Originally Posted by thumpism

FFS had its place in the cycling universe. Derailleur operation mystified a lot of folks who did could not grasp "You must be pedaling when you shift" and coordinate the movements. FFS solved that and was widespread at the time, found on several models of many U.S and Asian brands. Many of those bikes also featured Positron derailleurs, the granddaddy of SIS. Maybe not desirable high-end stuff, but it certainly simplified and improved the cycling experience for a whole lot of folks.