As demand for North Shore and extreme riding started to grow at the beginning of the 2000s, HONE appeared as a components series for young riders to “hone” their skills. The rear derailleur was made less susceptible to influence from the frame end even under harsh conditions by adopting a hub axle mount system, in which the derailleur was mounted directly to the hub axle. Also, it was designed to prevent it from catching on obstacles by routing the cable in the upper part and changing the shape of the lower part to strengthen it. Adopting the HOLLOWTECH II front chainwheel achieved both high rigidity and light weight. SHIMANO HONE, which had a robust heavy-duty build that met the demands of extreme riding, greatly contributed to promoting riding freedom.