Shimano Rear Derailleur Repair

Shimano, Inc. is a Japanese manufacturer of cycling components, fishing tackle, and rowing equipment. Shimano also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008. Shimano includes 32 consolidated subsidiaries and 11 unconsolidated subsidiaries. The company is headquartered in Japan and has primary manufacturing plants in China, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Derailleur gears are variable-ratio transmission systems commonly used on bicycles. Derailleur gears include a chain, multiple sprockets of various sizes, and a mechanism that moves the bicycle’s chain from one sprocket to another. Although sprockets are typically called “gears” in the biking world, they are technically sprockets because they drive or are driven by a chain, and not driven by one another as gears are.

Front and rear derailleurs usually include a moveable chain-guide that is operated via a Bowden cable attached to a shifter. The shifter is typically mounted on the down tube, handlebar stem, or handlebar of the bicycle. When the bicycle rider operates the shifter lever while pedaling, the change in cable tension causes the chain-guide to move either right or left, “derailing” the bicycle’s chain onto a different-sized sprocket.

The letters “VIA” (“Vehicle Inspection Association”) is stamped on all Shimano parts as an official approval stamp used to certify parts of Japanese vehicles, including bicycles. The VIA mark signifies compliance with certain quality standards.

• Wikipedia: Shimano
• Wikipedia: Derailleur Gears
• Complete Guide to Rear Derailleurs