The fact that the Tour de France is going on right now gives me an excuse to post about this piece of bike candy: Campagnolo’s Record D Skeleton brakes. These things are a work of art. And they are also very light at 279g (about 20% lighter than Shimano’s Dura Aces), thanks to how the arms have been hollowed out to minimize mass while retaining a huge amount of stiffness for stopping power. True form follows function, but still very elegantly done, as Campy always is.

This is the front brake, which has an extra arm for greater stopping power. The rear brake, where one needs much less strength, has a conventional two-arm configuration and so saves weight.