Originally Posted by
dabac
I think a lot of the "stronger" commentary comes from disc brakes generally providing more braking for a given amount of hand effort compared to rim brakes.
Getting full braking on my road bike - with old, single-pivot Saccon rim brakes - takes literally a white-knuckle effort.
On my nice MTB, I can get all the braking I'd ever want from a moderate, 2-finger effort.
I'd say that calling disc brakes stronger - for the amount of hand effort that feels comfortable and natural to apply - is a quite fitting description for many bikes.
This is a massive thing that the anti disc crowd don't get, and it stays this way forever unlike cabled brakes which are susceptible to corrosion and dirt ingress making the brakes harder to operate. Yes modern rim brakes can be amazing (105 5800 and above) but it doesn't take much to change that.