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Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes?

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Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes?

Old 08-26-20, 06:29 AM
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datord
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Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes?

Hi Guys! whats the Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes??
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Old 08-26-20, 06:41 AM
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Toe in the shoes. Trailing edge in a millimeter or two. This is accomplished in one of several ways, depending on the type of pad and/or cartridge/holder your pad has. Provide more detail on the rim type, caliper type (brand/model), and the pad or block type. These all factor in.

The old school method with simple bolt-on pads that lack angular adjustment was to bend the aluminum caliper arm ends to accomplish the toe in. Done with a crescent wrench, or alternatively, with a screwdriver prying through the opening in the end of the caliper (pad removed). I wouldn't recommend this for anyone under 55 years old, though.

Alternative factors that can contribute to better braking, but not at all to the chirping: rubber compound selected for the block, rim material (chrome steel versus aluminum, machined braking surface versus smooth), and rim surfaces kept scrupulously clean.
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Old 08-26-20, 07:07 AM
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Sigh..so we've reached the point where rim brakes are considered "vintage"..and novel..quaint... while wooden rims are certainly vintage, I hope rim brakes are not..

(..and OP..there's tons of info on the web about adjusting brakes..rim or otherwise..)
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Old 08-26-20, 08:15 AM
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Originally Posted by fishboat
Sigh..so we've reached the point where rim brakes are considered "vintage"..and novel..quaint... while wooden rims are certainly vintage, I hope rim brakes are not..

(..and OP..there's tons of info on the web about adjusting brakes..rim or otherwise..)
I think the OP means they have a vintage bike.
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Old 08-26-20, 08:24 AM
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Some rim brakes on older bikes are more prone to brake squeal than others. Knowing which ones you have would be helpful if you want useful answers
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Old 08-26-20, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by datord
Hi Guys! whats the Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes??
Do you have steel or aluminum rims?
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Old 08-26-20, 09:55 AM
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1) replace the antique rubber brake pads.
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Old 08-26-20, 12:06 PM
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Originally Posted by datord
Hi Guys! whats the Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes??
Replace them with vintage disc brakes?
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Old 08-26-20, 05:29 PM
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Sometimes it's just not going to go away, but try these things:
Toe in your pads, but just slightly
Clean your rims. I use acetone but others use alcohol (which does little IMO)
Resuface your pads by lightly sanding them. Mount the sandpaper on a flat surface.
Change your pads. I like the Kool Stop products.
Rebuild your calipers. Sometimes there is too much play in the center pivot that causes resonance in braking
Check your hubs. Sometimes play in the axle can cause a resonant vibration in your rim when braking (so I've heard).

Not recommended: I heard about a chap who treated his rims with auto body wax. Apparently it reduced the squeal but also reduced his braking performance big time.
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Old 08-26-20, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Moe Zhoost
Not recommended: I heard about a chap who treated his rims with auto body wax. Apparently it reduced the squeal but also reduced his braking performance big time.
Along a similar line just don't use the brakes.

Chamferring the edge of the pad helps as well.
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Old 08-26-20, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
Toe in the shoes. Trailing edge in a millimeter or two.
This sounds backwards. All of the toeing-in advice I ever got was to have the front edge of the pads toed-in a millimeter or two, so that you have more control and it's easier to modulate the braking force. Why would you want the back of the pads to hit first? What would that accomplish?
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Old 08-26-20, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
This sounds backwards. All of the toeing-in advice I ever got was to have the front edge of the pads toed-in a millimeter or two, so that you have more control and it's easier to modulate the braking force. Why would you want the back of the pads to hit first? What would that accomplish?
Might depend on how you define "leading edge" and "trailing edge".
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Old 08-26-20, 06:12 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
This sounds backwards. All of the toeing-in advice I ever got was to have the front edge of the pads toed-in a millimeter or two, so that you have more control and it's easier to modulate the braking force. Why would you want the back of the pads to hit first? What would that accomplish?
Yes. Probably a terminology error on my part. The edge forward most, that makes contact first when toed in properly. My bad...
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Old 08-26-20, 06:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
Yes. Probably a terminology error on my part. The edge forward most, that makes contact first when toed in properly. My bad...
OTOH, I could see why having the rear-most edge of the pad contact the rim first might be preferable: it could clear away any debris and effectively clean-off the rim before the rest of the pad makes contact. Has anyone tried this?
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Old 08-26-20, 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
OTOH, I could see why having the rear-most edge of the pad contact the rim first might be preferable: it could clear away any debris and effectively clean-off the rim before the rest of the pad makes contact. Has anyone tried this?
But the friction with the rim would have the effect of twisting the rest of the pad AWAY from the rim reducing the contact surface, wheres with proper toe-in, the friction twists the pad TOWARD the rim.
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Old 08-26-20, 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
OTOH, I could see why having the rear-most edge of the pad contact the rim first might be preferable: it could clear away any debris and effectively clean-off the rim before the rest of the pad makes contact. Has anyone tried this?
Yes, that works wonderfully to make the brakes squeal
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Old 08-26-20, 07:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Pop N Wood
Yes, that works wonderfully to make the brakes squeal
that's what I suspected, but I couldn't remember why people don't do that. it's nice to get a refresher course now and then.
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Old 08-26-20, 07:43 PM
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The squealing on a vintage Mafac brake can be fixed with a few minutes and a small round file. Or you can get these angled washers from Rene Herse
https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...e-washer-pair/
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Old 08-26-20, 10:34 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
This sounds backwards. All of the toeing-in advice I ever got was to have the front edge of the pads toed-in a millimeter or two, so that you have more control and it's easier to modulate the braking force. Why would you want the back of the pads to hit first? What would that accomplish?


Exactly...........
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Old 08-27-20, 01:26 PM
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Originally Posted by datord
Hi Guys! whats the Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes??
A real screeching sound, i.e. somewhat high pitched, could be due to the brake pads having slipped and now partially in contact with the tire. It's a terrible screeching sound!

Best regards

Last edited by flan48; 08-27-20 at 01:27 PM. Reason: Mis-typed
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Old 08-27-20, 02:01 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
OTOH, I could see why having the rear-most edge of the pad contact the rim first might be preferable: it could clear away any debris and effectively clean-off the rim before the rest of the pad makes contact. Has anyone tried this?
Some, if not all, Kool Stop pads have this feature. The tip of the rear most end of the pad is shaped to point in and contact the rim before or about the same time as the properly toed-in front end contacts the rim. Of course, that part is subject to wear just like the rest of the pad, so eventually it ends up worn down to the rest of the pad.

Otto

Last edited by ofajen; 08-27-20 at 04:03 PM.
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Old 08-28-20, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
This sounds backwards. All of the toeing-in advice I ever got was to have the front edge of the pads toed-in a millimeter or two, so that you have more control and it's easier to modulate the braking force. Why would you want the back of the pads to hit first? What would that accomplish?
It can be and has been done both ways and both ways work. Backwards looks strange and goofy and reason enough to leave it alone. Has definitely been a remedy that works for brakes where everything else has been tried and fails.

My Mafac brakes still squeal on very humid days. If I lived where total humidity was constant don’t know what could be done. Fortunately around here total humidity is like today when it is so freaking hot not one is riding or it happens a short time early in a.m.
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Old 08-28-20, 01:12 PM
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Toeing in, a brake pad, is actually the trailing edge of the brake pad touching first, because the top of the wheel rim is moving forward..
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Old 08-28-20, 01:28 PM
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So much time and energy are wasted on these threads featuring no real information from the source like one simple photograph.
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Old 08-28-20, 01:31 PM
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Originally Posted by datord
Hi Guys! whats the Best way to remove deafening screeching sound from vintage rim brakes??
Buy a bike with disc brakes. They might still screech, but it'll be in a different pitch, for variety.
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