I’m a big fan of Paul brakes. I have two sets on two of my daily rides - a set of MotoBMXes on my Rawland cSgon, and braze-on Racers on my Rawland rSogn. (The bikes are basically drop-bar and Albatross-bar versions of each other.) I’ve been using the MotoBMXes for at least a dozen years in all seasons in Chicago and they require essentially no maintenance - all I do is replace pads periodically. The sealed pivots are what make this possible and overall they’re great. The Racers (operated by Campy Ergopower brifters) have been similarly great.
Meanwhile, Monday before last was New Bike Day for me. I came over with a strong hankering for something modern a couple of years ago, and after thinking about what I wanted to use it for (fun rides at home, brevets, travel bike, bike for riding in mountains on trips and on dirt roads on trips; riding to and then up the Tolland Road to the pass at Rollins Pass in Colorado would be a perfect case) decided a modern gravel bike of some sort would be ideal. On my recent road trip, I picked up a Canyon Grail AL 7 in Sandpoint, ID on my way to Glacier National Park:
