MY old bike was a Pacific Toy's R Us bike, but what I liked about it was the stickiness of the brakes. I purchased a Diamondback mountain bike from a buddy, and I love it, only the brakes are not sticky. I can barely get the back wheel to lock up, much less the front. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Clean the rim sidewalls off....maybe replace the brake pads with ones of a different compound.

Oh, yea, I forgot to mention. I did clean the rims, and I sanded the pads.

what wheels are they? What pads are u using....and finally, what brakes are they?

If you have done the above mentioned steps then make sure the pads are lined up with the correct toe on the rim surface. If this does not work then replace the cable and housing. If they have shimaNO pads dump them and get Kool Stops.

I agree: lose the Shimanos and get KoolStops. I have not tried the new salmon-coloured ones yet, but Sheldon swears by them.

OK, can someone answer this. Why do my brakes squeak and so on after I clean and lube my chain. I did this last night, and when I rode to university today they were squeaking like buggery. The thing is, I didn't clean the rims (didn't have time) and the squeaking had just about stopped by the time I got to university (only 17km), so what's the problem?

Oh yeah, this also happens when I do clean the rims.

because you got some oil on the rims. Clean the surface with either acetone or denatured (or isopropyl) alcohol.

Thanks