New Brake Pads Increasing Stopping Distance

[Vidrazor]

I just had some new pads put in my front wheel, and now my bike is taking longer to stop. Before, for the most part, I could just mostly use my front brake around town to stop. Now I need to use both brakes. I need to squeeze harder up front too.

Any ideas what could be causing this? Can a piston accidently get stuck after replacing pads? Maybe I'm running off one piston up front?

Also, as some of you know, my bike was knocked over in the recent storms we had here in the NYC area. I found my bike on the ground and have no idea how long it was there. Is there any possibility that air may have worked it's way into the breakline under these conditions? I can't see how but I'm just clutching for straws here.

What about pad types? Are there "super pads" that grip more than others? Perhaps the previous owner had put such in if so. I'm only familiar with sintered pads, but they need to heat up before doing their magic. My old pads gripped much better from the moment I braked.

Is there some kind of "break-in" period I have to put the new pads through before they get into the groove?

I'm at a loss as to why this is. While the difference isn't incredibly different, it's significantly different for me to notice (especially when I find myself heading for someone's rear!), so something's up. Needless to say, I can see this being a real problem in an emergency at highway speeds.

Thanks.

[PitterB4]

As I often remind people here, I'm a mechanical doofus but....  it seems very reasonable to me that if you got the reservior tilted and the brake line higher than the reservior, some air from the void in the reservior could make it's way into the line.  Bleeding the brakes is about the easiest maintenance job on the bike so I'd give that a shot.

[Red01]

New pads take time to bed in and you should avoid hard use until they do. Once bedded in, your stopping distances will improve.

And yes, pads do come in different grades.

[interfuse]

New pads usually require a certain amount of break-in for them to function correctly. Check with the pad manufacturer (usually on the back of the package) for proper break-in times and procedures.

[gsxr400 racer]

Once again take your pads off , scuff them with sand paper , put them back in the calipers , next scuff your rotors till they look like steel again (as to take the glaze off) spray off with brake cleaner ! Go out squeze brakes hard let off do this for short periods of time do not hold breaks on ! as this will glaze them back up ! do this about roughly 20 times (not a exact figure , as i do it in less time than that) let them cool down then go ride they should be all bed in! You see a black(dark) strip appear on the rotor and if ya want to look at the pads again they should look even in color to! cheers and happy stopies!