Originally Posted by
clubman
There's the rub. Some of that Z stuff looked like AX, some looked like Golden Arrow, some looked like SIS. We look back thinking there was a roadmap for both Shimano and Suntour but I think they were in a constant mad rush to innovate and redesign in order to win the market. There were all sorts of oddball stuff like 200GS, Exage 400LX, C700, Sport LX plus all the Deores. Most were good but what a marketing mess.
I think there's a good sense that grouped stuff loosely.
Dura Ace had a group. XT had a group. They were like pals.
600/Ultegra had a group (or several). Deore had a group. They were like pals. But then Deore got jealous and change his name to DX. Beyond that... Dunno.
Golden Arrow was essentially 105. And Z Series stuff kind of played along in that boat. Really, I've read that the FC6206 is kinda a Golden Arrow part, even though it carries a 600 series nomenclature and finish... (and honestly, I think it's a nicer crank than the M730). Maybe that's just a "triple persecution" thing...