Set-up, and luck also have a large effect. My first good bike was a '81 Schwinn Traveler with steel rims, original brake pads, housing and cables, and safety levers. Somehow it had excellent stopping power. My Schwinn Mirada has alloy rims, modern brakes with new pads, new cables, and some new housing, and it does not brake very well. I'm blaming the safety levers, which are probably being switched out tonight, along with the rest of the old housing.