brakes screeching

jon3 said:

I currently have a Raleigh mountain bike, it is approx three years old and is only used for knocking around, i have a major screeching noise whenever i use the front brakes, i have tried new brake pads to no avail, can anyone suggest how best i can remedy this, any ideas would be gratefully received. Thanks in anticipation

Normally you can eliminate the screeching noise by "toeing in" the pad. The front end of the pad should contact the rim first, and when it just contacts, there should be a 1-2mm gap at the rear of the pad to the rim. Also, I clean my rims with 0000 steel wool.

jon3 said:

I currently have a Raleigh mountain bike, it is approx three years old and is only used for knocking around, i have a major screeching noise whenever i use the front brakes, i have tried new brake pads to no avail, can anyone suggest how best i can remedy this, any ideas would be gratefully received. Thanks in anticipation

Have you tried cleaning the rims ? are the pads correctly installed ?

if the answer to both is yes then tough , better to have noisy brakes that work rather than an accident in silence .