Squealing brakes (new pads, toed in)
05-26-20, 07:19 AM
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Squealing brakes (new pads, toed in)
Hello all! I recently purchased a new bike (with V-brakes) and the front brake pads that came with it are really loud (but not the rear brakes, which are fine). I've already toed the pads in and adjusted the cable tension to varying extents in my attempts to fix it with mixed success (depending on toe angle). I've now gotten them quiet-ish, but they still squeal a bit. This leads me to two questions: 1) once the brakes have been broken in after a few rides, will this problem be resolved, and 2) could it be the compound of the pads themselves? Thanks in advance!
05-26-20, 08:20 AM
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Don't know if it will resolve, but could be the compound. I recently got new aluminum wheels and had squeal and shudder on front with dual compound Kool Stop black and salmon V brake pads. I put on a set of Red Kool Stops, and braking is quiet, smooth, and strong. I think the red pads are soft relative to the black and salmon.
05-26-20, 08:28 AM
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Two easy things you can try are rubbing the brake pads over some sand paper and cleaning the braking surface on the rim with alcohol. This has worked for me in the past.
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05-26-20, 06:14 PM
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My first trick is to dress up the brake pads with a fingernail emery board. It's just the right grit, it's nice and flat, and my wife (unknowingly) buys them for me. That works about 90% of the time. The other 10% can be a PITA.
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05-27-20, 06:28 AM
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I tried sanding them down a touch with an emery board and also wiping the rim with rubbing alcohol. Neither trick seemed to work.
05-28-20, 07:01 AM
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Is this a cheap dept. store bike by any chance? One thing that can cause squeal is cheap calipers that flex under braking. In that case, the fix would be to replace the cheap V-Brakes with some better quality ones.
