naff brakes help!!

slave 1

hi all.
having just returned to cycling after a 10 year break,i've managed to convince the other half into letting me have a 'cheap' mountain bike.
so i've bought an old giant atx don't know what year it is though.
but i have a problem, the brakes are naff to say the least. they are m.p.h hydraulic but don't have any feel our bite needing a very heavy pull on the lever to get the bike to stop.
i've checked and cleaned them but this has made no difference, any advice would be great.

nicklouse

could be that they need the pads replacing.

what did you use to clean the pads/rotor?


and you have got (downloaded) the brake manual?