Jewelry. While so many bike parts are going to vocational school and coming out looking mighty industrial. The Formula Oro Bianco disc brakes went to art school and came out looking like jewelry. It’s an interesting choice, given that this is Formula’s one-finger DH brake. But then again, it’s hard to argue with success -- Greg Minaar took these brakes to a DH World Championship. After all, with the speeds attained on a World Championship run, carrying your speed through corners is critical, and excellent braking modulation pays dividends. Nobody does it better than Formula in this department.

It’s nice to see these polished brakes on a bike. It brings Italian sportscar pizzazz to bikes that often appear to be lumbering. It would be a shame to scratch these up, and Formula agrees. They’ve put a special scratch resistant coating on top of the finely polished finish.

Another great feature of these brakes is the ability to run 220mm rotors. That’s huge, towering over 203mm offerings that are common everywhere else. You have a choice of a solid rotor or one that’s mounted on an aluminum carrier. But, truth be told, these will work with 203mm rotors as well. And 200mm. And 180. And 160. And 140.

The Formula Oro Bianco is a hydraulic brake system. The hose has a banjo fitting at both ends for better heat dissipation and a polyester-braided hose for strength and heat resistance. The lever is designed for one-finger use. The clamp holding the lever and master cylinder to the bar is attached to a removable bracket, so it can come off on its own. The levers have a flip-flop design so they can work on either side of the bar. The stroke adjustment is a simple knob, making it quick and easy. The caliper comprises two opposed pistons. The caliper mounts on a post-style mount. The standard pads are sintered, and replacement pads can be either sintered or organic. The open caliper allows easy removal of pads and better cooling of the system. For both the caliper and the lever, there is etching on the metal and nickel-plated hardware. Disc sizes include: 140, 160, 180, 200, 203, and 220mm.

Weight for the front brake system minus the rotor is 239g. Weight for the rear minus the rotor is 254g. Weight for rotor and hardware for 200mm rotor is approximately 210g for the front, and 213g for the rear.

The Formula Oro Bianco disc brake system is sold with lever and caliper for one wheel -- rotors and adaptors must be ordered separately.