road bikes. The manufacturers were in it for profit, and Shimano gave them inexpensive components compared to the more highly engineered European stuff. Specialized sure did change the face of the U.S. market, that's for sure. Suntour lost out, and Shimano won.

I was happy when I managed to fit the holotech triple on a road frame and actually make it work. I like having a bash guard on the outside ring and using the triple crank as a double.