with broke ass front brakes, like my tektro 520A which ran me $12.50 at my LBS, you really need to have them set up tight:

calipers can be adjusted fairly easily to close very tightly.

unscrew the nut that holds the brake cable to the front arm

press and hold the calipers together so that there's 3-4mm between the pads and the rim.

tighten the nut on the cable again.