# Shimano m-700 DeerHead



## ckevlar (Feb 9, 2005)

Let have a DeerHead thread. When was it sold? Did it have its own freewheel? What was it competitors?


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

83-86. I think it just used the 600 freewheel at that time. Competitors at the beginning were a conglomeration of Mafac/Dia Compe, Tomaselli/Magura, Suntour, Sugino/TA, Huret, Phil/CookBros, etc. Deer Head was the first mtb group.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

Shimano time line @ http://mombat.org/Shimano.htm

M700 came out in mid 1983 and was too late for most 1983 "production" bikes but would have been used on many of the custom bikes. Lasted until M730 was introduced in1987.

Most other bikes would have been Suntour XC or XC Sport.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

First Flight said:


> Shimano time line @ http://mombat.org/Shimano.htm
> 
> M700 came out in mid 1983 and was too late for most 1983 "production" bikes but would have been used on many of the custom bikes. Lasted until M730 was introduced in1987.
> 
> Most other bikes would have been Suntour XC or XC Sport.


yeah, after a year or two Suntour came out with their own group which I forgot to mention. Im sure SeeKay can comment on how nice it was to have a complete group after the years of putting together their own with the various parts makers...


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

Fillet-brazed said:


> yeah, after a year or two Suntour came out with their own group which I forgot to mention.


http://mombat.org/Suntour.htm

I am missing the 1984 Suntour info so if anyone has the catalog/info, please let me know so we could fill in one of the many knowledge gaps on the web site.


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## badbushido (Jan 4, 2006)

At least a picture of it

Was there anything inbetween the dirt ensemble and the XC? The only changes I see are the thumbshifter housings and the rollercams with nuts instead of allen bolts.


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## 82Sidewinder (Jun 28, 2006)

First Flight said:


> Shimano time line @ http://mombat.org/Shimano.htm
> 
> M700 came out in mid 1983 and was too late for most 1983 "production" bikes but would have been used on many of the custom bikes. Lasted until M730 was introduced in1987.


I have a Ross Mt Whitney with a full M700 group except for the Takagi Tourney XT crank. The components have late '82/early '83 date codes which lead me to believe the bike was also from 1983. However, based on Jeff's timeline, it could be very early production for the '84 model year, or Ross managed to equip some '83 production bikes with Deer Head.

Craig


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## ckevlar (Feb 9, 2005)

So, were there M700 hubs? What were the popular wheel builds back then. What guage spokes? Any deer head brochure scans about?


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## Guest (May 22, 2008)

ckevlar said:


> So, were there M700 hubs? What were the popular wheel builds back then. What guage spokes? Any deer head brochure scans about?


from Jeff's timeline

Free hub: FH-M7400-ATB, HB-7400-ATB (front), 6 speed SIS compatible, lubricating ports with open/close, black available, OLD rear 130, 36 hole, 12-16 tooth outer threaded, 13-26, 28 splined cogs

Hub: HB-MN72 silver or black, high flange, for freewheel, nutted, 36 hole, OLD 130 also available is HB-MN72 QR, quick release, OLD 126, 36 hole, high flange, silver, use with MF-6208 six speed freewheels

the 7400 are low flange (based on DuraAce) and the M72 the high flange on the below pic (i think...)

here's a thread with pics of all the parts (you may have to register to view them though)

https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=18134


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

First Flight said:


> Shimano time line @ http://mombat.org/Shimano.htm
> 
> M700 came out in mid 1983 and was too late for most 1983 "production" bikes but would have been used on many of the custom bikes. Lasted until M730 was introduced in1987.
> 
> Most other bikes would have been Suntour XC or XC Sport.


.

Guru of all things Shimano, answer me this: on the Shimano timeline on your site, why isn't Deore mentioned? I see the Deore II group but not the standared Deore that proceeded it. I have a box full of early 86-89 Deore derailleurs. I'm looking for a little history on them.

Tim


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## Guest (May 22, 2008)

CS2 said:


> .
> 
> Guru of all things Shimano, answer me this: on the Shimano timeline on your site, why isn't Deore mentioned? I see the Deore II group but not the standared Deore that proceeded it. I have a box full of early 86-89 Deore derailleurs. I'm looking for a little history on them.
> 
> Tim


are they 86/87 according to the date code? Deore is listed for 1988.

Carsten


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## 82Sidewinder (Jun 28, 2006)

Carsten said:


> here's a thread with pics of all the parts (you may have to register to view them though)


Thanks for posting the link! It looks like Deore XT was introduced in '82, which jives with the late '82 date codes on my Mt. Whitney's components.

Speaking of Suntour, where did the Mountech group fit in? In my experience, the Suntour Power shifters seem to shift better than the M700 thumbies, but the Mountech derailleurs appear to be of lower quality.

Craig


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

A lot of issues arrive in the bike industry when you compare calendar dates vs. model years. Like right now (May 2008) you can't buy a 2008 Fox fork from Fox......they are now 2009 forks. It also takes 90-120 days for a bike to be built/shipped from Asia plus the parts need to be shipped to the bike makers which explains earlier build dates on the parts. Shimano announced the 25th anniversary group in May 2007. I have no doubt they were working on the parts in 1982 but if you look at manufacturers catalogs and magazines, there are no 1982 bike with Deore XT. Most of the first run of 1983 catalogs do not mention Deore XT either. As soon at is was available, manufacturers added it to there bikes. There have always been 1/2 year models or early introduction models. 

The first generation Deore stuff was for touring bikes, not mountain bikes. Some of the parts would work fine on mountain bikes but weren't designed for it. Look at the chainring sizes on the crank and the lack of any off road pedals for the Dyna Drive sized holes. 

Mountech was really popular on the early mountain bikes and worked fine but was quickly replaced by the XC level stuff.


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## CS2 (Jul 24, 2007)

Carsten said:


> are they 86/87 according to the date code? Deore is listed for 1988.
> 
> Carsten


Yes, they are date coded 1986. They look similar to the Deore II group but graphics are different. I'll try to post pics this weekend.

Tim


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

First Flight said:


> Mountech was really popular on the early mountain bikes and worked fine but was quickly replaced by the XC level stuff.


Did Suntour not do cranks until SR bought them (late 80s or so)? I seem to recall most Suntour-equipped bikes had Sakae (SR), Sugino or other cranks...


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## 82Sidewinder (Jun 28, 2006)

cegrover said:


> Did Suntour not do cranks until SR bought them (late 80s or so)? I seem to recall most Suntour-equipped bikes had Sakae (SR), Sugino or other cranks...


It looks that way. I have an '82 Stumpjumper Sport equipped with Suntour AR derailleurs and Sugino AT cranks. My '84 High Sierra with Mountech derailleurs also has a Sugino crankset.


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