Brakes not sharp enough

Hi there,
I recently purchased my new mountain bike from a well known retailer.
It is a lovely bike with suspension just on the forks. They set it all up for me and tested it, but I found the brakes not to be sharp at all.
I assumed it was because it was new, but it has not improved. I have tightened the bolts on the brake leavers on the handle bars, but it has not helped, it just makes it harder to pull the leavers, with no improvement on the sharpness.
If I pulled them both on really hard, the bike would continue moving and the brakes make a creaking noise.
There is zero chance of skidding the tires or getting your back wheel in the air by locking the front wheel... just to give you an idea of the lack of baking.
Can anyone tell me what needs doing? The place I got it from, offers a free tune-up 6 weeks after you bought it (I got it in November), but I don't live near the place and the bike won't fit in my small car.



I recently purchased my new mountain bike from a well known retailer.
It is a lovely bike with suspension just on the forks. They set it all up for me and tested it, but I found the brakes not to be sharp at all.
I assumed it was because it was new, but it has not improved. I have tightened the bolts on the brake leavers on the handle bars, but it has not helped, it just makes it harder to pull the leavers, with no improvement on the sharpness.
If I pulled them both on really hard, the bike would continue moving and the brakes make a creaking noise.
There is zero chance of skidding the tires or getting your back wheel in the air by locking the front wheel... just to give you an idea of the lack of baking.
Can anyone tell me what needs doing? The place I got it from, offers a free tune-up 6 weeks after you bought it (I got it in November), but I don't live near the place and the bike won't fit in my small car.




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This is an essential process that makes your brakes as sharp as they should be. It requires you to get up to speed and then brake really hard about a dozen times. You will feel the brakes getting better as you do it. Do the front first then the rear. Be very careful that you don't go over the bars as the brakes get better! Keep your weight back when doing the rear brakes as all you will do is to skid the tyre.
Unfortunately, you will have glazed the pads by now and they will not respond to bedding in. Remove the pads and de-glaze them. To do this get some sandpaper 80-120 grit should do, or "medium" and lay it on a flat surface. Put the pad face down onto the sandpaper and rub it across the sandpaper in a circular direction. Apply firm pressure but not light or too hard. Do this until the face is no longer shiny. Refit the pads and go do the bedding in. To get a better idea of how to bed in watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWQxGzHQZVU
Are the levers quite `long` (pulling all the way to the handlebars) or are the pads just not biting enough?
What bolts did you tighten on the handlebars? (photo please)
Hydraulic brakes are more effective and not too expensive to buy if you did want to change them.
Do what Steve said and check the pads first.
Other easy thing to check is the cable tension, try and see if you can see the outside pad moving when pulling the lever, if there's any delay between pulling the lever and seeing the pad move, you might want to pull the cable through a bit tighter, again ensuring it's not so tight the pad is touching the disk. touching the disk.
Name of the game with mechanical disks is to have the pads as close as humanly possible to the disks.
They also will require periodic adjustment as the pads wear down, the gap between the pads and disk will get bigger resulting in poorer braking over time.
They work by the cable pushing the 'outside' pad into the disk, in turn pressing the disk onto the 'fixed' inside pad so again it's important to have a smaller gap as possible between the pads and disk.
I'm so glad I moved onto hydraulic discs, fettling cable ones to get them right was never my strong point!!
2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #3s)
2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)
2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #3s)
2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)
2011 Specialized Hardrock Sport Disc (son #3s)
2013 Decathlon Triban 3 (red) (mine)
2019 Hoy Bonaly 26" Disc (son #2s)
2018 Voodoo Bizango (mine)
2018 Voodoo Maji (wife's)