>>1987096The brakes are dishonest because there is a serious performance advantage to aero brake levers.
They pull the cable in a different direction which makes them inherently more powerful.
People think it's just about neat cabling or modern ergonomics but it's really about braking performance.
And he found a unique aesthetic because these things had been left in the past, left on proper classic builds, or left on beaters.
This is a $5000 bike with a fucking XTR mech and fat tires to ride offroad.
Cantis can be excellent brakes, but they need to be optimized at every level, and you can do that more than in the past.
Back in the centerpull days pro riders would sub MAFAC levers for universal ones which worked slightly better.
It's bad enough to have a fashion bike but i've seen numerous builds like his with non-aero levers. He's created a fashion for it. It's as bad as people who like vintage brake pads.