It is all good. I am glad that everyone has individual tastes and likes different things. It just that when it comes to cross, disc brakes are true performance enhancement. I have lived and raced in both eras, and if you told me I had to race on a crappy old canti brake bike, I just might quit the sport. My dedicated 1x carbon disc bike is light, simple, easy to clean and maintain and makes me a better rider.
And I don't know if you have been watching cross the last 10 years, but I would say we have had some pretty epic pro racing. I just don't see how disc brakes changed anything. I think it is false nostalgia.
I sometimes wonder if my viewpoints on equipment is because I was a mountain biker first. Large generalization here, but when something shows to be a performance advantage, mtbers tend to adopt much more quickly. I can't remember anyone pining for V-brakes or Canti brakes. No one longs for the days of overinflated tube type tires. And sure it took a few generations to sort out suspension, but overall, very quickly adopted. And the market continues to look further refinement. And sure the racing has changed over time, but I would say the equipment has allowed for better, more exciting racing, not worse.
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