Which were in your opinions the holy grail of V-brakes !?
I mean rare, limited, exotic, kool, sexy, etc.
Nothing comes to my mind right now besides the
Mrazek BOC or the Paul Motolite... what else was there ?
Although it could be argued that they aren't V-brakes per se, I've always thought of them as the inspiration for Shimano. I like the reconciling the designer had to do watching the big S dominate the market yet again, with a design that would've made a fortune for him:
"The lateral-pull brake is now ubiquitous. Why didn't you patent your designs?
Capron: On the Decelerator I pursued a patent with my sister's dough. I worked with a lawyer that wasn¹t exactly forthcoming. I had the drawing and the patent application and I paid him the fee we agreed on. Then he said, 'we're halfway there.' Turns out a patent's validity must be defended before it is accepted. I didn't know that, and I didn't have any more money. So the second time around, with my first direct routed design - the concept that is now so common, I was sour on the patent process. There are new ways of combining old ideas, but I don't think there are too many new ideas. Getting too hung up on that can get in the way of the original motivation of enjoying riding and trying to expand and enhance that experience. Sure, you could say that if I had a patent on the direct routed design, as popularized by the Shimano V-Brake, I'd be a millionaire. But with a patent, maybe other companies would not have pursued the direct routed concept. The way it's turned out, millions of people have had the experience of better braking, which I hoped makes their ride better."