Word: shimano
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...businesses that trade only in Japan but are available through most U.S. brokers. That's where Charles de Vaulx, co-manager of the First Eagle Sogen Global fund, has been mining. "Our bullishness on Japan rests on the extremely low valuations," he says. He likes the bicycle-parts maker Shimano, which has cash on its balance sheet equal to a third of its market value and has strong exports to boot. Other favorites include construction company Okumura, machinery company Aida Engineering and textiles firm Sotoh--all of which are profitable or break-even and trade at less than the value...
What's the latest in bipedal transportation? How about relatively affordable ($500 or less) "comfort bikes" with cushy seats, fat tires and--get this--automatic gears. At the Interbike show in Las Vegas this week, Shimano will demonstrate its new Auto-D electronic-shifting system on bikes from Bianci, Schwinn, GT and others. The digital derailleur always starts off in the lowest gear and automatically shifts when a rider pedals faster or slower. It even has a parking-mode feature that locks the wheels until you enter a secret code to release them...
...chain -- and rider -- can slip. "Gear fear" is the main reason why "so many of the ten-speeds that were bought in the cycling boom in the '70s are hanging in garages," says Fred Zahradnik, technical editor of Bicycling magazine. But with new index shifting systems from companies like Shimano of Irvine, Calif., he explains, "you just push the button, hear it click, and you're in gear." Shimano's system uses special teeth and ramps to move the chain smoothly between gears...