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Old 03-31-2020, 04:41 PM
Mark McM Mark McM is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,020
I don't get all the alloy brake track hate here. When I started cycling, many, many moons ago, many bikes still used steel rims and most components were either steel, or sometimes plastic. "Alloy" was a sign of quality in both rims and components, and showing lots of shiny aluminum was a point of pride for bike owners.

When carbon fiber came along, it appears that black became the new "gotta have" color. Now, wheels are black, frames are black, components are black, and many people wear black clothing. Carbon is now being used, even where it doesn't make sense (like rim brake tracks). And when when wheels or components are made out of another material, it has to be black, because, you know, carbon is black, and carbon is cool, so everything has to be black to be cool.

I'm not particularly fashion conscious, so I'm not drawn toward fancy colors (even if the fancy color is black). Instead, I pick materials based on what is best for the job, and then leave them their natural colors. So my aluminum brake tracks are the color of bare aluminum, my stainless steel spokes are the color of bare stainless steel, etc.
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