aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,691
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 510 Post(s)
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All the reasons stated are correct as factors. Another is that SunTour figured out how to make stuff that worked as well as the top end stuff and produce it cheaply. You could argue that they undercharged. Some saw the prices and assumed it couldn't be as good as the high end stuff. That can actually kill a company. This wasn't the only thing that killed it, but it was a factor in my view.
I've seen more Cyclone derailleurs fail than the V-GT and VX-GT so I prefer those.
Their quality control was as good as with the high end stuff. Really good. I can't remember any defects at all. This was during the period when Japan had adopted a philosophy of quality from an American innovator (whose name I've forgotten) and implemented it better than any other country.