The popularity of cycling has driven the "recovery" of the entire bicycle industry. Last year, the domestic bicycle market was 194.07 billion yuan. It is expected to exceed the 200 billion mark this year, and by 2027, this number will reach 265.67 billion yuan. my country is the

cycling has driven the "recovery" of the entire bicycle industry. Last year, the domestic bicycle market was 194.07 billion yuan. It is expected to exceed the 200 billion mark this year, and by 2027, this number will reach 265.67 billion yuan. my country is the world's largest bicycle producer and exporter, with 610,000 related companies. Last year, its export volume reached 69.26 million units, with an export value of US$5.108 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.9% and 40.2% respectively.

However, it is worth noting that, like the chip industry, China's bicycle industry also faces the problem of "stuck neck". The core components transmission have long been dependent on imports. This is the core part of the bicycle transmission system, known as the "heart of the bicycle", accounting for about 40% of the price of the entire vehicle.

A set of transmission usually includes front sprocket ( crankset ), rear sprocket (flywheel), chain, brake and other components. Each component is composed of multiple small parts. The coordination and balance among hundreds of parts is the most difficult to master. This is not only an engineering system problem, but also involves the selection of materials, die-casting, and forging processes, and the manufacturing accuracy reaches the micron level.

At present, the global bicycle transmission market is divided among three major brands: Japan's Shimano (Shimano), the United States' SRAM (SRAM) and Italy's Campagnolo (Campagnolo). Among them, Shimano has a market share of more than 60%, and its transmission kits are used in road cars priced above 3,000 yuan from brands such as Giant and Merida .

Let’s give a brief introduction first: Shimano has a history of 101 years and is headquartered in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. In addition to bicycle parts, it is also involved in the development, design, and production of fishing tackle and rowing related supplies. It has 50 It has subsidiaries and research institutions in 29 countries around the world, with approximately 13,000 employees.

In the 1890s, Shozaburo Shimano (the founder of Shimano) was born in a poor family in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, and was fostered in a relative's home since he was a child. Due to lack of discipline, he dropped out of elementary school in the third grade. At the age of 14, he was sent to the home of Xiongji, a knife blacksmith, to work as an apprentice. After completing his studies, he entered the local ironworks and worked. Over the next ten years, he moved around After working in many factories, I finally got the position of supervisor when I entered Dasheng Iron Works, managing a team of 50 people.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. In 1921, Shozaburo Shimano lost his job. At the age of 26, he decided to start his own business. He found a few good coworkers and rented a 40-square-meter rental house at a demolished celluloid factory site in Donggang, Sakai City for 5 yen/month. I only have one lathe, , which I borrowed. Relying on its previous accumulation of technology and experience,

led this small factory on the right track the following year and began producing single-speed flywheels, which had the highest technical requirements among bicycle parts at that time. In the future, as production technology continued to improve, the scale of Shimano Iron Works continued to expand. By the early 1940s, it had more than 300 employees and more than 2,000 machines. The monthly production volume of Flywheel has exceeded 100,000 pieces, and its market share in Japan has reached 60%, and it has begun to expand overseas.

With the rapid development of the automobile industry, the global bicycle industry has entered a period of decline, and upstream parts manufacturers have naturally not been spared. At that time, Shimano had already developed external transmissions and internal three-speed transmissions. In order to meet the challenge, Shozaburo Shimano decided to develop his own cold forging technology (forging metal into parts directly at room temperature).

Compared with hot forging , cold forging has the advantages of low cost and high precision, but research and development is extremely difficult and is usually completed by large steel companies, car companies or scientific research institutions. Unfortunately, Shozaburo Shimano passed away due to illness in 1958. The eldest son Shimano Shozo inherited his father's business and led the company to overcome problems such as insufficient power of the press , easy damage to the mold, and deformation of parts during the forging process. It took four years to successfully achieve the success of cold forging technology and put it into application.

Thanks to this, Shimano is far superior to its competitors in product quality and price, thus always occupying a place in the shrinking market.When developed countries began to advocate green travel, the bicycle industry regained its vitality. Shimano Naozo keenly realized that bicycles were not only a means of transportation, but also a tool for leisure and sports, so he led the company to start developing mountain bike parts and competition transmissions. On the other hand, he also established a fishing gear division to mainly produce reels for fishing rods. This was also the company's first business expansion after 50 years of establishment.

Shimano can be called "the most profitable company in the bicycle field". Last year's operating income increased by 79.3% year-on-year, setting a record high. Among them, the bicycle department's net sales increased by 49.0% to 443.7 billion yen, and operating income increased by 82.7% to 125.2 billion yen (approximately RMB 6.2 billion). Relying on high-precision cold forging technology to achieve micron-level precision control of bicycle parts, it has been nicknamed " intel in the bicycle industry".

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In the past two years, affected by the increase in demand for bicycles and the increase in the price of raw materials, Shimano kits have been in short supply. This also gives domestic transmission manufacturers a rare development window. Suntech, Lantu, Speedar, etc. are accelerating the pace of expansion.

However, currently, Chinese companies are concentrated in the low-end transmission market. Not only does Shimano have a technological advantage, thousands of patents have almost blocked the way for latecomers to catch up; it can also bring a higher premium to bicycle brands. Once its transmission is used, the price will immediately rise by one or two levels. Therefore, some people in the industry pointed out that it is very difficult for Chinese companies to achieve corner overtaking in the field of traditional mechanical transmission or electronic transmission. The localization of core components has a long way to go, and consumers and companies also need to give them more patience and opportunities.