Record OR parts have all of these crazy little features. Like the cantilever brakes have every single possible adjustment done independently on each side, with allen screws. Spring tension, the resting angle of the arm, pad toe, all of it. You could set the brakes up with only one arm on the bike, take that one off, put the other one on, adjust it, reinstall the first one, set the cable tension, and it would all work. The crankset's granny ring was a cassette cog. Some of the most thoughtfully interesting parts I've seen.

Too bad they only made them for a couple of years, they only sold like 17 sets of the things, and it's my understanding that the parts were basically self-consuming if ridden dirty. Plus they're gorgeous. All of which adds up to "really, really, really friggin' expensive." The only bits I have, a set of Record OR "Tandem" cantilevers, took me over a year to find and cost me like 300 bucks. In 2006. I think the cranksets fetch well over a grand.

--Shannon