Founded by Shozaburo Shimano in 1921, Shimano base its headquarters in Sakai, Japan and is famous for producing bicycle components. Shimano is the leader of the global bicycle component market, commanding approximately 50% of the market share. It is a multinational corporation with over 7 700 staff members and offices in 21 countries. Its products include drivetrains, brakes, wheels and pedal components for road, mountain and hybrid bikes.

Hailing from San Jose, California, Gamut was set up in 2004 by a group of riders with one simple goal - to produce lightweight, highly adjustable and easy to install downhill components. They quickly came to market with some great products and have since secured sponsorship deals with some of the worlds top athletes including Ben Reid (Iron Horse, Shimano, DT Swiss) and Greg Minnar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) proving the product can really cut it on the world cup circuit.