wheelingmike

Recently my front brake has developed a very loud noise when I use it. It doesn't matter if I hit it hard or not. It sounds like a truck air horn. It has Reynolds 46mm carbon wheels on it. It's only the front. The back is fine. I checked the front brake and the fork and everything seems nice and tight. Any suggestions? Thanks!

deapee

Have you tried toe-ing in the brake pad? So that the front edge of the pad hits before the back edge of the pad? Just by a little bit, maybe like tighten the pad up with a penny or nickle in the back between it and the wheel. Other than that, clean both surfaces (pad and wheel surface).

rpenmanparker 

Yes, those are the two main fixes. Slight toe in of the pads and completely clean braking surface on the rims. Use alcohol on a clean cloth to get the rim surface completely clean. Soap residue can cause the noise as can grease.

Bob Dopolina 

Run a flat file over the surface of the pads to remove any glaze or debris embedded there.

Rims that are too clean, as in those cleaned with alcohol, may also squeal like a stuck pig for a while until they get a tad dusty.

All of this assumes, of course, that the pads are toed in as mentioned above.

I see you are using Reynolds rims, are you also using their blue pads? Some pad/rim combinations will squeal no matter what you do.

wheelingmike

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try to clean the rim and toe the pads.

And Bob, yes, I am using the blue pads that came with the rims.

RichSPK

Are you sure there isn't a truck following you, honking it's horn when you hit the brakes? ;-)

You're using rim brakes, right? If so, the I don't really have much to add to what's already been written, except that you might be using old, hardened brake pads. Even if you replaced them recently, it's possible, if not likely, that they sat on a warehouse shelf for years.

wheelingmike

Yes, they are rim brakes. The pads came with the wheelset which I received as a Christmas present two Christmas ago. So they're about about 2 years old maybe? If I have to change pads, can I use after market pads? Reynolds specifically stated that only their blue pads should be used on their rims. I don't know if this is a marketing thing or not.

popeye

You might try the Black Prince pads. You don't want to use just any pad on crabon rims.

RichSPK

The only carbon fiber I own are the shift levers on my Klein, but I know carbon fiber needs all kind of special care, like special lube for carbon seat posts and such. I imagine you could use aftermarket pads, but only ones designed specifically for carbon fiber rims.

cave12man

Did you try a little grease on the pads to help with the noise?

Kidding, what deapee said.

wheelingmike

Here's an update. I cleaned the rim and pads with some alcohol. Toed the pads with a penny. And I also retighen the headset. Now, even under full braking force, it only makes a silent but deadly fart noise. Thanks for all your suggestions!

mvnsnd

This, even though you did it already. I also have Reynolds 46mm Carbon rims and they squeak like crazy when the pads wear the toe straight again. Keep up the adjustments as necessary and have a spare set of pads ready for when they need to be replaced.