Squealing front V-brake

BC said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times before,
but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing
And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the pads toed in. I
was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the Arch Rival, but a
mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any good, because the problem
is with my old, worn rims.

Any thoughts?

You can almost always make the squealing stop at least temporarily by
cleaning everything and then adjusting the pads. First, clean your
rims with a no-residue cleaner, like alcohol or automotive brake
cleaner. Then run the pads over sandpaper or a wood/plastic rasp. Put
everything back together and set the pads with slight toe-in.

Next, brake hard two or three times. If the brakes still squeal, put
an allen wrench in your pocket and do laps around the block. Change
the toe of the pads incrementally, and one at a time, until they shut
up. You might need to have one flat, one very toe-out, for example.

I've never noticed a correlation between rim wear and brake noise. You
can borrow a wheel from a friend to test that theory. Sounds made-up
to me.

-Vee

BC said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times before,
but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing

Kool Stop pads squeal. Replace them.

Quoted message said:

And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the pads toed in. I
was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the Arch Rival, but a
mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any good, because the problem
is with my old, worn rims.

Any thoughts?

Vee said:

BC said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times
before, but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still
squealing And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the
pads toed in. I was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the
Arch Rival, but a mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any
good, because the problem is with my old, worn rims.

Any thoughts?

You can almost always make the squealing stop at least temporarily by
cleaning everything and then adjusting the pads. First, clean your
rims with a no-residue cleaner, like alcohol or automotive brake
cleaner. Then run the pads over sandpaper or a wood/plastic rasp.
Put everything back together and set the pads with slight toe-in.

Next, brake hard two or three times. If the brakes still squeal, put
an allen wrench in your pocket and do laps around the block. Change
the toe of the pads incrementally, and one at a time, until they shut
up. You might need to have one flat, one very toe-out, for example.

I've never noticed a correlation between rim wear and brake noise.
You can borrow a wheel from a friend to test that theory. Sounds
made-up to me.

Rim wear, maybe, but rims can get a film of rubber on them from the brake
pad. Riding through wet, gritty terrain scrubs off this film from the rim
and the brake pad. Once the pair are dry, strong braking is experienced.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

BC said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times
before, but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing
And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the pads toed in.
I was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the Arch Rival, but a
mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any good, because the
problem is with my old, worn rims.

Any thoughts?

First, dribble some fine sand into the brake pad then brake. If the squeal
is gone, then you're set. If it persists, make the sand muddy, and apply
lightly to the rim. Go for a typical short ride, braking several times
hard, then rinse off the mud, rim, and brake pads. Wait for everything to
dry, then test. The squeal should be gone.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

If the squeal were caused by the worn rims, it would have been there before
the changes.

Until you find the real cure, carry a small slip of sandpaper (about 120 to
240 grit) in your pocket. Without disassembling anything, slip the
sandpaper into the gap and rock the wheel/sandpaper to clean the pads. This
is almost certain to bring on at least temporary relief.

Koolstops can develop a glaze from oxidation. If mine get whiny I pop
out my pads and resurface them with a palm sander, clean the rims with
fine steel wool, then reinstall with proper toe in. Like another poster
said, you may have to play with toe in. It's not a lost cause at all,
I've never spent more than a few minutes silencing a naughty Kool Stop.
Shimano pads, otoh, give me much more grief.

BC said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times before,
but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing
And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the pads toed in. I
was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the Arch Rival, but a
mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any good, because the problem
is with my old, worn rims.

Any thoughts?

Yank off the arms and put some grease on the pivots. This seems to
quite down a lot of them for me. I don't think the rims are your
problem; they didn't squeal with the old pads, did they?
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

BC said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times before,
but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing

Kool Stop pads squeal. Replace them.

YMMV. For many people, Kool Stop is the only brand that *doesn't*
squeal, though the salmon pads are most often recommended for getting
rid of squeal problems.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Bob? Shaw said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times
before, but here's my unique situation:

Quoted message said:

- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front
- No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing

Quoted message said:

And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the pads toed in.
I was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the Arch Rival, but
a mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any good, because the
problem is with my old, worn rims.

Quoted message said:

Any thoughts?

Next time you're out on the bicycle, find a real mud puddle (with mud
at the bottom) and ride through it a couple of times while applying
the brake. The fine grit will remove any gummy coating on the rims
and pads and should leave you with a silent brake.

This can be achieved at home without a mud puddle by wetting the rim
using soapy or detergent water that will wet the rim. Then sprinkling
household cleanser on the rim at a spot that can be positioned under
the brake pads. Apply the brake moderately and ride with the brake
applied for several wheel revolutions before cleaning the interface
with water, that may have to come from your water bottle if there are
no puddles nearby on your paved street.

Jobst Brandt

Where's the hat rack said:

Quoted message said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times
before, but here's my unique situation:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still
squealing And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the
pads toed in. I was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the
Arch Rival, but a mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any
good, because the problem is with my old, worn rims.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Any thoughts?

Quoted message said:

Yank off the arms and put some grease on the pivots. This seems to
quite down a lot of them for me. I don't think the rims are your
problem; they didn't squeal with the old pads, did they?

That's a good idea but the squealing can be independent of that and
come from the new pads still having their glossy skin from the mold.
That has caused squealing for me. For that, my liquid abrasive
routine has always worked.

Jobst Brandt

I had the same problem with XT V brakes w/ceramic rims. They worked fine
until we switched to a SID fork. Then they started squealing. Changing
pads didn't help. Installing an IRD brake bridge/booster made the noise go
away. I then tried a Salsa carbon booster and the squealing returned. I
guess all boosters aren't equal.

Try a brake booster.

-Dion

"BC" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times before,
but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing
And yes, I've tried cleaning the rims, and getting the pads toed in. I
was thinking about trying the old 3R's pads on the Arch Rival, but a
mechanic at the LBS says that it won't do any good, because the problem
is with my old, worn rims.

Any thoughts?

Dion Dock said:

I had the same problem with XT V brakes w/ceramic rims. They worked
fine until we switched to a SID fork. Then they started squealing.
Changing pads didn't help. Installing an IRD brake bridge/booster
made the noise go away. I then tried a Salsa carbon booster and the
squealing returned. I guess all boosters aren't equal.

Try a brake booster.

Brake boosters flex somewhat. If you still have the (pretty) Salsa booster,
try pushing outwards on the booster during installation. If you can get
appreciable stress on the booster before locking it down, you can get a
compressive stress on the brake mounts after mounting, which will then help
to damp out vibration going through the mounts.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Quoted message said:

BC said:

Yeah, I know, squealing brakes has been covered a million times before,
but here's my unique situation:
- Bought a used mountain bike, with an Avid Single Digit 3R on the
front - No squealing
- Upgraded to an Avid Arch Rival - Lotsa squealing
- Upgraded pads to Kool Stop dual compound Thinlines - Still squealing

Kool Stop pads squeal. Replace them.

My Kool Stop pads never squealed - not on cantis, and not on v-brakes
within the last five years.

--
http://arnowelzel.de
EMail: [email hidden]
de.rec.fahrrad-FAQ: http://drffaq.freezope.org