I can't speak for anyone but myself, here's how I see it. I love old steel road bikes from the 80's to 90's. I love how they look, how they feel and the great memories in life they remind me of. That said, all my vintage steel bikes have modern wheels, tires, gearing, pedals, bars and stems because I ride them and think there are some things from the modern/current age that are better then the old stuff. Sacrilege? Blasphemy? Maybe to some, but for me, getting down the road on one of those bikes as fast as I can make it go is the real payoff, not looking at a "period correct" version that my six decade old body won't tolerate, too many crit crashes for that.
I have but two modern bikes; a mountain bike with hydraulic discs and an "all road" drop bar bike with cable discs. Both are far and away better than any rim brake bike I have in my stable. They don't beat up the rim in wet/poor weather, modulate better and I can brake deeper into fast corners/descents than I ever could with rim brakes. Rims are no longer wear items due to braking surface and they can be lighter than rim brake models for the same reason. Reducing rotating weight on the outside circumference is a big deal when it comes to climbing and acceleration. One day, before I lose all my ability, I'll probably buy a high zoot road bike with hydraulic disc brakes, heck maybe even some electric shifting. Mind you, I'm the guy that went ballistic when the first guy on our race team showed up with Shimano SIS downtube shifters; according to me it was a crutch for someone who didn't possess the ability to play a fret-less instrument. Boy was I wrong.
All that said, disc brakes are here and like it or not, they're here to stay.
Last edited by nomadmax; 08-21-19 at 11:50 AM.