Originally Posted by
thehammerdog
they just don't grab I was very surprised to learn that I was not able to slow bike on hard turn and went into the brush..
Not sure of any brake in time needed...but they failed.
You need to condition the rotors by steadily applying the brake and releasing, with increasing lever effort over a few cycles - this deposits brake pad material on the rotor and should result in more progressive and powerful braking. If you have a good hill then ride down that a few times, braking but not to a stop. If you can't get good stopping power you might find that roughening the pads with coarse abrasive then repeating the break-in procedure improves power, otherwise try some different pads. This assumes there's no contamination of the braking surfaces - if that's a possibility you should wipe the rotors with IPA, meths, acetone or automotive brake cleaner (keep it away from the hub bearings). Contaminated brake pads probably can't be saved, you can try sanding the surface off. then wiping with solvent, don't drench with solvent.
Full disclosure - I use TRP mechanical discs (which are made by Tektro) and I think they're great.