Squeaky brakes

iakobski said:

My new bike is fantastic and I love riding it, but the front brakes
squeal like a stuck pig. Embarrassingly loud, though could be helpful
instead of a bell (!)

Quoted message said:

Any ideas/suggestions?

Be patient. It'll disappear as the brake pads wear down.

R.

iakobski said:

My new bike is fantastic and I love riding it, but the front brakes
squeal like a stuck pig. Embarrassingly loud, though could be helpful
instead of a bell (!)

The bike shop man has changed the blocks and increased the toe-in:
both to little avail. With more toe-in the screech is a little higher
in pitch but the same volume.

I've tried cleaning the rims with solvent to see if there was some
kind of coating on there, but that was no help. The rims are Mavic MA2
(externally the same as the MA3) and the blocks are Fibrax. The funny
thing is, there's no sound whatsoever from the rear brake. There seems
to be the same amount of float front and back.

Any ideas/suggestions?

Mounting bolts done up tight?

On 22 Apr 2005 03:48:45 -0700, "iakobski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My new bike is fantastic and I love riding it, but the front brakes
squeal like a stuck pig. Embarrassingly loud, though could be helpful
instead of a bell (!)

The bike shop man has changed the blocks and increased the toe-in: both
to little avail. With more toe-in the screech is a little higher in
pitch but the same volume.

I've tried cleaning the rims with solvent to see if there was some kind
of coating on there, but that was no help. The rims are Mavic MA2
(externally the same as the MA3) and the blocks are Fibrax. The funny
thing is, there's no sound whatsoever from the rear brake. There seems
to be the same amount of float front and back.

Any ideas/suggestions?

Here's a drastic solution which worked for me,
(courtesy of the loveable curmudgeon of r.b.t)

Get some of your bog standard abrasive kitchen
cream cleaner. Cut it a bit with water and then
paint it onto your (front) rims. Ride along for
a bit with the brakes lightly applied for a bit.
Then ride along, gradually increasing the
brake pressure.

Worked for me but as always, YMMV.

a) Top posting.
q) What's the worst thing about UseNet?

iakobski said:

My new bike is fantastic and I love riding it, but the front brakes
squeal like a stuck pig. Embarrassingly loud, though could be helpful
instead of a bell (!)

The bike shop man has changed the blocks and increased the toe-in: both
to little avail.

Toe is a bit of a red herring. At light braking force the blocks may be
toed but with enough force the calipers bend and the blocks lie flat again.

My solution is to use Koolstops. When fitting, use a wheel without the
tyre. Hold the blocks on the rim with clamps (removing the tyre gives
the space to do this) so they lie flat. Tighten the nuts. Then
completely sandpaper away the "tail" and round off the corner to give a
smooth lead in. Not 100% but a fair success rate.

iakobski' of urlhttp://groups.google.com/url said:

My new bike is fantastic and I love riding it, but the front brakes
squeal like a stuck pig. Embarrassingly loud, though could be helpful
instead of a bell (!)

I had rear brakes like these on Sunday morning - Audrey probably heard me
braking miles before I got to her house. However, by Sunday lunchtime, the
liberal application of a layer of mud from the old Clifton to Radcliffe
railway line had quietened them down no end.
--
The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return.
It's the zero adjustment on his bathroom scale.
Arthur C. Clarke
Steph Peters delete invalid from [email hidden]
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm>

I love having squweky/ squwely brakes, it drives the other blokes on
club runs nuts.
If loud enough we end up wrong turnings 'cos leading pair can't hear
shouted instructions, they all know when I've "got back on" after a
climb.
I'm all in favour - how can I get mine TO squeak please?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My new bike is fantastic and I love riding it, but the front brakes
squeal like a stuck pig. Embarrassingly loud, though could be helpful
instead of a bell (!)

John Clayton, Calder Clarion C.C.
www.ossettmouldings.com

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions - tried most of them with no or
little change.

When I said they were squealing, it wasn't just a squeak - in the past
I've found a little squeak helpful as it alerts peds - this was
seriously loud. I was scared to brake on the way to work as I would
certainly wake up half the villages I cycle through, it was that bad.

Anyway, the bike shop man heard the bike long before I arrived at the
shop and took it in for some tinkering. Four sets of pads later he
gave up and changed the arms - instant success. It seems that the
particular combination of arms, rims and forks was producing a resonant
system, so changing one component fixed things. Also explains why the
rears were quiet.

Mystery solved, bike now a happier beast.