With the right pads, it will be sufficient. I have a bike currently that uses just one, until I can find two red ones. If it's stamped steel; it's gonna be a garbage brake. I used to save the side pulls from Hyper BMX bikes because it was the best part on the whole bike. They're forged aluminum and provide excellent stopping power, because they don't flex. It is near impossible to get them centered, though, compared to dual pivots that seem to only exist in the roadbike world. I also pair them with v-brake levers- it works, despite what anybody else claims. And I was doing that way before the walmart brands started doing it.