As its name suggested, EXAGE, coined from “excellent,” “exceed” and “age,” was a casual components series with excellent quality and advanced functionality. EXAGE was released as a series that could be used for various scenes and lifestyles at the time when diversified needs for bicycles began to arise as cycling was regarded a sport that anyone could enjoy easily. Under the concept of casual sports, Shimano offered a product lineup comprised of three series (road, mountain and fitness). Later, as the ways users enjoyed cycling became diversified, Shimano subdivided the lineup to expand it in order to fit bicycles to the scenes that users liked. Shimano communicated the appeal of sports bikes to many more people with EXAGE, which offered advanced functions and casual designs at prices where people could enjoy riding sports bikes easily.