Originally Posted by dddd

There are a LOT of variables that determine brake performance besides the brand/model.

Firstly, where are the pads set in the slots. This affects leverage a lot.
And if the brake is long-reach, then the leverage is yet quite a bit less.

The pads are a huge variable in themselves. The 44-year-old black pads on my Pro-Tour's direct-mounted DiaCompe "G" centerpulls work as good or better than any I have ever used. Others from different brands show signs of hardening and ineffectiveness after as few as five years. What's going on here?

Then there's the cables. Often the rear brake feels squishy and ineffective because of cabling having too much friction.

I usually use the original levers and just add hoods if none are present. But different levers indeed pull different amounts of cable and can have different leverage.

Lastly there is the rim surface to consider. Some pads work horribly on anodized rim surfaces, poor braking , noisy and especially ineffective when wet.

So narrowing the performance down to the caliper can be a difficult experiment to control!