This is less a question of *how* as much as it's a question of *how ill-advised is this*?

For simplicity, let's say the store sells bicycle parts.

Basically, the client would like have parts categorized under three main categories: manufacturer, type, and "bicycle type"(IE Road, Mountain, etc).

So: A wheel is manufactured by Mavic but more specifically falls under the "Mavic Pro" category. It's type is clearly "wheel" but it is more specifically a road front wheel. It then would road bikes in the racing category.

I am unaware of any built-in filtering mechanism in Magento to solve this, and I'm also wondering about the advisability of it (and if it's a poor idea, what are some alternatives?)

Thanks, all!