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93-584: SR Suntour maintains manufacturing in Taiwan and mainland China. Its products range from suspension forks to e-bike components such as motors and battery packs. Begun in 1912 as Maeda Iron Works Company manufacturing freewheels and sprockets , the company concentrated on producing bicycle gearing components. In the 1950s, the company began producing its version of pull-chain, rod-guided, touring derailleurs , similar to those of French derailleur companies such as Huret and Simplex . In 1964, Suntour invented

186-515: A SuperbeTech derailleur, resulting in many unhappy customers. SunTour no longer had the resources to debug prototype designs before introducing them to the market, which cost the company in returns, repairs, and damaged reputation. Another blow came when the yen was revalued in 1985. SunTour could no longer compete on costs with a slew of manufacturers producing in Taiwan and other lower labor-cost countries. Existing orders had been written in foreign currencies, rather than yen, so SunTour suffered

279-459: A bicycle gear and shifter manufacturer. Unlike other bicycle component manufacturers, Suntour did not charge what the market would bear , but instead charged a price that covered costs of production plus a small profit markup . As a result, a Suntour derailleur costing $ 10 competed against similar level products from Campagnolo ($ 40) and Shimano ($ 20). As Suntour derailleurs and shifters could be specified on many more low- and mid-priced bicycles,

372-549: A competitive export market, and tried to ensure a low exchange rate for the yen through a trade surplus . The Plaza Accord of 1985 temporarily changed this situation; the exchange rate fell from its average of ¥239 per dollar in 1985 to ¥128 in 1988 and led to a peak rate of ¥80 against the US$ in 1995, effectively increasing the value of Japan's GDP in dollar terms to almost that of the United States. Since that time, however,

465-519: A cooperating component manufacturer decided not to upgrade or redesign its products, SunTour could do little about it. Shimano decided to greatly expand its research and development staff to 200 employees, enabling the company to end its component marketing agreements in order to produce hubs, pedals, brakes, and other components on its own in competition with its former partners. In comparison, SunTour chose to continue with its existing research and development staff of some 20 persons, and remained primarily

558-507: A head tube. Forks have been made from steel , aluminum , carbon fiber , titanium , magnesium , and various combinations. For example, a fork may have carbon fiber blades with an aluminum crown, steerer tube, or fork ends. In rigid forks the material, shape, weight, and design of the forks can noticeably affect the feel and handling of the bicycle. Carbon fiber forks are popular in road bicycles because they are light, and also because they can be designed to lessen and absorb vibrations from

651-555: A linear, Hookean response throughout their travel. Replacing steel coils with titanium coils in a design can decrease the weight of the design but leads to an increase in expense. Air springs utilize the thermodynamic property of gases that their pressures increase as they are compressed adiabatically. As the "spring" is provided by air rather than a coil of metal, forks with air springs are often lighter. This makes their use more common in XC designs. Another advantage of this type of fork design

744-432: A lower gear while pedaling up a steep incline. A contemporary Consumer Reports test reported that "SunTour was far and away the easiest to shift and the most certain of arriving at the right sprocket." Suntour's slant-parallelogram, spring-loaded top pivot rear derailleur provided the best shifting on the market. When Suntour's rear derailleur patent expired, the design was promptly copied by Shimano . In 1969, SunTour

837-598: A major loss. It had to borrow additional cash to finance a transfer of manufacturing facilities to Taiwan, as well as begin development of new mountain bike components. In 1987, SunTour introduced its new attempt at an indexed shifting system, AccuShift . AccuShift came late to the market to compete with Shimano's new SIS system introduced two years before, which cost SunTour dearly. With two years of lead time, Shimano could afford to require that bicycle manufacturers equip their bikes with complete SIS shifting systems, minimizing problems with product compatibility. SunTour, on

930-403: A maximum length of 374.7 mm and a minimum of 363.5 mm. The width of the fork, also called spacing, is measured colinear with the front wheel axle between the inside edges of the two fork ends. Most modern adult sized forks have 100 mm spacing. Downhill mountain bike forks designed for through axles have 110 mm spacing. The steerer tube is sized either to just accommodate

1023-646: A mismatched 'system' that did not provide the critical tolerances needed for reliable indexed shifting. In 1987, Japanese engineering company Mori Industries Inc. (with manufacturing plants in Taiwan) bought Sakae Ringyo Company. In 1988 the SunTour name was purchased and revived by Sakae Ringyo Company, (now owned by Mori Industries Inc.) with a capital investment of 45,000,000 NT$ in Tokyo, Japan, thus becoming SR-SunTour . The new SR-SunTour parts are not compatible with

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1116-434: A new company called SunXCD. Two years later, at age 94, he died and company president Taki Takimoto took his place as chairman. The new company makes mainly retro components, such as high flange hubs in 120mm, 126mm, and 130mm sizes, and TA cyclotourist-style cranksets. Bicycle fork A bicycle fork is the part of a bicycle that holds the front wheel. A fork typically consists of two blades which are joined at

1209-429: A post-war recession. Coins worth 1 and 5 rin were eventually officially taken out of circulation at the end of 1953 and demonetized. Color The issuance of yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced. Denominations have ranged from 1 yen to 10,000 yen; since 1984, the lowest-valued banknote is the 1,000 yen note. Before and during World War II , various bodies issued banknotes in yen, such as

1302-465: A rise in the value of the yen would hurt export growth by making Japanese products less competitive and would damage the industrial base. The government, therefore, continued to intervene heavily in foreign-exchange marketing (buying or selling dollars), even after the 1973 decision to allow the yen to float. Despite intervention, market pressures caused the yen to continue climbing in value, peaking temporarily at an average of ¥271 per US$ in 1973, before

1395-485: A smaller 50 yen. In 1982, the first cupronickel 500 yen coin was introduced. Alongside the 5 Swiss franc coin , the 500 yen coin is one of the highest-valued coin to be used regularly in the world, with a value of US$ 4.42 as of December 2016 . Because of its high face value , the 500 yen coin has been a favorite target for counterfeiters, resulting in the issuance in 2000 of the second nickel-brass 500 yen coin with added security features. Continued counterfeiting of

1488-498: A variety of factors. Firstly, Japan's prolonged low-interest-rate policy (to tackle domestic deflation ) has created a yield differential with other countries—notably the US—that have high interest rates (to tackle domestic inflation ), prompting investors to seek higher returns in foreign currencies. This interest rate differential directly affects the price of the Yen and serves as one of

1581-417: A yen called "rin" were first introduced in 1873. One rin coins were very small, measuring 15.75 mm in diameter and 0.3 mm in thickness, and co-circulated with mon coins of the old currency system. Their small size was eventually their undoing, and the rin was abandoned in 1884 due to unpopularity. Five rin coins worth one-two hundredth of a yen also used a bronze alloy. These were successor coins to

1674-413: Is a narrow range of acceptable offsets to give good handling characteristics. The general rule is that a slacker head angle requires a fork with more offset, and small wheels require less offset than large wheels. The length of the fork is usually measured parallel to the steerer tube from the bottom of the lower bearing race to the center of the front wheel axle. A 1996 survey of 13 700c road forks found

1767-608: Is attached. The term fork is sometimes also used to describe the part of a bicycle that holds the rear wheel, which on 19th century ordinary or penny-farthing bicycles was also a bladed fork. On most modern bicycle designs the rear wheel is now attached to a rear triangle comprising the seat tube , a pair of seat stays , and a pair of chain stays , rather than an actual fork, but the rear fork usage persists. Forks have several key dimensions which include: offset, length, width, steerer tube length, and steerer tube diameter. Bicycle forks usually have an offset, or rake (which

1860-452: Is different from rake of motorcycle forks), that places the fork ends forward of the steering axis. This is achieved by curving the blades forward, angling straight blades forward, or placing the fork ends forward of the centerline of the blades. The latter is used in suspension forks that must have straight blades in order for the suspension mechanism to work. Curved fork blades can also provide some shock absorption. The purpose of this offset

1953-462: Is so large that it is expected to double the money supply, but this move has sparked concerns that the authorities in Japan are deliberately devaluing the yen to boost exports. However, the commercial sector in Japan worried that the devaluation would trigger an increase in import prices, especially for energy and raw materials. Since 2022, the yen has depreciated significantly against its peers, due to

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2046-411: Is stiffer under the lateral forces imposed by frequent sprinting but mainly because track racing tyres are always narrow and do not require the additional clearance afforded by oval blades. Round blades necessitate a special fork crown with matching round sockets. Track forks may not be drilled for a front brake if the bicycle is intended to be used only on a velodrome. The clearance between the tyre and

2139-406: Is that the spring constant can be adjusted by adjusting the air pressure. This allows a fork to be tuned to a rider's weight. One disadvantage of this design is the difficulty in achieving a linear response, as pressure varies approximately inversely (not linearly) with volume in a gas. As the fork compresses, the effective spring constant of the fork increases. Increasing the volume of the air inside

2232-539: Is the Lauf Spring which utilises composite leaf springs to provide mechanical shock absorption and damping, whilst offering a sizable weight reduction compared to conventional designs Some manufacturers, such as Cannondale and Strida , offer a fork with a single leg. Many of Cannondale's single bladed forks, called Lefty, are suspension forks, in either conventional or inverted configurations. These forks use linear needle roller bearings on octagonal races to transmit

2325-611: Is the official currency of Japan . It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market , after the United States dollar and the euro . It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. The New Currency Act of 1871 introduced Japan's modern currency system, with the yen defined as 1.5 g (0.048 troy ounces) of gold, or 24.26 g (0.780 troy ounces) of silver, and divided decimally into 100 sen or 1,000 rin . The yen replaced

2418-408: Is to reduce ' trail ', the distance that the front wheel ground contact point trails behind the point where the steering axis intersects the ground. Too much trail makes a bicycle feel difficult to turn. Road racing bicycle forks have an offset of 40–55 mm. For touring bicycles and other designs, the frame's head angle and wheel size must be taken into account when determining offset, and there

2511-640: The 1964 games . The largest issuance by denomination and total face value were 10 million gold coins of ¥100,000 denomination for the 60th anniversary of reign of the Shōwa Emperor in 1986, totalling ¥1 trillion and utilizing 200,000 kg fine gold. ¥500 commemorative coins have been regularly issued since 1985. In 2008 commemorative ¥500 and ¥1,000 coins were issued featuring Japan's 47 prefectures. Even though all commemorative coins can be spent like ordinary (non-commemorative) coins, they do not normally circulate, and ¥100,000 coins are treated with caution due to

2604-533: The Japanese asset price bubble and continued to do so afterwards, reaching a low of ¥134 to US$ in February 2002. The Bank of Japan's policy of zero interest rates has discouraged yen investments, with the carry trade of investors borrowing yen and investing in better-paying currencies (thus further pushing down the yen) estimated to be as large as $ 1 trillion . In February 2007, The Economist estimated that

2697-577: The Meiji period and later are printed on Japanese banknotes. The reason for this is that from the viewpoint of preventing forgery, it is desirable to use a precise photograph as an original rather than a painting for a portrait. Series E banknotes were introduced in 2004 in ¥1000, ¥5000, and ¥10,000 denominations. Series F banknotes were introduced on 3 July 2024. They were announced on 9 April 2019 by Finance Minister Tarō Asō . The ¥1000 bill features Kitasato Shibasaburō and The Great Wave off Kanagawa ,

2790-774: The Ministry of Finance and the Imperial Japanese National Bank. The Allied forces also issued some notes shortly after the war. Since then, the Bank of Japan has been the exclusive note issuing authority. The bank has issued five series after World War II. Japan is generally considered a cash-based society, with 38% of payments in Japan made by cash in 2014. Possible explanations are that cash payments protect one's privacy, merchants do not have to wait for payment, and it does not carry any negative connotation like credit. At present, portraits of people from

2883-464: The Unit-Hub - which combined freewheel and hub in one component (unit hubs were available at least as early as the 1938 Bayliss-Wiley, probably earlier). The freehub greatly increased the strength of the rear wheel, but the idea was not pursued. In the early 1970s, demand created by the bike boom in the United States exceeded the capacity of European manufacturers. SunTour and Shimano filled

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2976-603: The [je] pronunciation. Walter Henry Medhurst , who had neither been to Japan nor met any Japanese people, having consulted mainly a Japanese-Dutch dictionary, spelled some "e"s as "ye" in his An English and Japanese, and Japanese and English Vocabulary (1830). In the early Meiji era, James Curtis Hepburn , following Medhurst, spelled all "e"s as "ye" in his A Japanese and English dictionary (1867); in Japanese, e and i are slightly palatalized, somewhat as in Russian. That

3069-505: The headset used to attach the fork to the rest of the bicycle frame . An unthreaded steel steerer tube may be threaded with an appropriate die if necessary. The thread pitch is usually 24 threads per inch except for some old Raleighs which use 26. On most mountain bicycles , the fork contains a set of shock absorbers , in which case the blades typically consist of upper and lower telescoping tubes and are called "legs." The suspension travel and handling characteristics vary depending on

3162-401: The headset . Adapter kits are available to enable use of a 1″ fork in a frame designed for a 1⅛″ steerer tube or a 1⅛″ fork in a 1½″ frame. Manufacturers of high-end bikes, both road and mountain, have adopted tapered steerer tubes as the de facto standard, with a 1⅛″ OD at the top and a 1½″ OD at the bottom. The blades must be the proper length to both accommodate the desired wheel and have

3255-518: The pattern stage . The first gold yen coins consisted of 2, 5, and 20 yen coins which were struck throughout 1870. Five yen coins were first struck in gold for the Japanese government in 1870 at the San Francisco Mint . During this time a new mint was being established at Osaka , which did not receive the gold bullion needed for coinage until the following year. Gold bullion was delivered from private Japanese citizens, foreigners, and

3348-636: The "yen" as Japan's modern unit of currency on June 27, 1871. This Act formally stipulated the adoption of the decimal accounting system of yen (1, 圓 ), sen ( 1 ⁄ 100 , 錢 ), and rin ( 1 ⁄ 1000 , 厘 ). The new currency was gradually introduced beginning from July of that year. Japanese yen denominated paper currency was also conceived with the coins in 1870 as Meiji Tsuho notes by Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone . These were released as fiat currency in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100 yen along with subsidiary notes of 10, 20, and 50 sen in 1872. Almost concurrently,

3441-431: The 1990s to redenominate the yen by introducing a new unit or new yen, equal to 100 yen, and nearly worth one U.S. dollar. This has not happened to date, since the yen remains trusted globally despite its low unit value, and due to the huge costs of reissuing new currency and updating currency-reading hardware. The negative impact of postponing upgrades to various computer software until redenomination occurs, in particular,

3534-517: The Chinese had traded silver in mass called sycees , and when Spanish and Mexican silver coins arrived from the Philippines , the Chinese called them "silver rounds" ( Chinese : 銀圓 ; pinyin : yínyuán ) for their circular shapes. The coins and the name also appeared in Japan. While the Chinese eventually replaced 圆 ; 圓 with 元 , the Japanese continued to use the same word, which

3627-409: The Japanese government. Initially the government opted for silver, which would become the standard unit of value leaving gold coinage as a subsidiary. While gold coinage couldn't be produced domestically in 1870, the mint at Osaka could produce silver coins which included denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50 sen. None of these coins dated "1870" circulated until the Meiji government officially adopted

3720-477: The Ministry of Finance, seeking to introduce a modern monetary system into Japan. Ōkuma eventually proposed that coins, which were previously square, be made into circles, and that the names of the traditional currencies, ryō (両), bu (分) and shu (朱), be unified into yen (円), which was accepted by the government. Other rejected proposals included physical weight units of "Fun" and "Momme" which never made it past

3813-582: The United States' actions in 1971. Following the United States' measures to devalue the dollar in the summer of 1971, the Japanese government agreed to a new, fixed exchange rate as part of the Smithsonian Agreement , signed at the end of the year. This agreement set the exchange rate at ¥308 per US$ . However, the new fixed rates of the Smithsonian Agreement were difficult to maintain in the face of supply and demand pressures in

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3906-589: The bicycle component business, selling off SunTour's Japanese facilities piecemeal and closing its U.S. offices in early 1995. SR Suntour re-established a US presence in 2011 as SR SUNTOUR North America Inc. In 2018 they reported experiencing 'Tremendous growth' and moved into a larger facility in Ridgefield , Washington . Until 2011 the company was manufacturing forks for Italian suspension company Marzocchi . In 2012, Junzo Kawai, former president of SunTour Japan, returned to bicycle component manufacturing with

3999-502: The company gained a reputation with the general public as a producer of only low-end equipment. This reputation would eventually hurt sales when Suntour introduced a complete high-end component group, Superbe Pro . Despite emerging problems, Suntour continued to achieve a number of innovations, particularly in components for mountain bikes . In partnership with Sugino , it introduced the 110/74mm BCD five-bolt triple crankset for mountain bikes, which soon became an industry standard. Next

4092-591: The correct amount of rake to provide the approximate steering geometry intended by the frame designer. The functional length of the fork is typically expressed in terms of Axle-to-Crown race length (A-C). Also, the axle on the wheel must fit in the fork ends (usually either a 9 mm solid or hollow axle, or a 20 mm thru-axle). Some manufacturers have introduced forks and matching hubs with proprietary standards, such as Maverick's 24 mm axle, Specialized 25 mm thru-axle and Cannondale's Lefty system. Fork steerer tubes may be threaded or unthreaded, depending on

4185-582: The currency. The sharp fall in the value of the currency has led some companies, including Modec , to stop presenting their financial statements in Japanese yen. However, this weakness has had some benefits for Japan's tourism industry, as the low exchange rate makes its purchasing power attractive for travellers, particularly those from foreign nations. The name, "Yen", derives from the Japanese word 圓 ( en , [eɴ] ; "round") , which borrows its phonetic reading from Chinese yuan , similar to North Korean won and South Korean won . Originally,

4278-597: The discovery of counterfeits. The 1 yen coin is made out of 100% aluminum and can float on water if placed correctly. Subsidiary coins of "sen" (one hundredth of a yen) were initially introduced in 1870 with a silver alloy in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen. Copper sen coins in denominations of half, 1, and 2 came three years later, as Japan acquired the technology needed to mint them. The removal of silver from sen coinage began in 1889, when Cupronickel 5 sen coins were introduced. By 1920, this included cupro-nickel 10 sen and reduced-size silver 50 sen coins. Production of

4371-441: The dollar. In light of the dollar's reduction in value from ¥360 to ¥308 just before the reversion, an unannounced "currency confirmation" took place on October 9, 1971, wherein residents disclosed their dollar holdings in cash and bank accounts; dollars held that day amounting to US$ 60 million were entitled for conversion in 1972 at a higher rate of ¥360. In the 1970s, Japanese government and business people were very concerned that

4464-510: The drivers behind its depreciation. Widely held expectations of yen depreciation can become self-fulfilling prophecies, affecting the currency's exchange rate. To counter this, the BOJ conducted currency interventions of more than JPY 9 trillion selling the dollar and buying the yen in the September–October 2022 and April–May 2024 periods respectively. Numerous proposals have been made since

4557-469: The equally valued half sen coin which had been previously minted until 1888. The decision to bring back an equally valued coin was in response to rising inflation caused by World War I which led to an overall shortage of subsidiary coins. The mintage period for five rin coins was brief as they were discontinued after only four years of production due to their sharp decline in monetary value. The overall demand for subsidiary coinage ended as Japan slipped into

4650-467: The establishment of a centralized banking system. The Bank of Japan hence commenced operations on October 10, 1882, with the authority to print banknotes that could be exchanged for the old Government and National Bank Notes. By May 1883, another act provided the redemption and retirement of national bank notes. The National Bank Act was amended again in March 1896, providing for the dissolution of

4743-519: The foreign-exchange market. In early 1973, the rates were abandoned, and the major nations of the world allowed their currencies to float . After World War II the United States-administered Okinawa issued a higher-valued currency called the B yen from 1946 to 1958, which was then replaced by the U.S. dollar at the rate of $ 1 = 120 B yen. Upon the reversion of Okinawa to Japan in 1972 the Japanese yen then replaced

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4836-407: The fork interfaces with the frame via bearings called a headset mounted in the head tube . At the bottom of the fork, fork ends hold the wheel. Usually, either the axle is bolted to the fork, or a quick release skewer passes through a hollow axle, clamping the axle to the fork. A bicycle dropout (drop out, frame end, or fork end), is a slot in a frame or fork where the axle of the wheel

4929-403: The fork's travel to the specific terrain profile. Typically, less suspension travel is needed for uphill or flat terrain than for downhill terrain. Advanced designs also often feature the ability to lock out the fork to eliminate or drastically reduce the fork's travel for more efficient riding over smooth sections of terrain. This lockout can sometimes be activated remotely by a cable and lever on

5022-618: The former entity. During this unstable period, the confusion caused by this form of exchange caused economic turmoil. The gold (counting money) system of eastern Japan and the silver (weighing money) system of the western Japan were not unified, and the difference in the gold-silver ratio caused a large amount of gold to flow overseas at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. Emperor Meiji responded to this by appointing Ōkuma Shigenobu as head of Japan's monetary reform program. He worked with Inoue Kaoru , Itō Hirobumi , and Shibusawa Eiichi to run

5115-481: The government established a series of national banks modeled after the system in the United States which issued national bank notes. Massive inflation from the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 caused a glut of non-redeemable fiat currency notes. The issuance of national fiat banknotes was ultimately suspended in 1880 by then prime minister Matsukata Masayoshi . New policies were put into place which included

5208-437: The handlebars. The shock absorber usually consists of two parts: a spring and a damper or dashpot . The spring may be implemented with a steel or titanium coil, an elastomer , or even compressed air. The choice of spring material has a fundamental effect on the characteristics of the fork as a whole. Coil spring forks are often heavier than designs which use compressed air springs, but they are more easily designed to exhibit

5301-418: The headset bearings, in the case of a threaded headset, or to contribute to the desired handlebar height, in the case of a threadless headset. When sizing a fork to a frame , the diameter of the fork steerer or steer tube (1″ or 1⅛″ or 1½″) must not be larger than that of the frame, and the length of the steerer tube should be greater than but approximately equal to the head tube length plus the stack height of

5394-424: The impact of the 1973 oil crisis was felt (this was retroactively called endaka , although the term was only coined in 1985). The increased costs of imported oil caused the yen to depreciate to a range of ¥290 per US$ to ¥300 per US$ between 1974 and 1976. The re-emergence of trade surpluses drove the yen back up to ¥211 in 1978. This currency strengthening was again reversed by the second oil shock in 1979 , with

5487-489: The innovative spring-loaded jockey wheel that was fitted with a seal that proved inadequate to keep out dirt and mud. In road bicycle components, the company fared no better. SunTour had introduced the SuperbeTech derailleur in 1983 with a streamlined, enclosed parallelogram. However, the design was too fragile, with internal pivots and the return spring failing frequently. It took special tools to repair and reassemble

5580-518: The latter ceased in 1938, after which a variety of base metals were used to produce 1, 5 and 10 sen coins during the Second World War . While clay 5 and 10 sen coins were produced in 1945, they were not issued for circulation. As with the Rin, coins in denominations of less than 1 yen became invalid at the end of 1953 and were demonetized due to inflation. Bronze coins worth one-one thousandth of

5673-485: The latter resulted in the issuance in 2021 of the third bi-metallic 500 yen coin with more improvements in security features. Due to the great differences in style, size, weight and the pattern present on the edge of the coin they are easy for people with visual impairments to tell apart from one another. Commemorative coins have been minted on various occasions in base metal, silver and gold. The first of these were silver ¥100 and ¥1,000 Summer Olympic coins issued for

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5766-519: The national banks on the expiration of their charters. This amendment also prohibited national bank notes from circulating after December 31, 1899. In that year, Japan adopted a gold exchange standard , defining the yen as 0.75 g fine gold or US$ 0.4985. This exchange rate remained in place until Japan left the gold standard in December 1931, after which the yen fell to $ 0.30 by July 1932 and to $ 0.20 by 1933. It remained steady at around $ 0.30 until

5859-537: The original SunTour parts. By 1993, SunTour's share of the market had dropped to five per cent of the U.S. market. At the end of 1994, Mori decided to shut down their bicycle component business. In March 1995 Daisuke Kobayashi and Hideo Hashizume, the former owners of Sakae Ringyo, arranged a management buyout. The new management took over in July, 1995, purchasing the SunTour name and the SR factory in Taiwan. Mori Industries left

5952-424: The other hand, desperately needed orders, so the company could not insist on complete SunTour component groups that had been tested to ensure compatibility with AccuShift . As a consequence, major bicycle manufacturers such as Schwinn and Raleigh installed Accu-Shift on low-end bikes using inventories of older freewheels, hubs, cables, cable housings, and chains from other manufacturers. The practice resulted in

6045-491: The previous Tokugawa coinage as well as the various hansatsu paper currencies issued by feudal han (fiefs). The Bank of Japan was founded in 1882 and given a monopoly on controlling the money supply. Following World War II , the yen lost much of its pre-war value. To stabilize the Japanese economy , the exchange rate of the yen was fixed at ¥360 per US$ as part of the Bretton Woods system . When that system

6138-428: The road surface. There have also been examples of wooden forks. However, these have not been common in the modern era. Forks may have attachment points for brakes, racks, and fenders. These may be located in the crown, along the blades, and near the fork ends. These are often holes, threaded or not, and may be located on tabs that protrude. Yen The yen ( Japanese : 円 , symbol : ¥ ; code : JPY )

6231-484: The slant-parallelogram rear derailleur. The parallelogram rear derailleur had gained prominence after Campagnolo 's introduction of the "Gran Sport" in 1949, and the slant-parallelogram was an improvement of it that allowed the derailleur to maintain a more constant distance from the sprockets, resulting in easier shifting. The SunTour derailleur cost less than Campagnolo, Huret , Shimano, or Simplex and it performed especially well shifting under load, as when changing to

6324-461: The spring can reduce this effect, but the volume of the spring is ultimately limited, as it needs to be contained within the dimension of the fork blade. The damper usually forces oil to pass through one or more small openings or shim stacks in the suspension fork. On some models, the spring, the damper, or both may be adjusted for rider weight, riding style, terrain, or any combination of these or other factors. The two components may be separated with

6417-418: The spring mechanism in one blade and the damper in the other. There have been many fork design variations tried over the years. Several are still in use today. Some have employed linkages to provide the mechanical action instead of relying upon telescoping elements. Others, notably Cannondale use a single shock built into the steerer tube above the crown. Another notable recent development in fork technology

6510-475: The start of the Pacific War on December 7, 1941, at which time it fell to $ 0.23. The sen and the rin were eventually taken out of circulation at the end of 1953. No true exchange rate existed for the yen between December 7, 1941, and April 25, 1949; wartime inflation reduced the yen to a fraction of its prewar value. After a period of instability, on April 25, 1949, the U.S. occupation government fixed

6603-412: The steering torque to the wheel, while conventional two bladed suspension forks use tubular linear plain bearings. Use of a Lefty fork requires a special Lefty hub, which attaches to the fork end by means of a screw that presses the hub onto the axle that is fixed to the fork. Track forks traditionally have round-section blades rather than the oval section used on road bikes, partly because a round section

6696-414: The top by a fork crown. The crown is often at the front. Most suspension forks have an arch connecting the two side of the lowers (the part connected to the axle.) It is often in front of the stanchions (shaft the lowers slide on) but not always. Above the crown, a steerer tube attaches the fork to the bicycle and the handlebars (via a stem ) allowing the rider to steer the bicycle. The steerer tube of

6789-703: The type of mountain biking the fork is designed for. For instance, manufacturers produce different forks for cross-country (XC), downhill, and freeride riding. Forks designed for XC racing are typically lighter, less robust and have less suspension travel than those designed for rougher terrain and more extreme conditions. Popular makers of suspension forks include Cannondale, Fox, SR Suntour, Manitou, Marzocchi, and RockShox. Suspension fork design has advanced in recent years with suspension forks becoming increasingly sophisticated and diverse in design. The amount of suspension travel available has increased over time. When suspension forks were introduced, 80–100 mm of travel

6882-423: The underside of the fork crown is often less than 5mm. Not all forks steer on bearings installed in a head tube. The forks on Stridas and Pedersen bicycles pivot about an axis external to the fork, supported at two different points on the frame. A new trend in triathlon bikes is similar, called a bayonet or external-steerer fork, but the pivot bearings are at the top and bottom of something that still resembles

6975-427: The vacuum. SunTour focused on refining existing systems and designs for mid-level and high-end products. Like Shimano, SunTour initially did not sell complete group-sets , so it teamed with other parts makers, such as Sugino for cranksets and Dia-Compe for brakes , so it could sell a complete line of SunTour branded components. Under these types of production agreements, companies did not have design control; if

7068-473: The value of the yen at ¥360 per USD through a United States plan, which was part of the Bretton Woods system , to stabilize prices in the Japanese economy . That exchange rate was maintained until 1971, when the United States abandoned the gold standard, ending a key element of the Bretton Woods system, and setting in motion changes that eventually led to floating exchange rates in 1973. By 1971,

7161-406: The value of the yen. From its average of ¥239 per US$ in 1985, the yen rose to a peak of ¥128 in 1988, virtually doubling its value relative to the dollar. After declining somewhat in 1989 and 1990, it reached a new high of ¥123 to US$ in December 1992. In April 1995, the yen hit a peak of under 80 yen/US$ , temporarily making Japan's economy nearly the size of that of the US. The yen declined during

7254-416: The war, brass 50 sen, 1 and 5 yen were introduced between 1946 and 1948. The current-type holed brass 5 yen was introduced in 1949, the bronze 10 yen in 1951, and the aluminum 1 yen in 1955. In 1955 the first unholed, nickel 50 yen was introduced. In 1957, silver 100 yen pieces were introduced, followed by the holed 50 yen coin in 1959. These were replaced in 1967 by the current cupro-nickel 100 yen along with

7347-443: The world price of the yen has greatly decreased, falling to an average of almost ¥158 per dollar and ¥171 per euro in July 2024. The Bank of Japan maintains a policy of zero to near-zero interest rates and the Japanese government has previously had a strict anti-inflation policy. From late 2020 to first half 2024, the yen depreciated against the dollar by about 60%, giving rise to serious concern in Japan about long-term prospects for

7440-501: The year of mintage, which is not shown in Gregorian calendar years, but instead in the regnal year of the current emperor's reign , with the first year of an era called gannen ( 元年 ) . Imperial portraits have never appeared on Japanese coins, as the image of the emperor remains sacred. In 1897, the silver 1 yen coin was demonetized and the sizes of the gold coins were reduced by 50%, with 5, 10 and 20 yen coins issued. After

7533-412: The yen dropping to ¥227 per US$ by 1980. During the first half of the 1980s, the yen failed to rise in value, though current account surpluses returned and grew quickly. From ¥221 per US$ in 1981, the average value of the yen actually dropped to ¥239 per US$ in 1985. The rise in the current account surplus generated stronger demand for yen in foreign-exchange markets, but this trade-related demand for yen

7626-428: The yen had become undervalued. Japanese exports were costing too little in international markets, and imports from abroad were costing the Japanese too much. This undervaluation was reflected in the current account balance , which had risen from the deficits of the early 1960s, to a then-large surplus of US$ 5.8 billion in 1971. The belief that the yen, and several other major currencies, were undervalued motivated

7719-634: The yen was 15% undervalued against the dollar, and as much as 40% undervalued against the euro. However, this trend of depreciation reversed after the global economic crisis of 2008 . Other major currencies, except the Swiss franc , have been declining relative to the yen. On April 4, 2013, the Bank of Japan announced that they would expand their asset purchase program by $ 1.4 trillion in two years. The Bank of Japan hopes to bring Japan from deflation to inflation, aiming for 2% inflation. The number of purchases

7812-473: The yen weak relative to the dollar and fostered the rapid rise in the Japanese trade surplus that took place in the 1980s. In 1985, a dramatic change began. Finance officials from major nations signed an agreement (the Plaza Accord ) affirming that the dollar was overvalued (and, therefore, the yen undervalued). This agreement, and shifting supply and demand pressures in the markets, led to a rapid rise in

7905-487: The ¥5000 bill features Tsuda Umeko and Wisteria flowers, and the ¥10,000 bill features Shibusawa Eiichi and Tokyo Station . The Ministry decided to not redesign the ¥2000 note due to low circulation. The EURion constellation pattern is present in the Series D, E and F banknotes. Beginning in December 1931, Japan gradually shifted from the gold standard system to the managed currency system. The relative value of

7998-436: Was abandoned in 1971, the yen became undervalued and was allowed to float. The yen had appreciated to a peak of ¥271 per US$ in 1973, then underwent periods of depreciation and appreciation due to the 1973 oil crisis , arriving at a value of ¥227 per US$ by 1980. Since 1973, the government of Japan has maintained a policy of currency intervention, so the yen is under a managed float regime . The Japanese government focused on

8091-422: Was also cited. The Japan Mint has issued legal tender coins from 1871 to the present. The obverse side of all coins shows the coin's value in kanji characters as well as the country name (through 1945, Dai Nippon ( 大日本 , "Great Japan") ; after 1945, Nippon-koku ( 日本国 , "State of Japan") (except for the current 5-yen coin with the country name on the reverse). The reverse side of all coins shows

8184-501: Was deemed sufficient for a downhill mountain bike. Typically this amount of travel is now used in XC disciplines, with downhill forks now offering 150 to 200 mm of travel for handling extreme terrain. This is not the limit of suspension fork travel; for example, the Marzocchi Super Monster T offers 300 mm (12 inches) of travel. Other advances in design include adjustable travel allowing riders to adapt

8277-533: Was given the shinjitai form 円 in reforms at the end of World War II. The spelling and pronunciation "yen" is standard in English , because when Japan was first encountered by Europeans around the 16th century, Japanese /e/ ( え ) and /we/ ( ゑ ) both had been pronounced [je] and Portuguese missionaries had spelled them "ye". By the middle of the 18th century, /e/ and /we/ came to be pronounced [e] as in modern Japanese, although some regions retain

8370-445: Was offset by other factors. A wide differential in interest rates, with United States interest rates much higher than those in Japan, and the continuing moves to deregulate the international flow of capital , led to a large net outflow of capital from Japan. This capital flow increased the supply of yen in foreign-exchange markets, as Japanese investors changed their yen for other currencies (mainly dollars) to invest overseas. This kept

8463-474: Was the first Japanese gear and shifter manufacturer to introduce indexed shifting on bicycles (indexed shifting appeared at least as early as the Funiculo derailleur fitted to 1935 Schulz bicycles). Although their system, called Five-Speed Click , worked well, it proved an idea ahead of its time and did not catch on with the riding public. Another design innovation was the first practical Japanese freehub —

8556-556: Was the first full-scale Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary, which had a strong influence on Westerners in Japan and probably prompted the spelling "yen". Hepburn revised most "ye"s to "e" in the 3rd edition (1886) to mirror the contemporary pronunciation, except "yen". Although the Edo Shogunate collapsed with the Meiji Restoration and a new government was born, the monetary system still took over that of

8649-835: Was the introduction of the Micro Drive 94/56mm BCD five-bolt compact mountain bike crankset, which saved weight, increased ground clearance, and permitted lower gearing for hill-climbing. New, short-cage rear derailleurs were provided to go with the Micro Drive cassette-type cogsets. The new system was very popular, and Shimano adopted the compact drive concept two years later. SunTour's new thumb and trigger shifters made shifting more convenient when riding off-pavement. The company's decision to limit funding and staff for research and development caused running issues with new products. The first sign of trouble came with returns on SunTour's SR MounTech rear derailleur, caused by failures of

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