Originally Posted by American Euchre

I used to set my rim brake pads a considerable distance from the rim. Upon the advice of a couple of BF posters, I tried the opposite strategy: pads set very closely to the rims. I'd estimate pads are now 1 to 1.5 mm from the rim front and back.

I have my own story as well. I was "bombing" down a moderate descent at about 35 mph. I noticed a car pulling out onto the road. I instinctively grabbed the brakes, but had to let go almost instantaneously. The instantaneous bite really shocked me. I wasn't just scrubbing speed, the brakes were biting very hard.

Fortunately, the car didn't pull into the road at all, and I continued on without any further issue, but if need be, I could have come to a stop very quickly.

Dual pivots, even cheap no-name dual pivots like mine ("axis") can bit very hard if you set the pads close to the rim. You need to run and keep your rims true, but it's totally false that dual pivots work slowly or don't bite hard.