Folding Bikes - Getting rid of brake squeal in Xootr Swift

I recently bought a Xootr Swift and I really liked the bike except for the front V-brake squeal which was driving me crazy. I tried the usual toe in of the brake pads, changed to dual compound Koolstop pads, steel wooled the rims, etc. to no avail... I read in one of the posts that sometimes toeing the pads out will cure the problem. Guess what, I did just that and also angled the pads down a bit and the squeal is gone... silent now. Hope this helps. This is a great forum and I have obtained tons of info by reading the posts.

If you toed the fronts of the pads out, you are going to get some accelerated wearing away of the pads.

In my experience most cases of brake squeal are due to greasy or dirty rims and brake blocks. Cleaning or re-placing them will usually affect a cure.
Toe-ing in or out is likely to be a short term solution, since after some wear of the blocks they become parallel with the rim anyway. But .......... I may be proved wrong in this case.
Let us know if your fix is permanent.

"Toeing" the blocks in at least 2 mm, but not more than 4 mm, is standard setup procedure. This is not a temporary fix, but a permanent "take it home from the store" setup. 'Been doing it since I started riding 44 years ago. Back then, we would bend the calipers instead with a small crescent wrench, as the class of bike my buddies and I rode then, were not at the level of brakes having setting cams in them. They mounted flat with a cap nut.

kellyjdrummer.... I tried the toe in method but it didn't help (maybe I didn't toe them in enough? That is why I tried toeing the pads out. That seems to have cured the problem, but if it is not advisable I may try the more conventional way again. Why would toeing the pads out cause more wear? Just curious.

When you brake, the rotation of the wheel pulls the rear of the pad into the wheel. Having the pad touch in the rear first is going to put more stress on the pad to push forward and wear faster.

When you set them to toe in -front- make sure you set them so the rear of the pad doesn't touch. Within a mile or two of braking, the front of the pads will slightly wear away and efficiency will increase. When you set the pads, leave no more than 4mm of space from the wheel to the pad in the rear of the pad on all 4 pads. It should work. Clean the braking surface and be sure the calipers are tight and don't rattle.

Thanks for the info. I'll try it your way.

Also, as I'm sure you have done, make sure the pads are aligned to the braking surface as you look from the side of the wheel, laterally.

'Glad to help.

Kellyj knows what he's talking about.

Thanks, werewolf. I've been building these things for 42 years. I have problems with spoke work (stringing, true and round, etc.) but otherwise have only taken any rig to a shop twice in my life. Now I run MAVIC CrossMaxx wheels and figure I'll never have to have them worked on, at least as long as I don't park under a truck. Never seen hubs like these before. Tuff stuff.

Nomenti, check this video. The clue you are looking for is at the 2 minute mark. You may not be using the same setup as far as calipers, but the basic setup is the same for all pad/block brakes.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Adjusting-Cantilever-Brakes/