Dale Benjamin wrote:

> I have a Shimano Deore front Deraileur on my bicycle.  I wanted to get a Sora
> for the back, but the authorized dealer here didn't have any with long cages, I
> got a Tiagra instead.

You're better off, the Sora rear derailer is kinda cheesy, with major 
plastic structural parts.

> Names.  It makes me wonder sometimes.  Being an uneducated sort of lout, I don't
> have a clue.  All Japanese stuff, of course.
> 
> What does "Shimano" mean in Japanese, anyway?  Something like "International
> Harvester", maybe, or just the name of one of the early investors?

Shimano is the family name of the founder and the current owners of the 
company.

> How about Deore, Sora, Tiagra, what's the translation?

Those are all made up names, not unlike Sony, Walkman, Corolla, Camry 
and the like.  The Japanese often have difficulty coming up with 
English-like brand/model names that make any sense.

I believe Deore is supposed to mean "golden" due to its similarity to 
that term in several romance languages. (D'or in French, d'oro in 
Italian, something similar in Spanish.)

Shimano often uses trendy terms chopped apart and stuck together.

"Exage" was made by grafting "excelence" "new age."

"Ultegra" derives from "ultimate" and "integrity."

I have little doubt that Tiagra was derived from a popular 
pharmaceutical that was very much in the news at the time (and is now in 
all of our email mailboxes.)

Sheldon "ShelBroCo" Brown
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