Squeaky brakes

E30Sport

HI All,

What causes brakes to squeak when they have been applied?

I Have a Marin Mill Valley, (flat bar road bike), with 'V' brakes.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

keef66

It's the pads grabbing then releasing the rim repeatedly and very very quickly. Similar to running a wet finger round the rim of a wineglass.

Clean up the braking surface of the rim with very fine abrasive paper then give it a good rinse with hot water / splash of detergent. (Don't use car shampoo with wax in it :oops: )

Same for the brake blocks; whip them out, give them a good clean, remove anything embedded, rinse with hot water and dry. Replace them ensuring a) that they are the right way round, and b) good alignment with the rim when the brakes are applied.

If they still squeal after that, try replacing the pads with some KooStop salmons.

If that doesn't work, it's possible the brake arm bushes are worn, allowing the arms to vibrate on the mounting bosses under braking. Then you'd need new brakes, which isn't too expensive with V's

seanoconn

Try the advice above first. Decent brake pads rarely squeak so you might want to upgrade your current pads. Think kool stop do pads for v-brakes. They're less likely to go shiney.

Berk Bonebonce

Brake squeal is down to the blocks not being toed-in, and not because you do not have Salmon KoolStops fitted.

bompington

I find a quick squirt of WD40 helps tremendously.











[legal disclaimer] just kidding, OK [/legal disclaimer]

seanoconn

Berk Bonebonce wrote:

Brake squeal is down to the blocks not being toed-in, and not because you do not have Salmon KoolStops fitted.

Cheap pads play a big part in squeaky brakes.

E30Sport

Thanks for all the replies. Pads have been toed in so I'll know in the morning if this has solved the problem.

E30Sport

Thanks, toeing in the pads did the trick.