Originally Posted by
cornucopia72
To us, peace of mind of using the disc brake is worth every extra gr and then some...
Coming down into Orvieto, Italy, It is rainning buckets. Total rig wt. is under 400 lbs. Apply front rim brake full force, bike continues on like nothing happened. Apply rear disc brake and the bike slows down instantly to a safe speed to take a turn.
In the rain, an initial application of the brakes will usually result in not much, until the water is shed (and the rim gets warm). Usually I apply light braking before the full application (which also requires much more force than in the dry). Granted discs are much better in the rain, my rim brakes have served me OK on a couple wet, twisty descents. My hands were tired after, but I was actually surprised that the brakes worked as well as they did.
EDIT: Pads are Swiss Stop Green High Performance Compound