elixir 3 brake howl

benjrush

So i know this topic comes up time and time again but there never seems to be a satisfactory solution to it other than swapping them out for Deore/SLX/XT as budget allows.

The symptoms of the issue:
Horrible howl of my rear brake even when dry. Sometimes sounds like a turkey gobble other times just a resonance

I am running elixir 3's with superstar sintered pads

I have tried the following to solve the issue none of which have worked:
1: lightly sand the face of the pads to remove any contamination then re-burn them in
2: clean and sand the rotors and clean again and replace the pads with new.
3: replace the cone washers with precision made(by myself on the lathe) flat ones of the same thickness.
4: re-true and re-clean the rotors
5: tighten up the rotors
6: clean the pistons and re-lube them
7: re-bleed the system (even though it didn't really need it)
8: realign using the hope method

I cannot for the life of me work out what is going wrong here. The brakes are usually fine for about half an hour of riding then start to gradually get more and more noisy. I don't drag my brakes really and i make sure I burn them in well when i replace the pads. This is really sucking the fun out of my rides at the moment.

Anyone got any ideas before i reach for the credit card?

cooldad

Ear plugs?

The Rookie

Kevlar or organic pads are less prone to the yowl than sintered.

Otherwise you need to look at stiffening it up, my yowl went when I replaced either the pads with organic (didn't try Kevlar) or my lightweight alligator disc with a heavier one, when I went to XT's I could use sintered and the lightweight disc with no yowl!

benjrush

the brakes came with organics and they did make less noise but i went though a set of pads in a single ride. (it was wet and sandy though). I currently use the stock avid rotors and didn't think they were particularly thin. What sort of rotors would you suggest? Although, they are going to come to somewhere in the region of 40 quid for a new set of rotors and a full set of slx brakes are only twice that (minus rotors).

The Rookie

Discs are the same thickness, just have a different void to metal ratio.

I'd try some different (get used) discs to find some that don't yowl as much, also try Kevlar pads perhaps, (only a few quid from Superstar).

benjrush

Thanks Rookie, Just ordered some organic pads to see if that is the issue.

if this doesn't work then its time for new brakes!

kajjal

Unfortunately the build quality of Elixir brakes varies, mine were OK with only the front being noisy sometimes. Swapped out to XT brakes and they are silent in comparison, have more power and better control. Given I weight about 100kg the XT's work well.

You have tried all the normal adjustments.if you check there are good deals on Devore, SLX and XT brakes at the moment.