$%^@~$% Brakes

toastedone

I know there are multiple threads regarding brakes and issues with brakes, I have read the majority of them but nothing I have read has solved my issue, I love my bike but the brakes really ruining my riding experience.

From day one my rear brake has suffered really bad Squeal, very loud, and very annoying, Today i thought I would try and eliminate the fact it could be the pads , as the front brake was fine i thought I would swap the front pads for the rear and vice versa, I done the swap and with a glimmer of hope in my mind i took it for a quick ride, straight away the rear brake still made the horrendous noise and now the front brake hardy works.

I have already taking it back to the shop who tell me there is nothing wrong with the brakes, I found that hard to believe, not only do i get the noise I get real bad vibration coming through the frame and up the seat post, to be honest i know the noise may not be a major problem but it is ruining my riding experience.

So at the mo i have a rear brake that makes enough noise to wake the dead and a front brake the hardly works, and a shop that is not being very helpful.

If anyone can offer any assistance I would be very greatfull.

Many thanks.

nicklouse

change the rotor.

check the bearings.

swap wheels over.

try a smaller/bigger disc.

try a disc with no holes.

toastedone

What is really frustrating me is I have had the problem since i bought the bike, the shop insists there is no issue.

The Rookie

Squeal is caused by a resonance, so lots of factors in it, pad material, weight of pad and calliper, stiffness of frame, stiffness and weight of disc etc etc, swapping pads for the same type was unlikley to succeed, more chance of sucess fitting something different, but many MTB brakes squeal, its not necesarily a 'fault', you'd be amazed at the amount of work that goes into car brakes to stop it, but with bikes there is far more 'transportability' of parts from one bike to another, and that makes it harder to predict.

Simon

omegas

if you swap pads you need to bed them in first as they will not perform as required.

bonezy

Pads could be glazed depending what compound they are. My organic Shimano pads have just been squealing like crazy after a ride in the Malverns (where they worked flawlessly). I took them out, they looked shiny, so a quick scrub with a fine sandpaper, refit, re-centre, bed in, sorted.

snowden_88

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... e=shopping


/thread

stubs

If they are Avid brakes you will just have to get used to it. Look on the bright side you wont need a bell.

toastedone

Well Tonight i have cleaned the rotors with isopropyl, rubbed down the pads with wet and dry, put it all back together and made sure they were aligned correctly, took it for a spin and found it had not made a blind bit of difference.

Yesterday i ordered Sintered pads and 2 new rotors from superstar, I will fit them when they arrive and see if that helps, Failing that I may just have to learn to live with the noise and vibration as I can not see any other solutions to the problem.

Thanks for your input.

snowden_88

Just get the Muc Off stuff I liked to above. Youre going to need to clean the Caliper and Rotors with it or the news pad wont make a difference.

BoydD

HI Toast

I have the same year Spesh RH as you. If its any comfort my rear brake squeals also but no vibration or shake as you describe. I've changed the pads and rotors but still plenty of squel. It's annoying but I'm living with it.

Regards, Boyd

leaflite

Probably a stupid question, but are the caliper bolts tight?

The Rookie

With the Avid conical mounts if the weren't the calliper would be all over the shop!

Simon

toastedone

Hi, yes the bolts are tight, I have just fitted a new superstar rotor and pads, and no noise so far, the only issue i have found is that the new rotor and pads seem a little thicker than the previous and i am finding it hard to align and am getting a slight rub, but the noise and vibration seems to have gone for now.

toastedone

Update, After making the changes with the pads and rotors, the noise and vibration disappeared, I went out for a ride last night about 15 miles and the noise and vibration was back with a vengeances.

The Rookie

May be worth trying to find a stiffer adapter between calliper and frame, if there is flex in that it can cause the symptoms you outline and its not an expensive part to try alternatives for, especially if you can borrow one!

Simon

Rybes

dunno if itll work on mtb brakes but try copper slip on the back of the pads. it works for motorbikes and cars so ya never know ? only put a thin layer on tho and DONT get any on the brakin material.

bellys

jay you can drop round with your bike if you want i will have a look for you.
txt or phone me.

chris

stubs

If you have tried all the usual cures like bearings, retorqueing bolts etc then the only thing next is to try a different brake. Is there anyone you can borrow a rear brakeset from if you cant find a brake to try I have one sitting in my shed if you pm me your address I can send it to you, you try it and post it back when you have finished experimenting with it

toastedone

The Beginner wrote:

May be worth trying to find a stiffer adapter between calliper and frame, if there is flex in that it can cause the symptoms you outline and its not an expensive part to try alternatives for, especially if you can borrow one!

Simon

Firstly I don't know who to multi-quote on this site so excuse my double postings.

This sounds like it may be an option, I am prepared to try anything, any one you would recommend?

toastedone

bellys wrote:

jay you can drop round with your bike if you want i will have a look for you.
txt or phone me.

chris

Thanks Chris, I will give you a text sometime today, and arrange a day and time with you, I may struggle to get to fluff's but you are just up the road, Thanks.

toastedone

stubs wrote:

If you have tried all the usual cures like bearings, retorqueing bolts etc then the only thing next is to try a different brake. Is there anyone you can borrow a rear brakeset from if you cant find a brake to try I have one sitting in my shed if you pm me your address I can send it to you, you try it and post it back when you have finished experimenting with it

Thats a very kind offer, I will take you up on that if all else fails.

Thanks

toastedone

Well here I am again going on about the same break issue I have been having, I have had someone else look at my bike tonight, someone who has a bit more knowledge than myself and he can not figure it out, he also says the vibration is through the frame is not normal, he has tried a few things to resolve it but nothing has worked.

This has been going on for awhile now, it started about a week after i bought the bike, so i would say about 2 months now, the shop says there is nothing wrong but i have since spoken to specialized who said this does not sound like a normal issue.

Listed below is a list of stuff I have tried to remedy it far, the list is in order from first attempt to last

Swapped from rotor and pads over

Rubbed down rear pads and cleaned rotor with ISOPROPYL.

Changed pads and rotor for new superstar products

Check everything is tight and as it should be.

Tonight my friend tried the following

realigning the pads

checking everything was tight

Tried some copper slip

Nothing has worked as yet and I am now at a complete loss, I must stress that the noise and vibration is possible worse than just a bit of squeal, the vibration is travels through the whole frame and up the seatpost, and to be honest is unbearable. The link below is a short video of the problem it was filmed on my Iphone so excuse the quality and I am not to sure if the video shows the problem as bad as it is in the flesh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb-krD44Bdk

snowden_88

Seriously try the Muc Off Disc Brake cleaner. Spray it straight onto pad, dont even have to remove it. Worked brilliantly for me

toastedone

snowden_88 wrote:

Seriously try the Muc Off Disc Brake cleaner. Spray it straight onto pad, dont even have to remove it. Worked brilliantly for me

Tried that as well

The Rookie

With the callipers removed, are the pads snug in the calliper or can they move about.

As for mount adaptors, the Shimano ones are quite robust and fairly stiff, some of the 'boutique' brands trade width for depth which van make them stiffer.

Vibration implies to me that something is flexing and alllowing the calliper to give cyclical levels of braking as it does so, this can be caused by a softness in the frame (as Boardman Hybrids suffered) for example.

Simon

bellys

I must stress that the noise and vibration is possible worse than just a bit of squeal,
iv never riden a bike that brake vibration is so bad.

nicklouse

try a different size/make rotor.