Bicycle Mechanics - Squeaing new Shimano disc brakes

Hi all,


I am new to this forum and pretty new to biking. I mean, I was biking when I was I child and decided to switch to bike for commuting at the age of 39.

I bought myself a city bike, with aluminum body and hydraulic disk brakes. You can see the bike here: http://tinyurl.com/kk59fx It has Shimano hydraulic disk brakes (Shimano Deore M485 Centerlock)

I have two issues with these brakes:

1 - front brake is much stronger than the rear one. I do not mean more efficient from a dynamical point of view, but simply brakes the wheel stronger than the rear one. Is it normal? I went back to shop which sold me the bike, but they say it is normal and that rear brake will get stronger with time. I don't know if I can believe that. Any advice?

2 - rear brake, in addition to braking less efficiently than the front one, also squeals. The squeal is absent while braking at high speeds, but appears at lower speeds and gets louder and louder just before stopping. Now, that is really annoying. I feel like a fool. I payed 1600$ for a bike and at every traffic light grab attention with my squealing. It is almost a brand new bike. It has 60 km on it. Is it normal? Is it possible to fix it.

OK, these are my questions. I will highly appreciate any advice. At the age of 39 I can not chase the teenagers around the house for an advice, and I don't have much confidence in shop personnel. Thanks God for internet and forums.


Kind regards,


Iron City

i have avid BB7 mechanical disk brakes, and the front brake always has much better stopping power. its always much easier to drag the rear wheel than the front. mine squeals every now and then normally. when it squeals consistently i know the brakes are not centered anymore. here's one link that shows you how to fix it.there's plenty more on the internet.

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix/diskhay.htm

Front will always feel much stronger than the rear.

If you're not confident doing it yourself, get your LBS to check your rear brake for any signs of leaking brake fluid. A very common problem in the 485 brakes. Brake fluid seeps out, contaminates the pads, and causes a squeal, as well as lowering the overall performance and stopping power.

My uncle's bike had this issue, although on a MUCH larger scale than what you have.

IC - Now that you have some answers from us, these are exactly the kinds of issues to ask at the store where you bought the bike. Spending over $1k entitles you to some hand-holding, especially during your first few hundred miles of riding!

Johnny0, Luke52 and Mondoman, thank you very much for your answers. I have an appointment at dealers place on Tuesday.

Apart from these issues, I enjoy biking. I wonder what was I doing in the car for so many years.


Cheers,

IronCity