I bought my 2003 second-hand bike five years ago. It seemed that when I first got it, the front brakes worked great but I think that the following year, I noticed that they had a wooden feel and didn't seem to grab as well as they used to.

I told this to my mechanic that I was using at the time and he said that he would check it out, this was at the tail end of that riding season and the bike was being stored at his shop. The following year, when I picked up the bike, he assured me that he checked it out and that everything seemed ok. I rode it for awhile but it still didn't seem to be as good as I had remembered it.

I'm certain that this bike used to have better front brakes then what I have now. Somebody suggested replacing the brake fluid and bleeding the brakes, I did this a few months ago and still no improvement!

The rotors aren't warped and look to be plenty thick and the surface is clean. The front brake pads haven't been replaced since I bought the bike but their thickness is well within specs and basically look new.

I took a fine sandpaper to the front rotors the other night and then rubbed them a clean rag soaked with Acetone. Unfortunately, it made no difference whatsoever.

I think that there might be a chance that the front brake lines are part of the problem (maybe stainless steel brake lines would cure this problem?) but something tells me that it might be more likely that the front pads themselves aren't biting properly. I've read in the past that they can become "glazed". In that their surface becomes too hard and is as smooth as glass due to over-heating.

If that is the case, instead of throwing out the front pads, could I rough up their contact surface a little bit, maybe with a wire brush or something else?

When I squeeze the front brake lever, I hear a pretty loud rubbing sound from the front discs but all I get is this wooden-feeling sensation and it doesn't grab enough. The rear disc doesn't make this rubbing/sliding kind of sound and does actually haul the bike down pretty quick but the front brakes are really lame.

I know that something isn't right with my front brakes but I've yet been able to cure it and my previous mechanic didn't fix it either, although it turned out that he was a bit sketchy too.

I sure would appreciate any advice that can help me get rid of this wooden-feeling front brake issue. Any thoughts?...................

 

It wouldnt hurt to deglaze the friction material, but the loss of performance is most likely the lines.
I change to braided as soon as I get a new bike.
Why?
Well its due to Pascal's Law, which explains why hydraulic systems do what they do.
Hydraulics systems do 2 things, first they transmit a force from one place (in this case the movement of the brake lever) to a remote place(the brake pad).
Secondly they can be designed to give what amounts to a mechanical advantage, I.e. You get more force produced at the output end (pads) than you input at the brake lever.
Now unfortunately in physics there is no free lunch, and this increase in power at the pads requires a greater degree of movement at the lever.
WTF???

Ok Pascal states that in an enclosed pressurised system the pressure for a given surface area remains constant throughout the system. In practical terms that means a master cylinder piston with a surface area of say 10mm which is moved 10mm with a pressure of 2kg per mm will cause a pressure throughout the whole system of 2kg per mm, and will require an input force of 20kg. So the slave cylinder behind the brake pad with a surface area of say 50mm will have a pressure of 2kg per mm acting upon it, and produce an output of 100kg. It will however only travel 2mm and thats the trade off. For brakes thats no problem as there is only a running clearance between the pad surface and the rotor, so the master cylinder dosent have to move a great distance.

The problem with rubber brake lines is they weaken after about 2 years and flex more when the system is pressurised, so they swell as the pressure rises and you will feel this as a need to apply more force and a greater degree of movement required at the lever.

Not sure I have explained that very well, but the bottom line is, I would suggest you upgrade to braided lines.

 

Have someone clean the caliper pistons. One or more may be stuck. Second, replace the master cylinder with an earlier or later one, the 2003 had some changes that didn't pan out.