Trek 1.2 poor braking performance fix

requiem
requiem Posts: 57
edited January 2013 in Workshop
Hi there,

I have just recently purchased a 2nd hand trek 1.2, (2010) which I am loving so far! It's my first road bike.

I have noticed however that the braking is rather poor and takes too long to slow down sufficiently when at high speeds. I'm sure the issue is largely to do with the amount of leverage I am able to exert on the brake levers (I have small-ish hands)

Now, as far as I can see, there are three options:
upgrade the brake pads to something like kool stops (I used to use these on my old hybrid and they were very good), upgrade the brake calipers themselves (current groupset is 2010 Sora, with no-name brake calipers)
OR
somehow adjust the existing setup so that harder braking is easier.

I am for now, quite interested with what I can do with the third option. Is there some mechanism within the STI levers that would allow me to reduce the amount of pressure required in order to achieve harder braking? For example, my hands are quite small and therefore cannot exert much leverage on the brakes when riding on the hoods (in the drops this is not an issue as I can use the 'end' of the brake lever = better leverage). I read in a random thread somewhere that moving the break pads further from the rims enables the levers to come closer to the bars thus allowing for a tighter grip for those with smaller hands. However, I'm not sure if i'm quite comfortable with that idea, as there is more 'dead' travel in the brake levers, thus requiring quicker reaction time.

Following on from that, would upgrading the calipers themselves be more effective than just upgrading to better brake pads? Not quite sure I understand what would make one brake caliper 'better', or more effective, than another.

Many thanks in advance for your help :D

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