New Technology Drivers
Bicycle components underwent radical change in the 1990s. The traditional quill handlebar stem was rendered obsolete by the introduction of the threadless headset. 3T responded with the industry's first forged stem for this application, the ForgeAhead. Other manufacturers followed 3T's lead and switched to this technique, abandoning welded stems.
By the late 1990s, carbon-fiber composites were becoming the major driver of change. 3T, best known for its skill in aluminum alloy fabrication, took up the challenge of re-engineering to build components in composite materials. Race successes continued with Gold in the World Championships in 2000 and 2002 and a string of popular wins for Erik Zabel in the Italian home classic, Milan – San Remo, but it was not until 2008 that 3T again saw victory in a major tour.
Read more about this topic: 3T Cycling
Famous quotes containing the word technology:
“If the technology cannot shoulder the entire burden of strategic change, it nevertheless can set into motion a series of dynamics that present an important challenge to imperative control and the industrial division of labor. The more blurred the distinction between what workers know and what managers know, the more fragile and pointless any traditional relationships of domination and subordination between them will become.”
—Shoshana Zuboff (b. 1951)