I have them on my LHT, and the stopping power is very good. I swapped the conical washers around, so the wider sets are on the inside, and i lowered the yokes to the top of my fenders. The thing to remember is, as the brake arms reach the top of their path of travel, the mechanical leverage advantage decreases... and once they go vertical, you are essentially attempting to slide the brake studs up the blades of your fork. Ideally, the pads will contact the rim while the brake arms are nearly horizontal with the ground. Mine do, and stoppies to get up curbs are no problem unless i've got a full load on the back. I had no trouble stopping on the West Virginian 18-20%+ downhills I encountered on my spring break tour. Give your rims some time to burnish/ break in, and avoid running your brakes (you'll glaze your pads, then you'll be in for a real treat!). If it doesn't improve, talk to your mechanic/ consider other options.