[zaskar1]

i need some advice on the issue of squealing brakes. i am running avid juicy 3s on my intense spider. the rig is about 6 months old. lately i have been doing a little steeper trail and when i descend, after about 15 minutes, the brakes will start to squeal.

the pads have plenty of life left. the LBS told me to bring the bike in for them to have a look.

the issue seems to be heat related, as when i let them cool a bit, the noise goes away.also, if i dont press down that hard they arent noisy, but it is hard to control
as i dont want to crash!

i have heard suggestions to go to a larger rotor. perhaps the pads are contaminated or glazed over..

any suggestions?

you will hear me coming

zaskar1

 

[pimpbot]

That's pretty normal

i need some advice on the issue of squealing brakes. i am running avid juicy 3s on my intense spider. the rig is about 6 months old. lately i have been doing a little steeper trail and when i descend, after about 15 minutes, the brakes will start to squeal.

the pads have plenty of life left. the LBS told me to bring the bike in for them to have a look.

the issue seems to be heat related, as when i let them cool a bit, the noise goes away.also, if i dont press down that hard they arent noisy, but it is hard to control
as i dont want to crash!

i have heard suggestions to go to a larger rotor. perhaps the pads are contaminated or glazed over..

any suggestions?

you will hear me coming

zaskar1

Just about all my hydraulic brakes do that. They howl when they get really hot, which is not hard to do under my 200 pound ass.

Some brake pads are better than others. I found Kool Stop pads were generally pretty quiet, and seemed to have good stopping power. Unfortunately for me, they stopped making them for Hope Mono Minis. I wore my last set out and have not found them anywhere again, even online.

I have (or had):

Avid Mechs 160mm
Hope Minis 185mm (2003-ish silver ones)
Hope Mono Minis 160mm (2005-ish black with gold plug)
Shimano XTRs 160mm (2006 or so, grey pewter, not the latest ones with the bore plugs).

... and they all did this, especially when they got wet.

You could try de-glazing them. Worth a shot. Do you work on your own brakes? Prolly a good idea to learn, or your LBS is going to get rich off of you.

 

[zaskar1]

thanks for the info

pimpbot

thanks for the info

i havent worked on bicycle hydraulic disc brakes before, but i have worked on car brakes, so it shouldnt be too difficult for me. i was told that disc brakes are actually easier to work on than rim brakes, less alignment issues and tweeking, only you have to deal with the brake fluid, which can be kind of mess

zaskar1

i

 

[RudeSechsVibe]

Glazed?... Clean the rotors really good with iso alcohol. Pull the pads and give them a little sanding with a sanding block with medium grit paper. See if that helps.

 

[SteveUK]

If the pads are sanded they will need to be bedded in again. You may not need to do so if you're just cleaning the rotor.

 

[Bird]

Glazed?... Clean the rotors really good with iso alcohol. Pull the pads and give them a little sanding with a sanding block with medium grit paper. See if that helps.

Thats what i do but have found avids to be the loudest especially the metal sintered pads.
As mentioned Kool stops are my favorite pads.

None of my Shimano's or Hopes ever made that death squeel that my Avids make but they have been reliable.

 

[Energetik]

I didn't have squealing brakes, but my avid bb7 mechs get loud under heavy braking. (XC hardtail) They sound like hot metal being rubbed against more hot metal. (I wonder why that is....) And they would feel a bit squirrelly for a bit before they cooled off.

I found that cleaning the discs before a ride I knew would tax my brakes helped. This would get all the crud off, and leave a nice clean surface free of contaminants. I used iso-alcohol, but I found that the 70% stuff didn't work as well for this as the 90% stuff.

I was also wondering if the squeal was related to the discs as well? I have the regular avid roundagon ones, and plan to replace them at some point. I also picked up a set of Deore m535 hydros and was wondering if I could use the avid discs at least for a bit.

are some rotors better for noise then others? or is it more related to the pads as has been said?

 

[zaskar1]

hi all

i went to my LBS (trailhead cyclery) and they had a look, they said that the brake is mechanically aligned properly, rotor looks fine, there is still some brake pad left.

they suggested trying the resin pads, as what came stock with the bike were semi-metallic. the LBS shop mechanic, jeff, said that the resin pads were suppose to be quieter initially, but might make noise as they wear.

they were very helpful giving me installation instructions.

they most difficult part was getting the pad clip spring out and then restalling and aligning the rear wheel.

it is raining here, so i wont be able to try out the resin pads until tomorrow.

if this works, you wont hear me coming anymore!

zaskar1