Bicycle Mechanics - Squeaky, I mean REALLY squeaky breaks

I just got a new track wheelset for my SS
They have brown rims, couldn't tell you the name
but anyways, I haven't been riding my bike because I'm so embarrassed how loud my breaks squeak. I took it to a shop and ended up paying them $17 to NOT fix it. Someone told me I'm just going to have to rub the paint off...
I don't want to take it to another shop and have to pay
Any ideas?

Use the search function, be sure to check the box sort by relevance. There are a lot of factors that create noisy brakes. Plenty of useful threads on your question.

There are 323 threads on brake noise.

To start with the use of brakes with track wheels isn't a major priority in their design. The painted (or are they anodized) rims is probably an issue but I'm not sure by how much. If you keep on using them you are going to rub off the paint/finnish anyway. Other than that do a search. Adjusting brakes is fairly detailed and others have already given good instructions.

Anthony

a quick one to try is see if you can adjust the pads so that the edge that faces the front of the bike contacts the rim first, this is often the cause of squeaky pads.

What brand of brake pads do you have? bk

I just got a new track wheelset for my SS
They have brown rims, couldn't tell you the name
but anyways, I haven't been riding my bike because I'm so embarrassed how loud my breaks squeak. I took it to a shop and ended up paying them $17 to NOT fix it. Someone told me I'm just going to have to rub the paint off...
I don't want to take it to another shop and have to pay
Any ideas?

I might be missing something here but why are you riding brakes on track wheels?

If the rims aren't intended (machined) for brakes I would assume you would get all sorts of strange noises and very reduced braking effectiveness.

If you are riding fixed the brake (front) should only be used for emergency stopping.

I have a Frankenbike.
Originally I just bought the frame and had friends throw in their extra bike parts to get me going, including a wheelset. I'm no bike guru....which is exactly the reason I joined this forum.
After sad attempts to buy my own wheelset I finally found one that fit my bike, which is a SS NOT a fixie.
I didn't know track wheels would be such a pain in the ass and I took it to a local shop who worked on them and sandpapered the sh*t out of them but no dice.
I just want to ride and not have to spend more ridiculous amnts of money on my simple boring ss as I already have.

I have a Frankenbike.
Originally I just bought the frame and had friends throw in their extra bike parts to get me going, including a wheelset. I'm no bike guru....which is exactly the reason I joined this forum.
After sad attempts to buy my own wheelset I finally found one that fit my bike, which is a SS NOT a fixie.
I didn't know track wheels would be such a pain in the ass and I took it to a local shop who worked on them and sandpapered the sh*t out of them but no dice.
I just want to ride and not have to spend more ridiculous amnts of money on my simple boring ss as I already have.

They sandpapered the rims? :eek: You need to start with machined rims (you can still get them in color, just the exposed AL will be the braking surface). Sandpaper will probably just make it worse.

Can you pick up a cheap front wheel (machined rim) and try that for the time being (braking only in front)? You really only *need* a front brake anyway, as most of your braking will occur there.

check the "toe-in" of your pads!

look for Brake set up threads or look to buy a book like Zinn's art of bike maintenance.
you can try the park tool web site and Sheldon Brown's website.

The sandpapering of the rims should be fine. I wouldn't get worried about that part. Yes you probably need to "toe in" the pads but you should check good references for this. You haven't told us the brand/type of brakes you have and if we try to give blow by blow instructions we will leave something out.

Anthony

I just got a new track wheelset for my SS
They have brown rims, couldn't tell you the name
but anyways, I haven't been riding my bike because I'm so embarrassed how loud my breaks squeak. I took it to a shop and ended up paying them $17 to NOT fix it. Someone told me I'm just going to have to rub the paint off...
I don't want to take it to another shop and have to pay
Any ideas?

OK. Here's how it works. If you take something to a shop, pay to have it fixed and they fail to do it to your satisfaction, you call the shop, explain your position intelligently, and give 'em another crack at it. If they fail again, you get your $$ back.

Don't just eat it! As a shop owner the last thing I want is for someone not happy with my work to just disappear. I want/need to know about these things so I can make it right!

Anyway, non-machined rims need nice, clean pads, preferably the Kool Stop salmon colored pads. These work well and seem to do the trick when other pads are still screaming.

Check the Toe, like the other posts said. You want the front (if you are sitting on the bike) of the brake pad to contact the rim first. Park Tools makes a tool to do this, but you can also use an adjustable wrench. Remove the brake pad, and close the adjustable wrench around the brake arm where the pad was. Push the wrench so that the brake arm twists enough to allow the pad to toe properly. Be gentle, and if you have really exspensive brakes or are unsure what I mean, you may want to have someone else do it. You can also look for a set of brake pads that have eccentric washers, that will allow you to toe in the pads. I think some VBrake pads are like that. Good Luck!

The sandpapering of the rims should be fine.

You shouldn't run brakes on non-machined rims. I don't know why the LBS didn't say, hey you need machined rims.

You shouldn't run brakes on non-machined rims. I don't know why the LBS didn't say, hey you need machined rims.

Meh, we ran non machined rims on top line bikes for YEARS without an issue. Sure machined rims is nicer but lets not get carried away. I ride numerous cheap bikes with non machined rims and they are fine. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Anthony

^^ Amen... you don't need machined rims for brakes, just make sure the brake calipers are properly tightened (no slop moving back to front with the brake on) and toe in the arms so that the front leading edge of the pad touches the rim before the trailing edge. We didn't have machined rims in the "good old days" and never had these issues. AND DON'T EVER use sandpaper on a rim.

Meh, we ran non machined rims on top line bikes for YEARS without an issue. Sure machined rims is nicer but lets not get carried away. I ride numerous cheap bikes with non machined rims and they are fine. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Anthony

Ditto... although the worst noise I've gotten from brakes recently is by combining Velocity non-machined rims with Kool-Stop salmon-color pads. Hideously noisy, and it happened on two different bikes. In both cases the noise went away when I installed Kool-Stop black pads and let them polish the braking surface of the rim. After the braking surface was worked over, I went back to salmon pads and they're nice and quiet.

Anne-Noel ... you really need to identify the brakes, brake pads, and rims before we can accurately diagnose the problem. Right now we're all just shooting in the dark.