Noonievut

Some info:
- new road bike wheels (rim-brake) last year, existing 105 11sp groupset, no issues
- cleaned the rims very thoroughly before new groupset referenced below (simple green with green pot scrub brush, then rubbing alcohol...rims were like-new in appearance)
- this year I had installed a new Ultegra 11sp groupset, and from day one had a noise/vibration when applying rear brake (in particular if feathering the brake; a firm applying of the brakes didn't result in the same noise/vibration). The pads were toed-in
- swapped pads to the ones that were on the previous 105 brakes, tried new pads, toed-in...nothing worked

Took the bike to a shop a couple weeks ago and they installed non-shimano pads, also noted that the pads I had put in there were loose (slipped in very easily, which I recall). Noise completely gone and no vibration. After 8-10 rides, no issues.

So this morning I degreased my chain (green degreaser from MEC here in Canada, in the park tool chain cleaner thingy). I had a rag covering up the rim but I'm presuming some degreaser still go on the rim, as when I rolled the bike forward while feathering the rear brake (standing beside the bike) the noise was back, albeit less severe. A spin around the neighborhood was fine (no noise), so hopefully it was minor and won't lead to that grabby brake pad or whatever leads to vibration.

So it seems that when I degrease the chain (every few weeks) I'm risking some getting on the rim and this noise occurring again, and hopefully not--the dreaded vibration.

What can I do about it:
- clean the rims with rubbing alcohol after degreasing the chain? Note - I did use rubbing alcohol today and this still happened this morning, just not as pad as with the shimano pads
- should I remove the chain to degrease (it has a quick link and I've done this before)
- other???

Thanks!

adipe

remove the chain and clean it by shaking it in plastic jars with some solvent - the cheapest being diesel fuel i think.
the solvent should then be removed as quickly as possible and i would advise you to use some mix of alcohols that would include isopropyl.
any alcohol left will be removed when you apply the lube.

i prefer a hot bath method, having a glass jar (with lid on) in which i put the chain and melt the highly viscous lubricant so that it enters the chain.

hub (seals) are vulnerable to degreasers, rim is vulnerable to stress corrosion and your inner tubes can get ghost punctures more easily if you continue to make a mess cleaning the chain on the bike.

i prefer to clean the chain off the bike regardless of the rim or inner tubes or hubs vulnerability, it's just much faster, less messy and the chain is also better cleaned by shaking it in plastic jars.

i keep a few jars like these:
https://www.fantastipack.com/1750-thi...-twist-cap.jpg

cyccommute 

I would say to ditch the chain cleaning tool. They are nothing but trouble. They are messy and just not worth the effort. A bit of solvent…use mineral spirits because it evaporates cleanly unlike diesel…in a wide mouth bottle (I use 500 mL Gatorade bottles) will do the trick. Shake it until your arm gets tired or 30 seconds, whichever comes first, and fish out the chain. Let it dry. It’s that simple. And it is far cleaner than the chain cleaning tool.

For cleaning the rims, the same mineral spirits will work as well. It removes more grease than rubbing alcohol and, again, evaporates cleanly.

Finally about brake squeal. Some brakes just squeal. The squeal is due to the pad catch and releasing rapidly which sets up a vibration. If the pads aren’t toed sufficiently, the front of the pad may lift off causing the chatter. If the arms aren’t rigid enough, the pads can chatter as well. And, sometimes, a bit of dirt will cause them to skate across the rim. If the toe is right and the brake arms are rigid, I will often just take a bit of sand paper the pads to get any road gunk off.