Personally I think it's just fashion.
Track mass start racers widely use discs. Which kind of throws out the acceleration/weight/handling issue, since those are critical in a track mass start race - maybe even more than on the road. Also kind of throws out the drafting rationale since there's plenty of drafting in mass start track.
They're not banned by USACycling for any road event. I've toyed with the idea of checking with a race director/official, then showing up to a RR or crit with a disc, but have never had the nerve. You pretty much have to win if you do that, and I'm not nearly good enough to guarantee myself a win. :)
Edit: I also think the comfort rationale is kind of bogus. I've never had comfort issues on the road with a disc. Maybe there'd be some risk of damage from flying rocks, etc. But that's pretty small risk, in my opinion.
Track mass start racers widely use discs. Which kind of throws out the acceleration/weight/handling issue, since those are critical in a track mass start race - maybe even more than on the road. Also kind of throws out the drafting rationale since there's plenty of drafting in mass start track.
They're not banned by USACycling for any road event. I've toyed with the idea of checking with a race director/official, then showing up to a RR or crit with a disc, but have never had the nerve. You pretty much have to win if you do that, and I'm not nearly good enough to guarantee myself a win. :)
Edit: I also think the comfort rationale is kind of bogus. I've never had comfort issues on the road with a disc. Maybe there'd be some risk of damage from flying rocks, etc. But that's pretty small risk, in my opinion.