Road Bike Rubbing Sound After Getting On
 

Hey guys,

I just got an aluminum frame road bike (Giant Defy), and there is rubbing sound coming from the front in what appears to sound like the rim brake pads rubbing. But when I got off the bike to spin the wheel, there is no sound... I'm wondering if my added weight might've been the cause, and if so, how do I adjust it since there's no sound when I'm not on the bike?

First things I'd check:

-- Wheel true? Spin the wheel while on the bike and see if it hits the brake pads. If out of true, true the wheel and repeat.

-- New tires? Sometimes the flashing on new tires can make a ticking sound if they contact the brake pads. I assume this is not the rubbing you mention.

-- Wheel seated firmly within the dropouts? If it isn't, you might be getting some rubbing outside of the brake pads.

-- If that all checks out, I'd make sure the front wheel bearings are OK. Typically they don't make a rubbing sound when they start to go, but anything is possible.

I'd try to verify or eliminate brake rub as the noise source. Your weight on the bike shouldn't be a factor if the wheel is installed correctly.

Is the rubbing sound constant or intermittent? Chain rub against front derailleur could sound like it's coming from the front of the bike.

Do you hear the rub coasting or pedaling or both?

Weight on a bike can change up what it is when un-weighted. Maybe the wheels need to have their spokes looked at by a wheel person.

If this is a new bike, absolutely take it to where you bought it and let them deal with it. They need to know that something is wrong so maybe they can prevent that from happening to other customers that purchase from them.

If this is a online purchase, then contact them and see what they say. If this is a purchase from Walmart, Dicks, Academy Sports or other discounter that really doesn't have a person that knows about bikes then see if you can find a local bike shop willing to look at it. Some will some won't.

It's great that you might want to be a DIY'er. However if you don't have a full understanding of what something should look like and how it is to work properly, then your DIY learning will be filled with a bunch of misunderstanding if you don't already have a very good mechanical aptitude. Learn while you have something that is working correctly.

Thanks all for chiming in, I'll provide answers after I get time to ride again.

Just now, I tried steering the handling bar to the left and right, and it squeaked. I can confirm the wheel is not rubbing the rim brake pads when I spun the wheel.

Is the brake cable too short, and engaging the brake when you turn the bars?

Happened to me as well. Not sure if this is the fix, but in my case- the front tire wasn't fully sitting in the forks. loosen, and make sure your wheel is propperly sitting all the way in and retighten your quick release. may take a couple of tries to get it right. assuming you didn't just get a new tire/breaks.

Way too little information in o.p. but it's probably all we're likely to get. Probably a loose spoke could create something like this. I'm also throwing out tire pressure (too low) or tire size (too big) as we don't know if this is a new Defy from a dealership or a private sale.

Check the fork carefully for cracks.

The length of the cable is irrelevant. The front brake cable should not move whatsoever when the bars are turned, since the lever, cable and brake all turn with the bars.

It shouldn't if the cable is routed in front of the others. If it isn't, other cables can interfere with a too-short front brake cable when turning, especially if those cables are short as well.