Screeching rear brake after washing bike?

mookboy

I went out for a blast round the mud and poo ridden bridal way round mine yesterday, and had to give the bike a wash when I got back. Excuse my ignorance here...

I sprayed it with the hosepipe to dislodge the lumpiest mud, then sprayed the whole thing with Muc-Off. Left it a while, then when back and hosed the rest off til it was pretty much clean and ready to go back in the shed. I dabbed some wet lube on the gear mechanisms and round the wheel hubs (?) and anywhere I thought i might need oiling.

Thing is, tonight I took it out again, and every so often when slamming on the rear brakes it made a horrendous screech-cum-trumpeting sound! Any ideas why it's doing this? It even did it after a good 20-30mins of cycling, so I assumed the brakes weren't still wet. It certainly stops as it should.

I have a Carrera Fury with hydraulic disc brakes.

p.s I have the Zinn book on the way from Santa Claus so hopefully I won't have too many more stupid questions like this...

Ciaran500

Happens to me aswell, I just ride while dragging the brakes. That heats them up enough to dry them out completely. It doesn't matter how long I leave them to dry out they only stop squeaking when I do this.

dav1

tried using disc brake cleaner? to remove any residue from the rotors after cleaning?

woodywmb

That's the answer - disc brake cleaner. Or even meths. Use the corner of a new cotton tea cloth (17p from ASDA), dipped in methylated sprits or sprayed with cleaning solution, and see for yourself the amount of oil that has mysteriously found its way onto your discs. Take the wheel out and run the edge of the cloth between the pads then finish off with a light sanding on the faces of both pads from an emery board (99 pence a packet from Boots). Brakes will be squeal free. Go easy on oil next time.

mookboy

Ah great, cheers chaps. Is there anything on the bike I SHOULDN'T spray with the hose or Muc-Off?

dav1

try to keep all cleaners other then disc brake cleaner off your disks. Also dont high pressure spray any of the bearing seals (hubs, headset, BB) as if you force water in you can ruin them. I find that spraying the bike carefully, getting in with the brushes and going easy on the water pressure in key areas does the trick with cleaning.

theferg

Thanks for that I have found that after washing , my disc brakes not only scream but on steep downhills lose some fof the braking power but its likely the washing and the spray lubricant thats got on the discs

rikk

The problem is muc-off, it's not very nice on brakes. I had the same problem for months till someone said to change cleaner, I thought they was talking cobblers but when i ran out I changed to fenwicks and yes, the problem went away

So yes you may think I'm talking balls but try it anyway and you'l see

william_93

ok so am i right NO muc off on brakes ?

rikk

As it sprays on in a mist it's going to get on there, just finish the bottle then move to something more brake friendly like fenwicks.

topo

Ive never had any problem with muc off on brakes. ive regualarly used it when bathing my discs in it to clean off all the crap which had made its way onto it.
The sqeaking will go away on its own or if its really annoying you do 2 or 3 hard brakes and it should stop the sqeaking.

handscombmp

topo wrote:

Ive never had any problem with muc off on brakes. ive regualarly used it when bathing my discs in it to clean off all the crap which had made its way onto it.
The sqeaking will go away on its own or if its really annoying you do 2 or 3 hard brakes and it should stop the sqeaking.

Same a couple of hard brakes normally does the trick.

I was wondering mookboy if you would recommend getting the Carrera Fury as i'm thinking of getting one. The oppossition is the GT Avalanche Disc 1.0. what do you reckon.

mookboy

I'm not really qualified to say if the Fury is better. Certainly the reviews are very positive, as is the word of mouth. I've got no complaints so far either - Halfords aren't the greatest to deal with, but the bike seems ace.

BTW I figured out today (how much of a noob am I?) that indeed, a couple of hard brakes and the noises goes away. At the cost of the sanity of any nearby dogs...

Barrie_G

Same here after washing the bike with Triple-wax car cleaner (it's all I had) the breaks are now squealing like a stuck pig, saves having to have a bell on the bike though

BikerDan

rikk wrote:

As it sprays on in a mist it's going to get on there, just finish the bottle then move to something more brake friendly like fenwicks.

Just watch the fenwicks, i have some of the wee sachets and i accidently got some on my rotors. If it does happen, just take the pads out and de-glaze them with rough sand paper.

mookboy

They were shrieking again today, got some really funny looks of other bikers at Kielder when I put the brakes on first time down a hill. Scarily loud. This time, the bike hadn't been washed for a few days, and used for 10miles yesterday - is this just rain water (it was on the back of the car in drizzle for an hour) or is there something else wrong with my brakes? They seem to stop alright, but I have noticed some surface rust on the discs - I'd assume that's normal as car disc do the same?

woodywmb

Shouldn't be any rust. You have to wash and dry the discs after every ride if you want meticulous, noise-free braking. It's a chore but that's the price you pay. Use disc cleaner or meths. Your discs may just have surface rust and you might be able to remove it, thus stopping them from deteriorating. If not and the rust is embedded you need new discs. Either that or put up with the racket or substitute V brakes.

pedlad

I find that dragging the brake often doesn't clear the noise and that braking is weaker due to contimination if you do wash the pads by accident.

Best way to re-condition the pads is to pop them out, little rub with very fine sand paper, wipe with plenty of meths on a clean tisue, then pop em in the oven to completely dry. Just save yourself any grief by waiting until your mom/wife/girlfriend is out