Thanks for the clarification on VIA! I'm just passing on the information given to me by some other bike experts (a.k.a. they sold Shogun bikes back in the day, along with other Japanese models). Maybe I misremembered/misinterpreted what they had said. Or maybe Sheldon Brown has it wrong? I found this on these forums which supports VIA as code name for a production facility (below). At the end of the day it's unimportant and I certainly have no first hand knowledge to say who is right so I defer to your expertise. I do know that it's shimano and made in Japan. Solid, reliable stuff is the verdict by all that I've talked to. The Deore stuff on the bike was meant to be their long-distance touring group so it makes sense for the components to be simple and solid.

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in...p/t-97029.html


I believe the rest of the interpretation is still good, even if the VIA part is questionable.

The main thing I've learned in the 6 months/1000 miles of riding one of these is that they are nice riding, super-low-maintenance bikes. The simplicity of the componentry (aka the friction shifters and sturdy steel drivetrain) make it a "just add air and oil" kind of bike of bike. The design is also very distinctive with it's golden headbadge and accents around the lugs. It wasn't a lightweight racer by any stretch, but still fairly light. About 25 lbs based on my somewhat suspect measurement with a bathroom scale (aka weighing me, then me plus the bike). Certainly much lighter than my Trek mountain bike. The trek weighs in around 32 pounds according to spec sheets and the shogun is at least 4-5 pounds lighter, probably more. So I'd put 28 pounds as a max on it's potential weight. Not bad considering entry-level Sora road bikes are around 23/24 pounds.

If you have any more info for us, that would be great. Like why this bike has touring geometry and eyelets for racks and fenders, but only has braze-ons for a single water bottle cage!