My new Trek Emonda, like most new bikes today, has disc brakes.  It is the first bike that I have owned that has disc brakes, so I am learning a lot of new things.

So why have disc brakes becomes so popular?  The following things are generally thought of as the advantage of disc brakes over traditional rim brakes.

• Greater stopping power.  Disc brakes generate an amazing amount of stopping power; far more than rim brakes.  This means the rider doesn’t need to pull the brake levers as hard to stop the bike, especially with hydraulic disc brakes.
• Better modulation.  Braking with disc brakes is much more consistent, which gives the rider greater control when braking.  It is much easier to judge how much force to apply to the brakes to achieve the desired results. This also means that although the greater stopping power of disc brakes should in theory result in more wheel lock ups, the greater control, means it actually happens less than with rim brakes.
• More reliable braking in wet weather.  It takes a fraction of a second to displace water from the brake rotor when braking in the wet. After that, disc brakes pretty much function as normal, which gives much better wet weather braking.
• Self adjustment.  The way that hydraulic brakes are designed, means that they self adjust.  No more fine tuning maintenance as brake pads wear out.

There are of course downsides to disc brake system, like cost, but they are here to stay, and I quite like that idea.