Another small hands situation...

[OakLeaf]

it takes me about twice the distance to stop using rear brake only compared to using the front brake only.

This is the sentence that says to me that there's nothing wrong with your setup.

On a vehicle with front and rear wheel(s), about 75% of your braking power will come from your front brake. Think of the weight transfer under braking and the forces on your tires, and you'll understand why. Over time, you'll see that your front brake pads wear much more quickly than the rear.

Here's a site I just found on a quick google that explains weight transfer under braking pretty clearly. It's actually written about four-wheeled vehicles, but the physics don't change, it's just that you have other considerations when turning. Here's another more technically-oriented explanation.

Part of learning to ride is learning to modulate your brakes and using each of them in the correct proportion. On a flat piece of road with a good braking surface, you'll use your front brake much more than the rear. When the surface gets soft, you'll use less front brake (so as not to lock up your steering control), but consequently have much less overall braking power.


Another edit: Here's something really good and bicycle-specific from, believe it or not, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation! Just google "bicycle weight transfer" as I did, and you come up with all sorts of good stuff.


(Another edit: Motorcycle sites are relevant to a point, but the one very important thing to remember is that on a bicycle, you stop pedaling when you're trying to slow down, whereas in a motorized vehicle, the engine is always turning and you have to apply the clutch to stop power transfer to the drive wheel(s). So the "highside," which is the most violent type of motorcycle crash, can't happen on a bicycle.)