Originally Posted by
WhyFi
The disc-brakes-were-foisted-upon-us narrative always amuses me because of how much it just doesn't ring true in my case.
I bought a gravel bike with mechanical discs. I liked it well enough, but decided to upgrade to hydro when I found a good price on a kit. After the install, I was immediately hooked and there was no going back. I've bought two hydro disc road bikes since. I've heard similar "why didn't I do this sooner?" stories from others, much more so than, "eh, I can take it or leave it." "These are horrible and I'm going back to rim brakes!" is almost unheard of, IME.
So foisted? Not so much. I, and many others like me, have been enthusiastic adopters.
My first drop bar bike was a CX beast, with disc brakes. Harsh, heavy aluminum beast. Next bike was a CF road racer, I begrudgingly bought it without disc brakes because I wanted a CF racing bike and couldn't get one with discs at the time. So, like you, this idea they were forced on us just isn't true in my case. I know plenty of other people who prefer them too. A friend of mine is a triathlete, she isn't especially comfortable on the bike, and discs make her feel a lot better about it. (She does at least one 50 mile run every year, so she's pretty fast on the bike just from having fitness.) I love mountains and ride in them whenever I can, so it's a no brainier for me.