On Brakes

I have a love for shiny things that go fast.  It's why I love both bicycles and concept cars, with the difference being that I can afford bicycles.  I also have a thing for components - especially strange, obscure, weird components that are often proprietary and a handful.  It's one of the main reasons I have such a thing for Takhions.  But today is all about brakes.   

I often find myself drooling over Campy Delta and Shimano Dura Ace AX brakes.  They're different and unique, and I love them for it.  Some people swore by them in their day, and others admitted a lack of stopping power and problems with proprietary allen wrenches and brake pads.  Nonetheless, I've always liked how "different" they were.  There are whole subspecies of derailleurs, but brakes are (usually) pretty straightforward.

I got sort of excited when I learned about integrated brakes in TT bikes.  I mean, how cool is this?

Image via www.bicycling.com - I wish I knew someone with these so I could photograph them myself!

There's more where that came from!            

And of course, after Bike Hugger did a write up on EE Cycleworks brakes, I had to go an investigate them further.  They seem like pretty solid brakes, but they are by no means cheap - though they are lovely!  This is going on my list of Someday-Components.  That I will have someday.

And then Magura had to go and and make these sexy brakes.  I mean, look at those brakes - look at those levers - just.  Want.  Nustbike has some great photos of them here.  Looks like these are also going on that list.  Oh, and they're hydraulic. 

Image via Gizmag!

Right now, I'm running old Shimano 600/Ultegra brakes on my commuter (with the original brake pads, to boot!), and I feel like my stopping power is generally fine, though I rarely get rain here, so for dry they're fine.  The brakes are quiet, easily adjustable, and also beautiful.  I certainly don't need new brakes, or any new components for that matter, other than a few random parts for some of my projects, but I still enjoy drooling over the possibilities.

And hey, brakes are easy to upgrade in the future. 

Anyway.  That's my rant.  I really just wanted to talk about brakes.  

2012 Distance Count: 245 Miles | 394.3 Kilometers